Edwards spouse wins big on 'Price is Right'

  • Published
  • By Jackie Robertson
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFPN) --  “Haily Decker, come on down!”

This familiar “Price is Right” roll call set off a surge of events that landed Mrs. Decker in contestants’ row of the popular television game show and ultimately led to a $16,000 payday during an information, tickets and travel outing.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Mrs. Decker said. Her husband, Capt. Shane Decker, is assigned to the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center’s Detachment 5 here. “I was the very first name called, and I just had a deer in the headlights look; I was hysterical and couldn’t breathe. It was insane.”

After a final bid of $1 to undercut the lowest bid of the three other contestants on a $1,018 set of his and her golf clubs, Mrs. Decker said she found herself face to face with host Bob Barker.

“I still don’t even think it was real. I mean, it was Bob Barker. I was still having trouble talking when it was time for me to start my game,” she said.

The game – “Half Off” -- presents 16 boxes and a series of two items to the contestant, Mrs. Decker said. She said the contestant then chooses which item is “half off,” and if the guess is correct, half of the boxes disappear. The objective is to whittle down the number of boxes to the one with $10,000 in it.

“I picked the right item the first two times,” she said, “but I got the third one wrong, so there were four boxes left -- numbers four, five, 12 and 13. My mom had five kids, and she believes it’s a very lucky number, so I picked that box.”

When she opened it, $10,000 fell on stage.

“I just wanted to run around and grab the money, and stuff it in my clothes, but I just jumped up and down and screamed,” Mrs. Decker said.

But her good fortune did not end there. After spinning 60 cents and 40 cents on the big wheel, Mrs. Decker won another $1,000 for her $1 spin total and a bonus spin, which she said landed on “green” for an additional $5,000.

Her success at the wheel also earned her the big winner seat in the showcase showdown, where she bid against another contestant on a set of prizes.

“I overbid on my showcase of a boat, a trip to Hawaii and scuba gear by $2,000, but I was not even bummed because I really won as soon as they called my name,” Mrs. Decker said. “I just couldn’t wait to get on my cell phone and call everyone I knew. I was famous for the rest of the day.”

Mrs. Decker said she is now just waiting for her prizes to arrive, which could be as late as the end of February. The show is scheduled to air Nov. 24.

“I can’t wait to see the show, and I’ve already spent about 10 times the amount I won in my head,” she said. “This has just been amazing.”