Deal or No Deal vs. Millionaire

Jessica Robinson, 27-year-old housewife from Utah, your life has officially changed. You may have heard the news, Jessica became the first ever contestant in 3 years to win the big jackpot on the hit NBC show "Deal or No Deal". It came down to 3 briefcases with hers containing the million dollar prize. Sweet deal for Jessica, who's also expecting her second child later this month. It just might be the "Million Dollar Baby" she's carrying..

It's great to finally see a winner, but it's taken a very long time for the show to produce results. Mainly the problem with "Deal or No Deal", is that it's a game of chance and not skill. It's a guessing game, with not much logic involved other than occasional announcement of stats like "Joe still has a 45.7% chance at $250,000". They even spiced it up by making the Banker play the role of tempting devil and offer people Escalades, Resort vacations, donuts and more. Contestants get to bring family, friends, their 2nd grade science teacher, Larry from their office and neighbors who can channel their psychic powers and say "Go For It" or "That's a Lot of Money, I'd take it". Deal is a basically a play on the American obsession with gambling, and it's carried over to other countries. While the contestants aren't betting their own money, technically they are when they pass up $100,000 in search of more. American greed sets in and eventually causes them to have to cash out with less than that million they were hoping for. I don't want to say "What are We Teaching our Kids About Money", because that is Robert Kiyosaki's job, and technically Deal is still family-friendly and fun.

Now a gameshow like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" definitely trumps "Deal or No Deal" with its format. Not that The Monetizer enjoys seeing Regis Philbin instead of the gorgeous briefcase girls, but Millionaire involves knowledge and strategy. You can phone a friend, eliminate 2 wrong answers, or ask the audience. It gives you more of a chance, and if you're smart, because you're usually earning prize money. Sure you can guess too, but that's a calculate risk, or gut instinct knowledge which drives many people to greatness. Often times it's surprising to see someone know so much about life, then stumble on an $8,000 about Southpark. Everyone gets their fair chance on Regis' show, whereas Howie plays the role of your best friend encouraging you to roll with the punches...

The Monetizer is far from raining on the parade here, because winning is great. Becoming an easy millionaire is even better. I used to be a fan of Deal, but stopped watching once nobody was coming up with the big win. Now interest may be renewed....Congratulations to Jessica and NBC's Deal show. After 246 episodes with nobody taking the 1 mill, things were looking fishy. We all know if someone didn't win soon, the Banker would surely be suspect... :)

Read more about Jessica Robinson's win here.