When to watch:

Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Deal or No Deal on NBC

Richie Bell was relaxing in front of the television one evening when he saw his face on the screen.

"He screamed and we all came running," mother Vicki Smith said.

What Bell saw was a commercial advertising the current season of NBC's game show "Deal or No Deal." The Karns City 39-year-old was the winner of between "one penny and $1 million" on the show. His episode will air Wednesday at 9 p.m.

Bell was picked from 7,000 people who auditioned in May at the Mall at Robinson. Contestants on "Deal or No Deal" pick a lucky briefcase and then eliminate the remaining 25 sealed briefcases containing different amounts, while contemplating cash offers from a "banker."

Bell accompanied a couple co-workers to the audition.

"They encouraged me to go and actually I didn't want to go," he said. "They were eliminated after the first round and went shopping while I continued on through the audition."

Bell made it through three rounds of interviews and auditions at the mall, plus a final round among 45 potential contestants at a Pittsburgh hotel.

Auditioners had one minute to sell themselves, his sister Tricia Smith said.

"They wanted to hear about how crazy and nuts you are," she said.

Bell joked about his weight during an audition and "the whole mall erupted," he said.

After the final round, Bell was told it may take up to one year for producers to get back to him. His enthusiasm may have played a part in pushing his tape through the system.

The call came on July 15, only a few months after his audition.

"I'm screaming on the phone," Bell said.

A producer told him "your tape and audition were fast-tracked so you could get on this season," he said.

Then producers interviewed a list of friends and family members Bell provided to see who would be suitable for his "supporters" on the show, he said. Family members and/or friends give advice to the contestant during the show.

Tricia Smith, brother Thomas Bell and a longtime friend were selected as supporters. Vicki Smith and her grandson Lewis Smith watched from the audience.

Vicki Smith recalled asking the person sitting next to her to pinch her.

"It just seemed like a dream," she said. "I'm very excited to watch it."

But before Bell and his family and friends arrived in Los Angeles for the show's taping on July 30, a few challenges were thrown their way.

On the way to the Pittsburgh airport, they came upon a motorcycle accident and stopped to help. While they were there, another accident occurred that required assistance.

Tricia Smith and Thomas and Richie Bell are nurses at St. John's Nursing Home in Mars and Vicki Smith is a retired nurse. Richie Bell is the team leader of the sub-acute nursing unit.

Bell's administrator at the center had no qualms about the three employees taking a week off for the show's taping, he said.

Finally, Bell said they got to the airport only to learn they were a day early.

After a night in a hotel and a malfunctioning first plane, the family and friends were settled on a second plane headed to Los Angeles International Airport. Upon landing, Bell said they learned their plane was the first to touch down at the airport after an earthquake.

According to NBC.com, seven million-dollar cases will be in play for Bell's show on Wednesday. A commercial shows that Bell was made an offer of $603,000 at one point in the game.

The show took about 10 hours to tape and Tricia Smith said they were treated like stars the whole time.

"It was an absolute whirlwind," she said.

Even though he had the chance of winning a large sum, Bell said he wasn't nervous at all.

"The amount of people that's going to see me didn't even faze me," he said.

As for the amount he won, Bell and his family said, "You'll just have to watch the show."

Bell said he has been asked by several people in the small, tight-knit community, saying that if he told them the amount, they would keep it a "secret."

"When I tell them between a penny and a million dollars, they get mad at me," he said. "They will find out on Wednesday."

Staff writer Patrick Shuster contributed to this story.

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