Screenshots showing the player and her winning moment (Cover image source: YouTube/Price Is Right/JayVirals)

Anyone who makes it to the stage on “The Price Is Right” is lucky, and then luck shines even brighter on them as they go home with a car and a trip. But sometimes, their fortunes take an unexpected turn when the showrunners throw in a more pricey item for a special episode. One contestant who got extra lucky was Francesca Penko, who aced the “Spelling Bee” game to win a $120,000 2016 Aston Martin Vantage GT Coupe during the Dream Car Week. But while she celebrated, some pointed out that the expensive prize came with a huge tax bill, too.

Screenshot showing the contestant alongside the prize (Image source: YouTube/Price Is Right/JayVirals)
 

In the special episode, the show’s announcer went with a British accent to reveal that Penko would be playing for a brand new Aston Martin car that famously appeared in the “James Bond” franchise. However, the game that she was playing wasn’t easy to crack. In “Spelling Bee” the centerpiece is a large board that conceals 30 cards. Out of these, eleven cards carry the letters “C” and “A,”  six cards carry the letter “R,” and only two cards carry the word “CAR.” The goal for the player is to collect up to five cards that spell out the word “CAR” or get at least one card with the word on it.

Screenshot showing the set up for the game (Image source: YouTube/Price Is Right/JayVirals)
In the first part of the game, the contestant is given two free cards, and they must earn up to three more cards by pricing three smaller prizes. Furthermore, each card carried a cash prize as well, which players could take and leave the game without risking it all for the car. Thus, if the player wins five cards, they can take $5,000 and leave the game. In Penko’s game, each card carried a special value of $5,000, which meant that she could cash out with $25,000 if she collected all five cards.

Penko got the prices of the first two items correct and then went on to guess the last item’s value correctly as well. After she maxed out with five cards, Carey reminded her that if she wanted, she could cash out with a whopping $25,000 without risking it all for the car. However, after conferring with the audience, Penko chose to take the risk and go for the win.

 
Screenshot showing the player’s cards (Image source: YouTube/Price Is Right/JayVirals)

Turns out this was the right choice, as the very first card that she had picked carried the word “CAR” handing her an automatic win. As Carey revealed the card, Penko went wild to celebrate the big win. The host and the models also celebrated with the player by putting on smiley masks.

While some viewers celebrated the big win, a few pointed out that the $120,000 car came with a big catch as well. In the comments section of a YouTube clip, viewers noted that the car’s value carried a large tax bill that wasn’t covered by the show. “Dang, good for her for winning that car on the first card! IMO, I would’ve taken the $25,000. I mean, less taxes,” wrote @JonesDylan874. 
Screenshot of a comment talking about the taxes (Image source: YouTube/@joshythehand2960)

According to a Collider report, this is true, as players need to pay taxes on the prizes they win. The piece cited an ABC News report in which a winner claimed that they were on the hook for $17,000 to $20,000 in taxes for winning prizes worth around $57,000 on the show.