Veteran used daughter's birth date on 'Price Is Right' and won the biggest prize in show's history
Her win broke the record of the previous single pricing-game prize of $210,000
Even mystics and leaders haven’t quite answered whether one's wildest dreams really come true. But for one woman, the answer turned out to be a clear yes. On a Mother’s Day special episode of "The Price is Right," a Virginia mom named Vanesa McCaskell ended up winning a thumping bonanza of more than $240,000 while playing “The Lion’s Share” game, as seen in a video published on May 9, 2026, by Entertainment Tonight.
A guessing game
This episode was a debut in partnership with BetMGM, which allows contestants to win up to $500,000 in cash and prizes. Contestants guess the prices of grocery store items and earn up to five balls, each ball hiding a price amount within. After a contestant chooses a ball and wins a certain amount, they can either walk away with the current prize or keep playing and risk losing it all. There are five balls worth $100,000 and five worth “lose-it-all.”
The lucky ball
After McCaskell, a retired veteran, earned five number circles, it was her turn to pick the balls one by one. In the audience, her daughter was cheering on her, both mom and girl dressed in matching pink-orange t-shirts and black pants. Host Drew Carey spelled out the numbers on the five balls, “8, 13, 25, 21, and 27,” telling the contestant to pick them in any order she wanted. McCaskell picked 13 as the first number and won $2,500. This was followed by 21, with which she won $25,000, and 25, which was $100,000.
Her daughter's birthday
At this point, Carey warned her that there were still five lose-it-all balls and fueled her hopes by saying that there were also four $100,000 balls. She said the last two numbers were her daughter’s birthday. "For you, baby," McCaskell said, pointing to her daughter in the audience, and picked 27. The ball flipped to reveal a sum of $100,000. Caught in disbelief, McCaskell screamed and welled up with emotion. “As a retired vet,” McCaskell said, “this is huge for me.”
Record-breaking win in 54 years
In the end, only one ball was left, and she decided to trust her instinct. “I have to believe. I am going to go with it,” she said. She let out a breath of relief when it revealed a $12,650 prize — a mom-daughter trip to Morocco. Ultimately, her prize totaled $240,150, including cash and the trip, marking the largest prize won in a single pricing game in the show’s 54-year history on CBS.
The show's unbelievable prize pool
According to a Facebook post, the show has given away more than $300 million in cash and prizes to more than 68,000 contestants since its premiere in 1972. Her win broke the record of the previous single pricing-game prize of $210,000, won by a former contestant named Christen Freeman in 2016, per FOX News. “From ‘Come on Down’ to playing ‘The Lion’s Share,’ it all felt so surreal — a dream moment that only kept getting bigger. I was nervous, excited, and everything at once," McCaskell said. She added. "Winning over $200,000 is life-changing. I plan to invest wisely, enjoy a little, and treat my mom to a special surprise." A perfect Mother’s Day treat for a mother who carries a never-give-up attitude.
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