By B.C. Manion
Kimberly Saracino said even she was surprised by how excited she got when she was picked to be a contestant on the television game show, “Let’s Make A Deal.”
“I was jumping up and down. I think I had an extra shot of espresso, but I was just really, really over the top, excited to be there,” said the young woman who recently moved to West Hollywood, Calif.
She was visiting her family in Lutz, when the episode aired on June 4. The 24-year-old recent film graduate of the University of Central Florida said she watched the episode with her mother, Antonella Bianchi, a physician, and her twin siblings, Vinson and Valentina Saracino, who just finished high school at Carrollwood Day School.
The program, filmed in Los Angeles and hosted by Wayne Brady, is an updated version of the classic game show. It involves people wearing wacky costumes and making quickie deals or playing games to try to win prizes.
So far this season, more than $1.6 million has been given away in cash and prizes, according to the website http://on-camera-audiences.com/shows/Lets_Make_a_Deal.
That works out to an average of about $80,000 per day in cash and prizes. With an audience limited to 210, the odds of getting picked to play aren’t bad, either, the website says.
Saracino said she was encouraged by her friend Ali Williams to try to get on the show. Williams had previously appeared on the show and thought it was a blast, Saracino said.
When she went to the show, she wasn’t sure if she’d get a chance to be on television, but she thought it was worth a try.
“I had no idea they were going to pick me, but I guess they kept their eye on me,” she said.
She thinks it boils down to being enthusiastic and wearing a goofy costume.
“They just want to see your energy. Are you actually excited to be here? And, I mean, who isn’t? You could potentially win a ton of money and meet Wayne Brady.”
She came to the show dressed as a flight attendant. She wore a blue suit, a hat, a tie and boots.
When she was plucked from the crowd, she was thrilled.
She squared off against two other contestants in a game that involved choosing a letter from a board, to reveal a number.
The contestant with the highest number won $500 and the chance to go after other prizes; the one with the next highest, won $500; and the one with the lowest, won $100.
Saracino chose the letter A.
She told the audience, “I’m going to go with A for Awesome.”
When the number was revealed, it was a one.
“I was like, ‘No—ooo—oo,” Saracino said.
Even though she didn’t take home a big prize, she did have fun, Saracino said.
“I would recommend it to anyone,” she said.
