Just as how fearless she was in conquering the stages of the previous drag competitions she participated in, famous drag performer Arizona Brandy also displayed courage when she finally took her turn as the lucky star player during the May 24 episode of “Kapamilya Deal or No Deal.”
Dressed in a bold avant-garde ensemble, Arizona appeared to foreshadow her fate when the lucky wheel landed on number “13,” the number assigned to her since the current season began. She wore an animal-print velvet suit paired with a matching wig and headdress that made her overall look totally eye-catching.
Before the game officially began, Luis asked Arizona the same question that he posed to Diego and Ynez, but this time focused on her coming-out story and drag journey. Arizona candidly admitted that gaining acceptance from her family had not been easy.
“Hindi po, ang dami ko ring pinagdaanan,” she confessed. “Parang nilaban ko rin 'yon, Kuya Luis, 'yong acceptance [from] my family. Parang ngayon, proud ako sabihin na hindi na lang ako tino-tolerate ng family ko [dahil] accepted na nila ako."
When asked what she would do if she won the P1 million jackpot, Arizona revealed that she actually planned to give the entire amount to her mother as a way of thanking her for all the sacrifices she made for their family. She then decided to swap her briefcase no. 13 with Jopay Paguia-Zamora’s briefcase no. 19 and shook off the jitters by getting everyone to dance to her viral song “Arizona B,” playfully changing some of the lyrics to include “briefcase” and “banker.”
However, Arizona’s hopes of becoming the season’s first millionaire were dashed early after she eliminated the P1 million prize in the very first round. The jackpot was hidden inside briefcase no. 6 held by comedian Pepay. Still, she managed to recover in the second round after successfully removing the dreaded piso amount from the money board.
By the third round, the other lucky stars began offering advice on which briefcases to eliminate. Pepay suggested opening briefcase no. 4, but Arizona ignored the advice and chose no. 10 instead — a decision that initially paid off, as it contained only P10.
Unfortunately, her impulsive decision to remove briefcase no. 14 after catching Mommy Ganda of The Aguinaldos yawning cost her P500,000. Thus, Pepay jokingly acted upset after her advice was once again ignored.
Arizona finally heeded her advice by opening no. 4, during round 4, which revealed P100. However, she also got rid of the P250,000, which was the third highest amount for this episode’s money board.
Although she successfully wiped out the lower amounts on the board, she eventually lost the remaining high prizes of P100,000 and P125,000 in the succeeding rounds. As Banker offered her P43,700, many urged her to accept the deal, but Arizona bravely chose to continue playing.
Regret eventually showed on her face when the last remaining high amount disappeared from the board—especially after fellow gay lucky stars Inah Evans and Pepay jokingly advised her to “tanggalin ang magaganda,” referring to Anji Salvacion, who held briefcase no. 15.
After reaching the final round, Arizona chose to play the game through to completion and said “NO DEAL” to the Banker’s final offer of P6,600. In the end, she took home P10,000—while her friends humorously proved their point with their playful advice of “tanggalin ang magaganda” since they noticed that the female lucky stars were the ones holding the briefcases with high amounts.
Go through this gallery to see some of the photos during the renowned drag queen’s stint as the lucky star player.
Catch more fun and exciting moments on "Kapamilya Deal or No Deal," airing Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 PM on ALLTV2, Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), or stream anytime on iWant!