Two Local Friends Score Cash on TV's Deal or No Deal

TV's "Deal or No Deal" had held a "Share, Match, and Win" contest provided by Hershey Kisses. Two local Michigan contestants partook in the event on national TV, but found Howie Mandel more exciting than winning any cash prize.

Carol Lepoudre of Fenton Township and Nancy Lepri or Linden are close friends. They were named a finalist in the "Hershey's Kisses Brand Chocolate Kiss Someone" contest.

"It was exciting. It was so surreal to go on the show," Lepoudre said of the TV show aired on NBC.

"Deal or No Deal" is a reality gameshow where contestants are to pick cases held by models to reveal a monetary amount inside. Each contestant must pick one initial case in which they think contains one million dollars. The lower the amounts left on the stands the better. Each round an offer is made to the contestant to quit and go home with that amount. They then have the choice to take it or leave it and continue on. If the contestant plays to the very last case (the case they initially picked) they will leave with that amount even if it's $1.

This contest Lepoudre and Lepri entered offered them a different challenge. Three teams were picked as finalists to choose two cases. If their numbers matched the winning numbers, they would take home $100 million dollars.

The pair was not allowed to reveal the outcome until after this past Friday's airing. The two did not take home the $100 million prize, but nor did the other two teams. The six contestants had different boards consisting of 150 cases to choose from. However, each contestant took home $50,000 as a thank you for playing the game.

"We just picked numbers we thought were good," Lepoudre says. They picked numbers 28 and 56. Although, the winning numbers were 73 and 87.

"It was so much fun, but stressful!" Lepri exclaims. "It was stressful watching it all over again," she laughed. The two got together Friday night and watched the episode while enjoying Hershey Chocolate Kisses with their families.

"It was cool to just be on TV and be in the presence of Howie. He's really cool."

So how will the two celebrate their winnings?

"Christmas is coming up. We're going to do something special for our loved ones," Lepoudre said. "But we're going to pay off some bills too," she chuckled. "We're planning a vacation too, somewhere we've always wanted to go."