Cancer research fundraiser modeled off ‘Deal or No Deal’

‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt student Dan Greer turned down $500,000 for $50 last night. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Greer,… ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt student Dan Greer turned down $500,000 for $50 last night. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Greer, when he had to choose between two paper bags at Triangle fraternity’s Meal or No Meal event in David Lawrence Hall, listened to the audience’s advice and chose the bag nearest him, walking away with a gift certificate for three Qdoba burritos. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The event, which Triangle organized with the help of Delta Delta Delta sorority, benefited the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, to which Pitt fraternities and sororities have pledged to donate $500,000 over five years. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Last year, the event raised $500, and the year before it raised $300. As of press time, Triangle still needed to calculate the totals for this year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The fraternity modeled its event after the TV show ‘Deal or No Deal.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Contestants played using the same rules and chose numbered bags containing values from 1 cent to $1 million, but each value corresponded to a gift card. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The $1 million prize corresponded to the highest value prize, a $50 card to LeMont restaurant. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ After Greer chose his bag, host Andrew Manderino struggled to pull out the paper that indicated the bag’s amount. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The suspense is building, can you feel it?’ asked Manderino. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The paper he pulled out read $50 and earned Greer one of the gift certificates. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The first two contestants refused all offers for deals given by the banker, who sat in a balcony hidden by a paper screen that showed only his shadow. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The last two accepted offers of $190,000, which represented a $20 gift card to Red, Hot ‘amp; Blue barbecue restaurant, and $400,000, which represented a $25 gift card to Malone’s Irish Pub. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt graduate Alex Schmidt chose the most effective strategy for the beginning of his attempt. He selected bags based on the numbers of Pitt basketball players. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He chose bag No. 23, Sam Young’s number, first. After that, he eliminated some of the lower amounts by choosing Nos. 11 and 2. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ While waiting for news from the banker during each round, Manderino made small talk with the contestants. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He asked each of them what they would do with their winnings. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He suggested to Greer, the first contestant, that he take a girl out for a nice date if he won the top prize. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Very romantic,’ said Manderino. ‘Guaranteed to get you a kiss on a date.’