Moulton native lands on The Price is Right

A Moulton native had the opportunity to appear on The Price is Right on Jan. 3. Johnna Neskora won $50,000 and an outdoor kit at the show.

This isn’t the first time Neskora was on a game show. In 2019, she was on the show “Let’s Make a Deal,” but she didn’t win anything, so she said she felt going on the Price is Right was her chance at redemption.

“When I was on Let’s Make a Deal, I chose the wrong curtain and I got zonked, so I didn’t win anything,” Neskora said. “Every time I would think about it, I just wanted to be a winner. So, I decided I would write to Let’s Make a Deal and express a want to be on their redemption shows. So, that’s what I did, and they sent me back tickets to the Price is Right which they were taping, and I thought that was an even better fit for me.”

She then headed out to Los Angeles and got a chance to be interviewed on the show. The interview was for the primetime show and Neskora decided to try her best to stand out at the interview.

“I received an email before getting the interview that the show would be pre-casing the Super Bowl and they asked us to wear our favorite jersey,” Neskora said. “So, of course I was intrigued by the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelse romance, and I made this jacket that said ‘Mr. Swift’ and it had his number and all kinds of Kansas City patches on it. I knew I was going to have to stand out somehow. When I was in High School, I was a cheerleader and at the interview, I decided to make a cheer also to stand out. The cheer was ‘Taylor’s boyfriend show your might, hold that line and fight, fight, fight!’ Everybody was just entertained by that and I think it made me stand out.”

Neskora was the sixth contestant to get called out.

“My nerves were just crazy,” Neskora said. “They do all the spinning of the wheel at the end of the show. There’s so much down time as they set up for each game. Drew Carey was out there all the time entertaining everybody and asking if there were any questions. I just needed to have my nerves settle down at the show. Before the show, I watched as many episodes as I could from the time I got my tickets. If you watch it enough, you’ll notice they use the same brand of items, but all of that went out the window when I got called up.”

Neskora made the last bid, and her bid was an outdoor furniture set with a flag football and a bean bag toss game.

“I knew this time I had to play it right and this was my last chance,” Neskora said. “You’re kind of at an advantage if you get to bid last. When I realized, I was bidding last, I asked (Carey) to repeat all the bids and I really wanted to play it smart. I decided my best bid was to go $2,501 and that won me the outdoor furniture set.”

Afterwards, Neskora got to play the hot seat game. The hot seat game is where the contestants are shown five small prizes, each with a price. The contestant then has 35 seconds to hit a red button if the price is higher or a blue button if it is lower.

“The hot seat game started at $5,000 and, if I got that right, it went up to $20,000, then $50,000 and all the way up to $200,000,” Neskora said. “A set of binoculars were first and I had to see if the price was higher or lower. After that, it was an iron and then the next item was a multi-purpose slicer. Then it was a Keurig, and the last thing was a cordless screwdriver. You had 35 seconds to do it all and I felt like I was doing so good, until I got to the cordless screwdriver. I went up to the $50,000 prize and I thought, once I got to that price, I was stopping. Of course, they go back and they show you if you had them all correct, and I did. I could have won $200,000, but I ended up stopping at $50,000.”

Neskora doesn’t regret that move on stopping at $50,000. Neskora was not able to make it to the showcase round.

As someone who has been a fan of game shows for years, Neskora said she was very blessed to get this opportunity.

“I was fascinated with game shows from a grade school age and onwards,” Neskora said. “I can remember watching shows like Who’s Line is It Anyways or Let’s Make a Deal. I was like a TV child and had my game show schedule down. I always loved it.”

Neskora would take this opportunity again in a heartbeat.

“You can’t be a contestant again on the Price is Right for ten years,” Neskora said. “But this was just such an exciting experience.”

The show ended up airing on Feb. 7, despite her being on the show on Jan. 3.

“The hard part was keeping this experience quiet for six weeks,” Neskora said. “You’re not supposed to let anyone know if you won or lost, and I just wanted to tell the world I got my gameshow redemption. We ended up having a watch party with family and friends and it was so much fun. When Drew Carey asked if I had anybody I wanted to say hello to on the show, I named all of my seven grandchildren. I just wanted them all to hear their names on the show.”

Folks can watch this episode on the CBS app for free, but it won’t be on the app for long, so catch it while it’s hot.