Pastor from Poplar Bluff wins prizes on 'The Price Is Right'

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Moonwalking on national television wasn't what Steve Proctor went to Hollywood for. He had gone there to be a guest speaker at West Coast Baptist College.

But when he wound up winning more than $40,000 in cash and prizes on "The Price Is Right," it apparently brought out a different kind of spirit in the Westwood Baptist Church pastor.

"It was wild," Proctor said Wednesday, finally able to break the silence the network mandated or risk forfeiting his winnings before CBS aired the game show taped in December.

When planning their mission to California last year, Steve's wife, Nancy, decided to set aside an extra day to get in some sightseeing. They decided to get tickets to see "The Price Is Right."

Both said they'd only seen Drew Carey host the show on TV a couple times.

The Proctors had doubts they would even make it in the door. But they were selected to be part of the audience of 350. Once inside, Steve was the third person to be called on to be the next contestant on the longest-running game show in North American television history.

Steve entered the bidding portion of the competition with a plan. "Most people underbid enormously, so I tried to one-up them," he revealed.

After being outsmarted three times, Steve placed the highest bid without going over on an oak desk, qualifying to go on stage and meet Carey face to face.

"He was an incredibly nice guy -- humble and down-to-earth," Steve said afterward, adding that the host made small talk with the audience during commercial breaks.

On the pricing game called "pass the buck," Steve had a chance to win a Mini Cooper. He was shown price tags on pairs of commodities and he had to guess which one was listed a dollar less than its retail value. He was correct the first time, but he was mistaken when he chose a bottle of Nesquik over an underpriced 63-cent can of soup.

"I do our grocery shopping," Nancy said.

Nevertheless, Steve gained two chances to flip a card and see if he won the vehicle. The first of six possible cards he selected was a loser and the next turned out to be a $3,000 cash winner, but not the car.

The big wheel

During the next stage of the game show, Steve was the last of three contestants to get a chance to spin the big wheel. Bob from California, in line in front of Steve, landed on $1, which is the object of the contest, and also earns a contestant $1,000 in cash.

Steve, who seemed calm and collected compared to his opponent, had little likelihood of winning unless he matched the dollar. He managed to pull it off, snatching up a grand himself. He performed his moonwalk routine in a moment of excitement, perhaps because he previously envisioned his 15 minutes of fame coming to an end.

The two contestants each earned a bonus spin to see who would get the highest number. Bob went first spinning lightly, landing on 15 cents, which happens to be a one of two special green numbers, signifying he takes home another $10,000.

Steve gave the wheel a moderate spin, tying Bob again, bringing his own cash prize total to $14,000. "If that's ever happened before, I couldn't tell you," Carey said.

The men slapped hands before they faced off a final time. Steve beat out his new friend Bob.

In the final portion of the show, Steve got to pick which showcase he wanted to bid on. The first set contained a piano, a refrigerator and a pool table. Holding out for something more, Steve passed to his opponent, who was about $9,000 off with her bid.

Steve had to guess the cost of a 2009 Ford Ranger, a miniature trailer and tailgating equipment. Carey joked that if Steve would lose he had done pretty well for himself anyway, considering he "didn't know the price of soup."

Even so, Steve's estimate was less than $5,000 less than the retail value of the grand prize presentation, making him the big winner of the day.

No longer able to control her emotions, Steve's wife ran on stage and jumped into his arms as the credits rolled.

The couple is waiting for the prizes to be delivered.