Over the years, we have seen seasoned actor Cris Villanueva take on a variety of roles in the series and movies that he got cast in, making him one of the most notable, versatile, and even omnipresent character actors in the local entertainment scene.
However, in his latest role as one of lucky stars in the current season of “Kapamilya Deal or No Deal,” audiences get to see his lighthearted facet that we probably don’t see often. And in the May 23 episode, fans also saw his courage on full display after the lucky wheel stopped at number 3, officially selecting him as the lucky star player for the night.
Before the game officially began, host Luis Manzano asked Cris if he considered himself a lucky person. “Naniniwala ako na masuwerte ako dahil feeling ko kahit noong bata pa ako, kapag meron akong mina-manifest, nakukuha ko eh,” he shared. Despite being given the option to swap briefcases with one of his fellow lucky stars, Cris opted to keep his own briefcase because he believed the phrase “1, 2, 3” naturally being followed by “go” was a sign for him to move forward with it.
Although he eliminated a couple of huge amounts during the first round, Cris managed to remove the dreaded one peso early in the game. A quite similar situation unfolded in the second round when he opened the briefcases containing P500,000 and P150,000.
With the P1 million jackpot still on the money board, Luis asked Cris what he would do with the prize should he win it. The Kapamilya actor revealed that he would likely invest it in building his dream farm.
Just as everyone hoped his streak of eliminating lower amounts would continue, Cris faced his biggest setback in the fourth round after unfortunately removing both the P1 million jackpot and the P125,000 from the board.
Still seemingly quite shaken by what just happened, Cris was reminded by Luis that he could seek help from his fellow lucky stars in selecting the next briefcases to open. He first turned to Jopay Paguia, whose choice of briefcase number 16 successfully eliminated P5,000.
As the sixth round began, the gregarious host couldn’t help but poke fun at the lucky star player’s technique in choosing which briefcases to open, noting that Cris apparently had a pattern, especially since the only ones left literally and figuratively standing were AC Bonifacio, Christine Samson, Long Mejia, and Negi.
Cris then sought guidance from Mommy Ganda, the one half of the content creator duo The Aguinaldos, who chose the briefcase of Long Mejia. This once again sparked the banter about their “romantic connection,” which even made Banker kilig and ship them. It was indeed a good call for Cris since briefcase number 17 only contained P200.
Banker, napansin ang CHEMISTRY nina Mommy Ganda at Long | Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal
Realizing that his fellow lucky stars had been making the right calls, Cris followed Long’s suggestion to open Negi’s briefcase number 6, which revealed P1,000. In the eighth round, Christine amazed everyone after correctly guessing that her briefcase contained P10 before opening it at Cris’ request.
With only P500 and P50,000 remaining on the board, Cris decided to take a risk and declared “NO DEAL” to Banker’s final offer of P23,333, choosing instead to fight for his briefcase until the very end. Thankfully, his gamble paid off, as his briefcase was revealed to contain P50,000—an amount far greater than any of Banker’s offers throughout the game.
Catch more fun and exciting moments on "Kapamilya Deal or No Deal," airing Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 PM on ALLTV2, Kapamilya Channel, A2Z, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) or stream anytime on iWant!