Following this, a 'banker', seated in a surveillance room above the studio floor, phones the host with an 'offer' - a dollar amount he is willing to make for the briefcase the contestant chose at the start of the game. The cash amount is then removed from the list of cash values on the projection monitor. As each number is called, a lovely model opens the numbered case to reveal the cash amount inside (Mandel: 'Nikki, open the case.'). The contestant then begins a process of elimination, calling out the numbers of six briefcases. All the values are posted on a large, projection-screen TV monitor in the studio. The cases have cash values ranging from one cent all the way up to $1 million (and there are several six-figure prizes starting at $100,000). Hosted by Howie Mandel, the show is like a cross between 'Let's Make a Deal' and 'Russian Roulette', and here's how it works: A contestant out of the audience chooses one numbered briefcase out of 26 for their game.

'Deal or No Deal', from Endemol, the folks that gave you 'Fear Factor' and 'Extreme Makeover', brought this international import to the States for a five-night run on NBC originally back in December 2005.

Deal or no deal game theory