Funny / Press Your Luck

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In General...

• The Facebook game has one: If none of the players on a "Whammy Round" question get it wrong (either by answering correctly or using a wildcard to pass on it), the Whammy walks out sad, hands in his pockets. He then pulls the pockets out to reveal they're empty, and then kneels on the ground and has a round of silent Inelegant Blubbering. His tears almost fill the space... only for a hand to come from above and pull out a stopper plug on the floor, draining the tears (and the Whammy) off the screen.
• On the series, whenever a contestant landed on an Undesirable Prize (say, a Flokati Rug), Peter would ask "Stop at a [undesirable prize]! What is an [undesirable prize]?!"
• From 1983 through early 1984, any time Peter hits a Whammy for his opening spin.

Peter Tomarken (1983-1986)

• Anytime Peter dances along with the Michael Jackson Whammy.
• One contestant called the Whammy a "creep" before hitting one on a spin.
  Peter Tomarken: Don't call the Whammies "creeps" because I don't think they like it.
• The two times in the Tomarken era when the games ended with a triple-zero tie and the contestants returned for the next game had some bizarre coincidences and funny moments.
  • November 26, 1984: Chris, Dom and Diane ended their 1st game together with 1, 2 and 3 Whammies respectively.
    Peter Tomarken: We have three losers and three winners!
  • February 5, 1986: Dorothy hit a Whammy on her final spin, which ended the game with all three constants with two Whammies and $0 each. This lead to one of the most bizarre and hilarious ending moments, which includes Wayne and Joe doing a bro high-five, Peter's Heroic BSoD and all 3 score displays flashing $0, as if the show was saying all 3 contestants won the game. To add to the bizarreness, the show even played the victory fanfare, which didn't happen the previous time a triple-zero tie happened.
    Peter Tomarken: All three players come back next time. And, Joe, it's all YOUR FAULT!
• Date Unknown: Peter talks with a woman who used to be a mortician but was pressured to quit by her husband. She says it was because she put a dead person's ear in his food after they had an argument.
• April 3, 1984: Karen Martin asking for, and getting, a "pool table for Dan" [her husband]. She hit a Whammy later that round.
• May 19, 1984: Michael Larson buzzes in too early on a question and pays the price for it:
  Peter Tomarken: You've probably got President Franklin D. Roosevelt in your pocket or purse right now, because his likeness is on the head side—(Michael buzzes in) Michael?
  Michael: $50 bill.
  Peter: —of what American coin? (Michael winces and looks down in disbelief)^note Answer: Dime. Larson's first guess is also wrong, though— Ulysses S. Grant is on the $50 bill, both now and in 1984.
  • The commentary that Peter offers over a freeze-frame at the end of the first half of Michael Larson's game:
    Peter Tomarken: Will Michael hit a Whammy? Will the Whammy hit Michael? Will Michael pass his spins? Or will he end up owning the network?
  • Followed by his astonished comment when the game finally ended (and his amazing voice crack as Peter announces the final score of Michael’s run) and the show cut to its last commercial break:
    Peter Tomarken: We'll be back. We'll be back sometime.
  • When the game finally ended and Michael ended up with over $110,000 in winnings combined in cash and prizes.
    Peter Tomarken: How does it feel to be the part owner of CBS?!
• June 26, 1984: The last question of round 1 "In a recent study of college aged students, when asked which human quality is the most important, what ranked first?" After no one buzzes in, Peter responds with "Evidently, it wasn't quickness."
• June 29, 1984: Near the end of the game, Bill hits a whammy. The jackhammer whammy sound plays but it's not seen. The camera cuts to Peter and when he sees this, he gets startled and says "Am I the whammy?"
• August 10, 1984: The "Spin Battle" between Cathy and Lori. The two just could not stop landing on "$X + One Spin" spaces and passing the extra spins back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, with Cathy growing more and more incredulous the longer the spin-passing stretched on...until she hit a Whammy on the ninth consecutive passed spin, and lost $31,408 and composure.
• October 22, 1984: Mabel won by default because the two other contestants hit four Whammies. Unfortunately, her score was $0, which caused Peter to stumble around a bit in total disbelief. When the show returned from break and he had composed himself:
  Peter Tomarken: Press Your Luck winner Mabel, now is the time when Rod Roddy tells you everything you've won! Rod?
  Rod Roddy: Yes, Peter?
  Peter: What'd she win?
  Rod: Bupkis!
• January 8, 1985: Peter demonstrates a use for the Flokati rug.
• February 27 and 28, 1985: Scott Haven would say "No little red men!" when it was his turn to spin, unaware that he was repeating an ethnic slur against Native Americans. It got to the point where the audience chanted "Whammy" during his second game and applauded when he finally hit one! (Scott's first appearance ended with him netting zero Whammies and nearly $16,000 in winnings.)
• March 12, 1986: Peter imitates the windsurfer from the Bahamas prize film.
• The April Fools episode in 1984 (unaired) where three deadpan contestants nearly drove Peter into a conniption. Three questions, one spin. Watch the hilarity here.
  Rod Roddy: APRIL FOOLS!
  [the Whammy foghorn plays for Peter as everyone has a good laugh]
• June 14, 1985: The question put forth was along the lines of "Which Looney Tunes character says sufferin' succotash?" All three contestants said Sylvester the Cat, which was the right answer. However, Peter said they all got it wrong and that it was actually Daffy Duck who said that. After the second commercial break, Mel Blanc himself called the show (in-character as Sylvester, also doing his Speedy Gonzalez and Porky Pig voices) to call them out on their blatant mistake, pointing out that yes, Daffy has said "sufferin' succotash" in the past, but he actually stole that line from him to boost his popularity. Peter then promised to go through the Warner Bros. office in the future to fact-check any Looney Tunes-related questions.
• December 2, 1985: Deanne's answer to this question. She is brought back three months later, and Peter jokingly mentions that her answer is the reason why.
  Peter Tomarken: According to the book Marriage and Family, what article of clothing does the bride traditionally wear to protect her from evil spirits?^note Answer: Veil.
  Deanne: (suppressed laughter) A chastity belt?
• The Whammy that lampshaded contestants' cries of "Big Bucks!" by bringing out a large deer.^note Even funnier - it has a red nose, it's apparently Rudolph. It's even more amusing when you realize that the Whammies were generally voiced by franchise creator Bill Carruthers.
  Whammy: All I hear is "Big Bucks! Big Bucks!" — I've got your big buck! (deer walks on-screen) Heh, heh.

