Rossmoor resident Julia Wailings, 57, recently appeared on the game show Let’s Make A Deal and walked away a big winner. The retired Long Beach Police Department sergeant came away $20,000 richer thanks to her good fortune and answering correctly a question about money conversion from foreign to domestic dollars.
She and her best friend from Long Beach Poly High School, Silvia Ashley, appeared on a show that aired on Thursday, April 9 on KCBS Channel 2 at 9 a.m., after originally wanting to get tickets to Dancing With The Stars. “When we got tickets to Let’s Make A Deal we decided to go on for a fun day,” said Wailings. The show was taped in Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, where Wailings and her friend arrived at 8 a.m. a few weeks ago.
Wailings dressed up as a ringmaster, and her friend dressed up as “flower power.” She had to convert what would equal $20,000 in U.S. currency if it were given in the Chilean peso, the Turkish lira, the Caymanian dollar or the British pound. Since Wailings had been to Turkey about six months ago, she was able to figure out and guess the correct answer, which was the either the Turkish lira or Caymanian dollar.
“I was lucky,” said Walings. “In the end, I guessed the correct answer.” Before she knew it, money rained down from the sky and she was awarded $20,000 from Publisher’s Clearing House. She could have gone for the big deal of the day, a living room set, but instead decided to keep her prize. Wailings will be paying her husband, Norm, back for a newer used Honda Pilot he just bought her. She said he and their daughter, Megan, were shocked when she told them she won the prize money.
“I think I’m lucky,” she continued. “I was lucky to have picked a career in law enforcement and to have a good retirement. I once ran from Baker to Las Vegas, putting $2 into a slot machine and won $3,700. I also did a scratcher and won $1,000. I’m very blessed,” said Wailings, who retired from LBPD in 2005 after 25 years in law enforcement.
“I was very happy seeing the show air,” she continued. “They gave out a lot of prizes.” “They gave a young lawyer a trip to Aruba and a car to a server who just came to California.”
Let’s Make A Deal is a show where you’ll laugh out loud and is pure fun, according to Wailings. She said host Wayne Brady has comedic genius along with the announcer and that they both have been known to sing and tell improv jokes. “It’s a great way to begin a day,” said Walings. “Or you can tape it on your DVR and watch it in the evenings to help get over a bad day.
“The producers mirror the community in how they pick contestants, choosing both young and old,” she said. “It’s a happy show.” One out of every 18 audience members gets to be a contestant on the show. Free tickets to the show are available online at www.cbs.com/daytime/letsmakeadeal. Details on tape dates are also available online at this site. For more information on the show, you may call 888-5-DEAL-50.
