Grand Opening (Day 1)

All right, the show is open for business and entertainment! It's our "Grand Opening"! (Kinda redundant - definition: repeated meaning, huh?) Let's see if our season premiere week is awesome!

Contestants: Tony, Katie, Rachel

Jim Thornton, our announcer mentions that Pat and Vanna are "the stars of our show". And Pat tells Vanna that it's "time for [them] to travel in different directions. See you soon." Vanna chuckles.

And all this week, Pat, Vanna, and Jim will explain the basics.

Toss-Up 1: What are you doing?
_ _ A R I N _
_ _ / L U N _ _

Tony's not SHARING MY LUNCH, but he's earned his first grand!

Toss-Up 2: Thing
_ I R
_ _ N _ _ T _ _ _ _ R

Tony's "2 for 2", according to Pat, since he solves AIR CONDITIONER.

Premiere Prize on the Wheel: Trip to Florence, Italy, $8,500

Jackpot Round: Food & drink (1-liner)

Tony starts out by landing on the blue 1/2-Car, but there's no T for him; no surprise since it's a one-liner. Katie then finds a $600 R, then buys the only vowel of this puzzle, a pair of A's (I thought an E would be in there). She then picks up an N thanks to the $400 wedge near the Gift Tag. But thanks to a soft spin, she just doesn't make it to $550 and Bankrupts to give up $750. Rachel's first spin nabs her the Wild Card (although she could've gotten the pink 1/2-Car plate) with a P, but can't pick up the blue 1/2-Car plate that Tony just landed on with an S. Neither can our lone man with a C. Katie then picks up the Florence trip with a Y...

_ A N / _ R A _ Y

...and I don't know if there's any PAN GRAVY in Italy, but I do know that Katie's earned that trip with that solve!

Wrong Letters: T (Tony), S (Rachel), C (Tony)
Bankrupt: Katie
First Unclaimed Jackpot: $7,500

Tony: $3,000 Toss-Up money
Katie: $8,500 trip to Florence
Rachel: $0 + Wild Card

Mystery Round: Thing (yet ANOTHER 1-liner)

Our big leader can't capitalize on $900 with an R. Rachel then lands on the Mystery Wedge next to the Million Dollar Wedge and finds an S. She's going for it since she's way behind...there's the $10,000! She also Free Plays a wrong letter of T...but slips past the Gift Tag, right into $400, and into a dud of C. Uh-oh. Tony lands on $3,500...but doesn't uncover a Y. Katie finds a $300 L and an E to subtract $250, but Bankrupts between $900 and $600 to give back the $50 difference. Rachel gets a second chance, finding a $300 (near $900) N and buying a pair of O's to clear the vowels...

_ O O _ / L E N S

...and we have our $10K Mystery win of the season already! Rachel uses a ZOOM LENS to look at the $10,050 she just earned!

Wrong Letters: R (Katie), T (Rachel on Free Play), C (Rachel), Y (Tony)
Bankrupt: Katie

Tony: $3,000
Katie: $8,500
Rachel: $10,050 + WC

Prize Puzzle: What are you doing? (A bigger puzzle)

Rachel finds a $1,500 quintet of S's and a $300 T, but near $3,500, she Bankrupts away $1,800 and her Wild Card. Tony finds a $300 H, a $400 K (near the Gift Tag) , and $2,100 worth of three N's. After buying a pair of A's, he goes on...FINALLY picking up the blue 1/2-Car with a G, earning a $300 payoff from a P, and just missing the other 1/2-Car (he didn't want the plates anyway) but finding $350 from the last consonant of L. Now for the solve...

T A K I N G
S P A N I S H
L _ S S _ N S

...and with $3,700, he'll be TAKING SPANISH LESSONS on his $7,000 trip to BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA! He's earned $10,700 that round and is the new leader!

Bankrupt: Rachel

Tony: $13,700 cash and Buenos Aires
Katie: $8,500
Rachel: $10,050

Toss-Up 3: Thing
Y O _ _ _ E _
L O O K

Tony might not have a YOUNGER LOOK for now, but he's completed the first Toss-Up sweep of the season! He wasn't sure with his answer; in any case, he's $300 shy of the $17K mark.

Round 4: Proper name

Tony begins this round with a $1,200 pair of N's, purchases a trio of A's, and finds $1,800 worth of two R's before we head into Final Spin mode...

_ A R _ _ _ N A
_ A N _ _ _ R _

...and consonants are worth $1,900 apiece.

Tony - 1 L
Katie - 1 S
Rachel - 1 T
Tony - 1 H

_ A R _ L _ N A
_ A N T H _ R S

Tony IDs the famed NFL team, the CAROLINA PANTHERS for $6,550 and the win!

Tony: $23,250 (green indicating the winner)
Katie: $8,500 trip to Florence
Rachel: $10,050

Maingame Winnings: A respectable $41,800

Bonus Round: People

Tony's strong spin lands him on the E in AMERICA'S (nearly hit the M).

You see these people often, and RSTLNE fill in more than half the puzzle...

_ _ R
_ _ N E R S

BDWI only adds the obvious W...

_ _ R
_ W N E R S

...but he still solves this puzzle! And Tony may not be one of those CAR OWNERS, but he's earned another 40 large! He leaves us with $63,250, cash and Buenos Aires! You did great tonight, sir!