It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a blue moon does a Price Is Right contestant win in such a big way, it stuns even host Drew Carey. That’s what happened during a recent show when Claire Tongbalad was added to the (fake) Price Is Right Hall of Fame when she managed to win not one but two cars.
What made her win so much better is her reaction, which was electic almost from the minute she was called down to Contestants Row. Her Price Is Right victory was part ingenuity, part luck and all positive energy, especially considering how long she’d waited to be on the show.
Claire was practically vibrating with excitement the moment she was called down to Contestants Row, after waiting 35 years to be on The Price Is Right. She bid $2,500 on a Home Office Package, the second item up for bid, which included a 27-inch desktop computer with a webcam, a keyboard, mouse, a wooden desk and an adjustable chair. It was a great guess, closest to the actual price of $2,621, and up she went (eventually – she got confused about how to get up on stage), where host Drew Carey revealed she would be playing Five Price Tags, with a 2025 Toyota Corolla LE there for the taking.
Playing the game is relatively simple. There are, per the name, five price tags on the board, one of which is the price of the car. In front of four of the tags are products, each with a price. The contestant guesses if the price of the item is true, or false, with each successful guess garnering the price tag behind. She incorrectly guessed the first price, a food vacuum sealer, won the next two, but lost out on the final tag after guessing the price of an analog wooden clock incorrectly.
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That gave Claire two tags. With her first pick, she selected $24,730, which was not the price of the car. The actual price of the car was $23,559, which just so happened to match the price of her second tag. Claire had won the Toyota, which prompted her to put her hands on her head, saying “Oh my freaking God! Oh my God! Stop! I’m dying!” as she paced around the studio.
Claire Tongbalad Wins Even Bigger in the Showcase Showdown on ‘The Price Is Right’
The now cool-and-collected Claire took part in the Showcase Showdown, where she and another contestant each spun an 85, forcing a re-spin. On the second spin, she landed on 65, which proved to be enough after her opponent landed on 15. Claire would be bidding on a Saint Laurent tennis package, which included two rackets and three balls, and a Leisuremod dining table, replete with eight chairs, place settings, sugar bowl, creamer, salt and pepper shaker, butter and gravy dishes, an oval platter, and a round veggie bowl.
That’s a lot to pack into a Toyota Corolla, but, luckily, the Showcase also included a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox LT. If she won, that is, but no one ever wins two cars on The Price Is Right. Make that no one usually wins two cars on The Price Is Right until Claire did. She bid $35,000 for the package, a difference of $2,704 off the actual price of $37,704. Her opponent? A full $7,000 under. The package, including her second car of the day, was now hers, sending Claire home with the biggest haul of the day, with a total value of $63,844. Now that is worthy of the joyous celebration that accompanied Claire’s win… even without the Rice-a-Roni.
The Price Is Right airs on CBS.