Tonight, on the newest episode of CNBC’s Deal or No Deal, hosted by Howie Mandel, contestant Sony Avalos will test her luck and attempt to win a fortune of up to $1 million. The description for the episode, entitled “Sony With a Chance of Millions,” reads “Super fan Sony Avalos makes it clear she knows how to play the game better than anyone else; this U.S. Marine specialist, wife and mother is a cool-headed risk taker, playing more than five rounds with no safety net on her way to a million.”
After Howie Mandel invited Sony Avalos to the stage as the show’s next player and asked her to tell him about herself, she said “I am the mother of three gorgeous teenagers. I am also the wife of 18 years to a United States Marine. For a living, I actually work as a Family Readiness Officer for the United States Marine Corps… and I have to tell you, above all, I am the biggest fan of Deal or No Deal.” She said that she’s watched all the episodes and played the arcade games and app, winning over $6.3 million (in pretend money). From the old show, which just returned this year with this 2.0 reboot, she said her favorite episode was the one where “the guy would do anything for 5 bucks, and he ended up wearing like the dress and the shows of the case girls.”
If she were to win a million dollars, she said “I was a mom at 17 and I kind of want to give back to that community. I would love to go back to college and use my education to start a non-profit for disadvantaged women.” Then, she added “Me and my husband short sold our home during the housing bubble. I would love to be able to move into a forever home again.”
To support her during her attempt to win the million dollar top prize, Sony brought along Bonnie, her oldest daughter, husband Pablo (who she’s been married to for 18 years and is a retired Marine), and Nicole, her co-worker and friend of 7 years.
According to Sony’s LinkedIn page, she is a Deployment Readiness Coordinator at Marine Cops Base Camp Pendleton; she lives in the greater San Diego area, and attended Copper Mountain College.
In a sneak peak of Sony’s episode released before it aired, we can see that Avalos chose case number 26 as the one she believes is carrying the million dollar prize. After telling the banker that this is “my house,” she turns down the banker’s offer and proceeds with the game, opening one case at a time. Based on the episode description that she’s playing “with no safety net,” it seems as though she eliminates a lot of the high money numbers early in the game and is left with only one big prize to play for – perhaps the $1 million.
Tune in to Deal or No Deal on CNBC, Wednesday nights at 9/8c.