Bagpipe News

But Dave Atherton didn’t know it until after he made a deal for $81,000.

Pacing in his kilt and bantering with Howie Mandel, “Deal or No Deal” host, he was a crowd pleaser.

Atherton, whose wife, Niki Mead Atherton, is a former Mason City and Charles City resident, was the third of three contestants Monday night on the NBC-TV show in which players choose one of 26 briefcases that contain 1 cent to $1 million, then eliminate the other 25 cases, revealing the cash amounts with each guess.

Atherton, a New York bagpipe designer, was agonizing over a decision in the game’s third deal to take an early offer or risk it and go for more.

“I’m broke,” Atherton said.

With the audience and his team of advisers — a friend, older sister and his attorney — pushing him to keep going, Atherton consulted his wife.

“Deal,” Niki told him. “That’s a lot of money.”

Atherton took her advice, made a deal and walked away with $81,000.

But he didn’t get off that easily. As with all contestants, Mandel had him keep guessing to see what might have happened if he had played the game to the last briefcase.

Atherton could have gone six more rounds. The next cash offer after the round in which he stopped would have been for $219,000, and the remaining offers were all six figures, up to what would have been a final offer of $561,000.

With only two unopened cases left — $75,000 or $1 million — Atherton learned he was the second contestant of the night who chose the $1 million case but walked away with less.

“What did I do?” Atherton asked himself on the program, shaking his head.