One contestant on The Price Is Right just made history by winning the biggest single-game money prize in the show's 54 years. Retired army veteran Vanesa McCaskell from Virginia broke the record after scoring nearly a quarter of a million dollars on Friday's Mother's Day-themed episode.
McCaskell looked completely stunned after learning that she won a total of $240,150 after playing the new Lion's Share game on the CBS game show. The Lion's Share game, which was introduced this season in partnership with BetMGM, replaced the Pay the Rent segment last year and sees players stepping up to guess grocery prices. The goal is to win five balls in five rounds, with each revealing the prizes that the players have won so far. The contestants have the option to keep their winnings or risk what they've earned so far by continuing to play the game.
The balls are pulled from a giant hopper with some representing a prize while others could find the player looking at one that says: 'Lose it all.' In the first round, McCaskell won $2,500 before choosing to keep going and then adding to the total when she won $25,000 in the second round. She went on to win $100,000 twice in the third and fourth rounds. At the end, McCaskell earned a trip for two to Morocco, which is valued at $12,650, bringing her total prize to $240,150.
At one point, she fell to the floor in excitement and later cried after her victory. After winning, the show's host Drew Carey congratulated McCaskell and told her: 'Vanesa, nice job. Almost a quarter mil. Nice job. That's amazing. Happy retirement!' Before McCaskell's windfall, one contestant from an episode that aired nearly a decade ago held the record. The player famously took home $210,000 after a round of Cliffhangers in 2016.
Later, Carey brought attention to the history-making game and told viewers that McCaskell is the new record holder. 'Just so you know, Vanesa, she won $240,150 in cash and prizes, which makes her the biggest pricing game winner in Price Is Right daytime history. Congratulations!' After her win, McCaskell also released a statement about her 'life-changing' earnings. She told USA Today on the same day that the episode aired that she had plans to 'make some wise investments' with the staggering sum. 'What you do with that amount is critical,' McCaskell told the outlet.
The show aired on Monday but was previously taped in December 2025. McCaskell had to keep her winnings a secret until the episode aired, which she said felt like 'torture.' 'I was practicing my poker face so I didn't crack when people asked me what happened. They'd say, "Did you win?" and I'd say, "No." It was really, really tough to hold that.' She noted that the episode aired just days after her birthday, capping off her 'great' week. 'I can't have written this, imagined this any better,' she added.
