Terry and Linda Kniess, a Las Vegas TV meteorologist and his wife with respective talents for discerning patterns and mathematics, discovered that the prizes with particular prices on the show tended to repeat frequently in predictable patterns. Deciding to use this to their advantage, the couple closely watched recordings of the show for months to detect, compute and memorize those patterns. Thus prepared, the couple went to the studio and Terry managed to be picked as a contestant for the taping of the December 16, 2008 game. Sure enough, Terry was able to precisely price the prizes in his games and made it all the way to the Showcase stage where he accurately stated the exact price of his showcase to the dollar, a feat that had only happened once before in the 1970s. At that point, the concerned producers stopped the game convinced that Terry was cheating somehow. However, after a 20 minute pause, no one could say how that was possible and Drew Carey, convinced the game would not be aired, decided to resume the game and coldly announced to Terry that he had won the game with both showcases. As it happened, the game was aired and Carey was excoriated by viewers for his poor manner towards a player who legitimately won according the game's rules. The retired former host, Bob Barker, claimed that he would have played up Terry as the greatest contestant in the game's history to make the most of his spectacular win. In response to Terry's system, the producers retired some prizes and randomized prices in subtle ways to prevent a recurrence.
