A woman says she won a car on The Price Is Right — but never actually got to drive it home.
Cera Shell (@mrs.c.shell) says what started as a California trip with her husband ended with her becoming a contestant on the game show and winning a car she ultimately couldn’t bring back to Georgia.
Shell says the couple initially booked tickets to a taping but accidentally selected general admission rather than preferred admission. She says she later learned general admission guests are essentially there to fill seats if preferred ticket holders don’t show.
After waiting outside for hours, Shell says she was told the show was full. Staff gave her a “turnaway ticket,” allowing her to return to another taping as a preferred guest.
She found another show a few days later and returned alone because her husband had to work.
Come On Down…
Shell says she was assigned number 71, completed paperwork, and went through an interview process before the taping. She describes producers trying to get potential contestants “hyped up” and having them pretend they had “been called down.” Shell says her “high energy” — helped along by another enthusiastic contestant — carried through the process.
Once inside, she says contestants weren’t allowed to “peek behind the curtains” at potential prizes and had no idea who would be selected. They were simply told to clap and wait.
Then Shell’s name was the first one called.
She says she correctly bid on a home gym, which made her a contestant onstage, and she eventually won a car.
But there was one more catch. Because Shell lived in Georgia, she says the car wasn’t shipped to her. Instead, she received a check for the vehicle’s value, minus California taxes.
So while Shell technically won a car on The Price Is Right, she says she left California with the cash value instead of the keys. As of this writing, her initial clip sharing the first part of her story had more than 726,100 views.
What Happens Next?
Other contestants have shared previously that winning a car on The Price Is Right comes with another prize: a tax bill. For those who live in California or can easily take the car home, that includes paying California’s sales tax, declaring their winnings as income, and paying both federal and state income taxes. Winners also can’t disclose the results of their show until it airs.
The IRS says it treats prizes won via a lucky number draw or television game show as taxable income. If the prize is a car or another non-cash item, the winner generally must report its fair market value (or FMV) as income.
Shell’s Georgia residency also helps explain why California taxes came into play. California requires withholding on certain payments of California-source income to nonresidents, including certain winnings from contests held in the state. Though it’s not immediately clear from the California Franchise Tax Board’s website whether game-show wins fit neatly into this category, it says the standard nonresident withholding rate is 7% once applicable payments exceed $1,500.
That withholding is essentially a prepayment of California income tax, the board says, adding that nonresident recipients can claim the amount withheld when they later file their California return.
Game Show Winnings Explained
The Price Is Right also makes clear in its published contest rules that winners are responsible for federal, state, and local taxes on prizes. What’s less clear from the show’s Caption Contest Rules is why Shell received a check. It could be because she lived in Georgia and they wouldn’t ship her the car she won.
CBS describes the show simply as one where contestants compete for “cash and prizes.”
the show does not appear to publish detailed online fulfillment rules explaining when an out-of-state car winner receives cash instead.
One person asked the question Shell’s story naturally raises: “Did you know that you would be picked for the show?”
A second gushed, “Oh, man! That’s my favorite game show.”
Subplot News has reached out to Shell via TikTok direct message for additional comment.
