I don't own anything except this story, so don't sue. The prize values given (which were on the actual show and are now, for the most part, outdated) are for scoring purposes only and do not reflect the actual (current) value of the items, so don't bother correcting me on that.
"Today, these three players are after high stakes... but they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives!" exclaimed Rod Roddy. And indeed it was the most exciting game of the three contestants' lives, as a lot more than money was on the line. "From Television City in Hollywood, it's time to PRESS YOUR LUCK! And now, here's your host, the star of 'Press Your Luck', Peter Tomarken!"
Right on cue, Peter came onstage saying, "Thank you! Thank you!" as he made his way to the podium. "Thank you, Rod Roddy, and welcome to this special edition of 'Press Your Luck', where one of these three gentlemen will walk away with big bucks and a special surprise. What say we meet these guys, starting with our first player, Aoshi Shinomori!"
Aoshi clapped upon hearing his name.
"So, Aoshi," said Peter, "what brings you here today?"
"Well, the big surprise, mostly," said Aoshi. "And big bucks to go with that would be great!"
"Well, best of luck to you," said Peter. "Let's meet our second player, Andy Bogard! How are you, Andy?"
"Fine, Peter," Andy replied, smiling.
"Now you're a fighter, I believe?" asked Peter.
"Yes, Peter," replied Andy. "I'm a master of Koppo-ken."
"Think you can fight off the Whammy?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Well, then. Best of luck to you, too. Now let's meet our third player, Eiji Kisaragi!"
Eiji merely nodded.
"So, tell us a little about yourself," said Peter.
"Well, I live up in the mountains of Japan, which is where I hope to take my winnings," said Eiji.
"That's nice," said Peter. "Well, let's get started. I give you four questions. A correct buzz- in will give you three spins and a multiple choice gives you one. Are you ready?"
"Yes," the three contestants responded.
With that, Peter asked the first question. "One of the biggest festivals in Japan is Tanabata, or the star festival, which is always celebrated on the seventh day of what month?"
Andy buzzed in. "July," he said.
"Is the correct answer July, April, or December? Eiji?"
"July."
"Okay," said Peter. "Aoshi?"
"July."
"Tanabata is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month, which is July! Aoshi gets a spin, Andy buzzed in so he gets three spins, and Eiji gets a spin. Next question. As long as we're in Japan, if someone offered you tonjiru, what are you supposed to do with it?"
Andy buzzed in again. "Eat it."
"Are you supposed to eat it, wear it, or ride in it? Eiji?"
"Eat it."
"Aoshi?"
"Definitely eat it."
"Well, tonjiru is a kind of soup, so of course you eat it! Aoshi goes to two, Andy goes to six because he buzzed in, and Eiji picks up a spin and goes to two. Third question. According to a Beatles song, we all live in a what?"
Both Eiji and Andy buzzed in, but Andy's went off first. "Yellow submarine," said Andy.
"Is the correct answer a yellow submarine, a purple bus, or a red canoe? Eiji?"
"Yellow submarine."
"Aoshi?"
"I'll go with the others and say yellow submarine."
"Good move, Aoshi, because the correct answer is yellow submarine! Aoshi picks up a spin and goes to three, Andy goes to nine, and Eiji goes to three. Last question. What is considered the 'sport of kings'?"
Aoshi buzzed in. "Fencing."
"Is the correct answer fencing, tennis, or horse racing? Andy?"
"Horse racing."
"Eiji?"
"Horse racing."
"That sport of kings is horse racing! Aoshi stays at three, Andy goes to ten, and Eiji goes to four. That was the last question, we'll be taking those spins to the big board right after this."
A few minutes later, it was time to play the first board round. "We're back and ready to go at the big board. There's over $25,000 in cash and prizes up there. And of course, there are Whammies up there as well, so be careful. The player who ends this round with the most gets to play last in the final round, which is where you want to be. Spins may be passed at any time if you fear the Whammy, four Whammies will bring tears to your eyes and put you out of the game. Player with the fewest spins goes first. Aoshi, that's you with three spins. Are you ready?"
"Yes," said Aoshi."All right, I want some big bucks now, big bucks, big bucks." After a quick pause, he hit the buzzer and yelled, "STOP!" The indicator stopped at $300, which Peter acknowledged. Aoshi wisely decided to keep going and repeated his chant. The indicator stopped at a picture of a red monster with a yellow mask and yellow cape. A low foghorn went off.
"Stop at a Whammy!" said Peter.
An animated puff of smoke with the word "WHAM!" appeared in front of Aoshi's scoreboard, on the far left. When the smoke cleared, that red monster, the Whammy, jumped up and down, pulled out a mallet, and ran across the screen, pounding on Aoshi's score and reducing it to zero, laughing the whole time. Then a yellow card with a picture of a Whammy popped up in front of Aoshi with a "boing" sound.
"Well, Aoshi, you're back where you started from," said Peter. "No bucks. But you still have one more spin."
"And I'm gonna use it!" said Aoshi. This time he said, "All right Whammies, you've had your fun, I want some big bucks now. STOP!" This time he stopped at $470.
As that was Aoshi's last spin, control of the board went to Eiji, who had four spins. He said nothing while he played, except "STOP!" His first spin gave him a Flokati rug which added $350 to his score. On his second spin, he hit $470, giving him at total of $820. His third spin added $300, giving him $1120.
"You are in first place by $650 and have one spin left," Peter told him. "What do wanna do with that one spin?"
"If I pass it, who gets it?" asked Eiji.
"It goes to Aoshi, the player in second place," replied Peter.
"Pass it, then."
"You heard him, Aoshi," said Peter as a chime sounded, indicating that the spin had been passed. "One spin you have to take. Here we go."
"Okay," said Aoshi. "This better be good. No Whammies, give me first place, STOP!"
"Stop at $1250!" exclaimed Peter, as $1250 was the highest amount on the board at that moment. "You now have $1720 and first place for now. Now let's see what Andy can do with ten big spins. Are you ready, Andy?"
"Ready," said Andy. "Come on, board, give me some money! I want those big bucks!" He paused for a second, then yelled, "STOP!" as he all but broke the buzzer. He stopped at a space marked "big bucks", which directed the indicator to the highest dollar amount on the board at the moment (and the highest that showed up in round one).
"You got it!" Peter exclaimed. "$1500!"
Still $220 shy of first place, Andy went at the board again, this time saying, "You better stay away from me, Whammies! Stay away and... STOP!" He stopped at $550. His next three spins earned him $500, $470, and $400. With $3420 and a $1700 lead (and sure his next spin would be a Whammy), he passed his five remaining spins to Aoshi.
Aoshi did okay with the first two spins he had to take, earning $300 and $500, bring his score up to $2520. However, the third passed spin was a Whammy.
A Whammy wearing a George Washington wig appeared on a dollar bill. He laughed and said, "I cannot tell a lie, you lose!" Then another Whammy card popped up in front of Aoshi.
"Oh, he got you again," said Peter. "We'll move you're two remaining passed spins over to the earned column. Now you can either take them or pass them, but either way you wanna be careful about picking up a third Whammy in round one. What's it gonna be, Aoshi?"
"I'll go," said Aoshi. He got $500 then, fearing that third Whammy, passed his last spin to Andy (who got it by default because he had the most money). Andy picked up $525 with that spin, bringing him up to $3945.
"By a big $2825, Andy, you have first place and the advantage," said Peter." And we'll be back with a whole 'nother round of questions and answers right after these messages."