Elizabeth Banks (2019-present)

• One Whammy animation from the second season of the revival has a chorus of Whammies singing "You suck!" to the tune of The Beautiful Blue Danube.
• They also now have animations when the contestant hits a whammy without any cash. In one the whammy comes out only to do a Wild Take when he realizes the contestant doesn't have any money. He then stands there and goes "Well, this is awkward."
• A particularly ridiculous one features Tammy Whammette giving birth to a wad of cash while being encouraged by Whammy, and as soon as he catches it, Tammy says "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and it's all mine!". The two then laugh together. Even Elizabeth Banks was left stunned by that one.
  Banks: I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea how that Whammy got approved by Standards and Practices.
• "$[X] or Lose-1-Whammy" if a contestant chooses the latter option. The Whammy on the contestant's podium goes back down while the Whammy screams "NO!"
• The revival had an episode where one contestant, Patrick^note who had earlier gotten the "this is awkward" Whammy due to having no money to steal, wore a Hawaiian shirt. When he got a Whammy, the animation depicted Whammy doing a hula dance, prompting Patrick to yell, "He's mocking my shirt, Elizabeth! That's not nice!" Elizabeth Banks coolly reaffirms that the Whammy did indeed mock his shirt.
• One Whammy did a parody of The Princess Bride as "Whamigo Montoya" on a contestant named André, which is probably not a coincidence.
  Whammy: Hello! My name is Whamigo Montoya. I stole your money. Prepare to cry. (proceeds to cut up André's stash of cash)
  Banks: André, I know you didn't kill the Whammy's father, but...
• July 14, 2022: A Whammy is hit two spins into the game, which triggers an animation that has a Whammette inform Whammy at his dressing room that he's on, but he's not ready yet. He calls out Elizabeth Banks for this, states that he can't work in these conditions, and storms off. The kicker is, none of the contestants land on a Whammy for the rest of the game.
  Banks: Why he drags me into anything, I don't know.
  • Note that, right before the Whammy has his diva meltdown, you can see Tammy nervously stepping off to the side as Whammy goes ballistic.
• For the first holiday special on December 6, 2022, no less than five holiday Whammy animations got played:
  • One features Whammy as Santa Claus taking off with a money bag as he wishes "Happy Holidays, dorks!". Elizabeth Banks was offended that he didn't need to insult everyone.
  • Another has Whammy as Ebeneezer Scrooge stating that he's had a change of heart and took all the money for Tiny Tim Whammy, whom he leaves with to buy him a pony.
  Banks: Oh, this isn't fair to Charles Dickens.
  • Yet another is a chorus of Whammy carolers who sing about the contestant losing all their money before being run over by a snow plow. This is made all the more ironic by the fact that the contestant in question, Yvette, had won private carolers as a prize, minutes before.
  • Another one involves Whammy nervously working up the courage to light up a Christmas tree (with some encouragement from Banks), which he does to his joy... until a chipmunk comes out of the tree and attacks him, then he runs into the tree by accident.
  • The last one involves Whammy reading a version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" insulting the player losing their money and then laughing at them, complete with a "The End" graphic.
• One of the Whammy animations for landing on a square without any money has the whammy yell "goose eggs!" before being Swallowed Whole by a goose, and yelling "I'm being digested!".
• Another Whammy animation for a contestant who has no money has a Whammy dressed as Wonder Woman who flies towards the contestant's scoreboard and says, "I wonder where your money is, 'cause you don't have any!"
• The next holiday special in 2023 featured a few more holiday Whammies:
  • One features four child Whammies having a snowball fight before one of them says that they shouldn't fight amongst themselves, but against the player. They then throw snowballs at the screen before one of the Whammies literally threatens Banks.
• One Whammy animation has Tammy as a therapist asking the Whammy how the contestant not having any money makes them feel. The Whammy bursts into tears and starts bawling while saying "It's just that, they don't have any money!"

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