Should the contestant refuse every deal, they are given the chance to trade the case they chose at the outset for the only one left in play at the time they then win the amount in the selected case. Over the course of the game, the contestant eliminates cases from the game, periodically being presented with a 'deal' from The Banker to take a cash amount to quit the game. Each briefcase contains a cash value from $0.01 to $1,000,000.
The game is primarily unchanged from the international format: a contestant chooses one briefcase from a selection of 26. A daily syndicated half-hour version of the show debuted on September 8, 2008, and continued for two seasons. The show started its fourth season on August 25, 2008, a day after NBC's coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics ended. The hour-long show typically aired at least twice a week during its run, and included special extended or theme episodes. The show is hosted by actor-comedian Howie Mandel, and premiered on December 19, 2005, on NBC. Deal or No Deal is the American version of the international game show of Dutch origin of the same name.
