Allyzza Kay Trinidad

Maui Taylor’s “Deal Or No Deal” luck got a major upgrade after more than a decade

Article (news)

Liezel Dela Cruz

<p>What a difference a decade can make!&nbsp;</p><p>More than 10 years after Maui Taylor first tried her luck on &ldquo;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u><em>Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal</em></u></strong></a>,&rdquo; she returned to face the Banker once again last weekend, and boy was the &#39;hot babe&#39; even luckier the second time around.&nbsp;</p><p>Let&rsquo;s rewind to Maui&rsquo;s first game and see how her luck played out then versus now.&nbsp;</p><p>Back in 2015, when she joined the Lucky Stars lineup for Season 5, Maui kicked off her game with a little trip down memory lane as she and host Luis Manzano had fun reminiscing about their cute history together. Did you know that they actually consider each other their first-ever boyfriend and girlfriend? According to the two, they became a &ldquo;couple&rdquo; in first grade, and their playful childhood romance even lasted for a year.&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><iframe width="916" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2eAQqHClEM4" title="Kapamilya Deal or No Deal Replay | Full Episode 144" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div>&nbsp;</div><p>But after that adorable throwback, Maui got serious about her face-off with the Banker. Maui was born on June 28, and since two plus eight equals 10, she took it as a sign to swap her original briefcase assignment, 16, for Briefcase 10.&nbsp;</p><p>Unfortunately, the good omen didn&#39;t kick in right away, as she knocked out one six-digit amount after another, with ₱400,000, ₱300,000, and ₱100,000 all disappearing from the money board just on the first round.&nbsp;</p><p>&ldquo;Ayaw ko na!&rdquo; Maui exclaimed during the second round. Just when she seemed ready to give up on her luck, she got the break she needed after opening the briefcase that contained the dreaded ₱1.&nbsp;</p><p>But getting rid of the piso wasn&#39;t enough to completely to get her game back in full bloom. Not like the title of her group&#39;s famous song &ldquo;Bulaklak,&rdquo; things didn&#39;t get fragrant for Maui in the next round as she ended up eliminating the ₱1-million jackpot&mdash;which was inside Briefcase 16, the very first briefcase she had given up! &ldquo;Aray!&rdquo; she expressed, regretting her earlier decision to make the switch.&nbsp;</p><p>The Banker&#39;s offer eventually climbed to a more promising ₱43,000, but Maui wasn&#39;t ready to settle just yet, especially with ₱500,000 and ₱200,000 still very much alive on the money board. Unfortunately, both amounts were eliminated right after she turned down the offer, leaving a frustrated Maui with only one thing to say, &ldquo;Ano ba &#39;yun?!&rdquo;&nbsp;</p><p>In the final moments of the game, Maui was in a crucial position, with ₱500,000 sitting alongside the much smaller ₱50 and ₱200 on the money board, along with the Banker&#39;s tempting ₱141,000 offer. Weighing her options, the actress stopped pushing her luck and pressed the red button. And what a good deal it turned out to be, because had she decided to keep playing and hold on to Briefcase 10 until the end, she would have gone home with just ₱50 instead.&nbsp;</p><p>And just last weekend, Maui, who is part of the current roster of Lucky Stars, got her chance for one major &quot;bawi.&quot; Just like in her first game, she decided to swap her assigned briefcase, trading Briefcase 2 for Briefcase 11 after spotting a string of 1s in her car that morning, which she believed were lucky signs.&nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><iframe width="916" height="543" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JqAPL9rcPEk" title="Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal Episode 38: Maui Taylor | August 30, 2026 | Full Episode" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div>&nbsp;</div><p>Not wanting to overthink whether she had made the right call, she immediately asked to open Briefcase 2, only to find out that she had just given up ₱500,000. The ₱150,000 was eliminated soon after, but her luck eventually started to heat up as she recovered by opening briefcases containing much smaller amounts.&nbsp;</p><p>From there, Maui kept two things on her agenda&mdash;keep the ₱1 million safely on the money board and hunt down that pesky ₱1. Her game indeed took a promising turn when she finally eliminated the piso while the jackpot remained untouched, prompting the Banker to offer her ₱141,000&mdash;the exact same amount she had taken home from her 2015 game. But she wasn&#39;t ready to say &ldquo;Deal&rdquo; just yet and turned down the offer.&nbsp;</p><p>Her gamble paid off as the game only got better from there, leaving her with ₱100,000, ₱125,000, and the coveted ₱1 million on the money board, meaning she was in a win-win situation no matter what she opened next.&nbsp;</p><p>By the final round, it all came down to ₱100,000 versus ₱1 million, and the Banker tried to lure her away from the jackpot with a whopping ₱555,000 offer. Just like she did in Season 5, Maui decided to say &quot;Deal&quot;&mdash;and once again, she made the right choice, as opening her briefcase revealed that she would have taken home only ₱100,000 had she continued playing.&nbsp;</p><p>Maui&#39;s &quot;Deal or No Deal&quot; redemption arc is officially complete!&nbsp;</p><p>Catch the thrill on &quot;<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u><em>Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal</em></u></strong></a>,&quot; airing Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 PM on ABS-CBN sa ALLTV2, Kapamilya Channel, TV5, A2Z, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), or stream anytime on <a href="https://app.iwanttfc.com/dFR6MWHAcVb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>iWant</u></strong></a>. &nbsp;</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div><strong>More on this story:&nbsp;</strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/8/30/in-photos-maui-taylor-makes-a-winning-decision-in-nail-biting-deal-or-no-deal-game-2127" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>IN PHOTOS: Maui Taylor makes a winning decision in nail-biting &ldquo;Deal or No Deal&rdquo; game</u></strong></a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/7/17/how-did-pokwang-fare-the-third-time-she-played-kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal-0929" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>How did Pokwang fare the third time she played &#39;Kapamilya Deal or No Deal&#39;?</u></strong></a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/6/17/long-mejia-s-two-time-stint-as-a-kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal-player-0125" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Long Mejia&rsquo;s two-time stint as a &ldquo;Kapamilya Deal or No Deal&rdquo; player</u></strong></a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/5/20/negi-plays-kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal-for-the-second-time-more-confident-going-up-against-banker-0108" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Negi plays &quot;Kapamilya Deal or No Deal&quot; for the second time&mdash;more confident going up against Banker</u></strong></a></div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/studios/tv/2026/4/27/jessy-mendiola-returns-to-kapamilya-deal-or-no-deal-now-as-luis-wife-playing-alongside-vilma-santos-0029" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>Then vs Now: Jessy Mendiola returns to &quot;Kapamilya Deal or No Deal&quot;&mdash;now as Luis Manzano&#39;s wife, playing alongside Vilma Santos</u></strong></a></div>

<p>Maui Taylor faced “Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal’s” Banker more than a decade apart, but how did her luck change the second time around?</p>

Maui Taylor faced “Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal’s” Banker more than a decade apart, but how did her luck change the second time around?