That said, the Showcase Showdown also penalizes the contestants who had similar bad luck, but then again, if you don't win the SCSD, at least you could still have won a very nice prize/cash (or even $6K/$11K in a spinoff/bonus spin combo). But at least the Big Wheel isn't 100% luck since you can easily adjust the force on your second spin after getting a good idea on your first spin.
It's unfortunate though in the half-hour era that the contestant who wins the car is a lock for the Showcase, and since the quickie game is almost always played third, the fate of the contestant rests upon the prize package, and if its Double Prices or The Range Game, it usually means a cheap (often less than $1,000 at the time) prize. Just be glad that you even got called down last, win the One Bid, and then win that refrigerator or dinette set.
The same could be said for Wheel of Fortune during the W-H-E-E-L bonus envelope era, where sometimes, you're left with the $17,000 ring, $15,000 trip, or $18,000 boat if your first appearance is on Wednesday, meaning that your championship would be over by the time the $25,000 would return on Monday if it was already won earlier in the week. This is why they made $25,000 available on every show when the show returned to one-and-done in 1998. That said, sometimes the best prize was the (nicest) car or sometimes even an annuity or precious metals package. I'd take a Corvette or a Mercedes over $25,000 if it was offered in that era (most of the 1990s).
LMAD is probably the most blatant example, since the Big Deal of the Day involves the top trader (traders pre-Brady era) being selected first to have a shot at the Big Deal. If you were selected to play for a deal where the maximum you could have won is around $1000, enjoy your cash, but hope everyone else gets Zonked, save for perhaps the car deals.
