Price Is Right Contestant Wins Record $240K in Single Game

Vanesa, a retired military veteran from Virginia, won $240,150 on the May 8 episode of The Price Is Right
The win is the largest single pricing game prize in the show’s 54-year daytime history
She won playing “The Lion’s Share,” a new BetMGM-sponsored game introduced this season
The previous record was $210,000, set in 2016 during a game of “Cliffhangers”
The episode aired as a special Mother’s Day show — and Vanesa’s daughter Janiah was right there in the audience for every moment

Vanesa from Virginia came on down — and walked away with a quarter million dollars. The retired military veteran just made daytime TV history on The Price Is Right, winning $240,150 in cash and prizes on the May 8 Mother’s Day episode, the largest amount ever won in a single pricing game in the CBS show’s 54-year run.

Her record-breaking haul came from playing “The Lion’s Share,” a brand-new game that debuted this season through a partnership between TPIR producer Fremantle and BetMGM. It works like this: contestants guess the prices of grocery store items to earn up to five balls, which are then dropped into a wind tunnel one at a time to reveal a hidden prize. After each reveal, players can either walk away with what they’ve got — or keep going, knowing that some balls are hiding a “lose it all” option worth exactly what it sounds like.

Vanesa didn’t walk away once.

How She Did It, Ball by Ball

After correctly guessing her grocery prices to earn all five balls, Vanesa started modest — $2,500 on the first reveal — then watched the numbers climb fast. A $25,000 ball came next, followed by a heart-stopping $100,000. She threw her hands up and screamed. Most people would have stopped there.

She didn’t. With $127,500 already locked in, Vanesa looked into the audience at her daughter Janiah and made her decision out loud: “The last two numbers are my daughter’s birthday — I have to go.” She pointed right at her kid. “For you, baby.”

The next ball? Another $100,000. Vanesa put her hands on her head and just stared at Janiah in disbelief while her daughter jumped up and screaming in the audience. The running total was now $227,500. “Oh my God!” Vanesa said, leaning against the game board.

One ball left. Host Drew Carey wished her luck. The final reveal: a mother-daughter luxury trip to Morocco, valued at $12,650. Total winnings: $240,150.

“Almost a quarter million,” Carey said. “Nice job!”

Later, during the Showcase Showdown wheel, Carey pulled Vanesa aside to make it official. “When she played Lion’s Share just now, she won $240,150, which makes her the biggest pricing game winner in The Price Is Right daytime history.”

“No!” Vanesa said, hands flying to her mouth.

As the show cut to commercial, Carey gave her a pat on the shoulder and said simply: “Happy retirement.”

A Record a Decade in the Making

The previous record had stood since 2016, when a contestant won $210,000 playing “Cliffhangers.” Vanesa cleared that mark by $30,000 — and did it on a game that didn’t even exist a year ago.

“The Lion’s Share” is the first custom-branded game in The Price Is Right‘s history and the first new pricing game added to the show since 2021. It came out of a multi-year deal between Fremantle and BetMGM, which also covers Family Feud intellectual property for use in casino games and slots.

“Our partnership with Fremantle was designed to bring the thrill of BetMGM gameplay to life on one of television’s most iconic game shows,” BetMGM chief revenue officer Matt Prevost said. “That vision was delivered in a historic way during Vanesa’s record-breaking win on ‘The Lion’s Share.’”

Fremantle’s EVP of partnership solutions Erica Gadecki added: “It’s always an exciting moment when we introduce a new game, and ‘The Lion’s Share’ is already delivering in a big way.”

Vanesa, for her part, was already thinking about what comes next. “From ‘Come on Down’ to playing ‘The Lion’s Share,’ it all felt so surreal — a dream moment that only kept getting bigger,” she said in a statement. “I was nervous, excited and everything at once. Winning over $200,000 is life changing. I plan to invest wisely, enjoy a little and treat my mom to a special surprise.”

And that Morocco trip? Given that she picked her last ball specifically because the number matched her daughter’s birthday — it sounds like Janiah might be going too.

The Price Is Right airs weekdays at 11/10c on CBS and is available to stream on Paramount+.