Big winner

Some people have an inkling they’re considered unique on occasion. Others, like Vicki Montzingo, have hard data.

“The producer told me that out of 4,000 people, he only knows of two people who were chosen (for the game show at the Everett Mall audition),” said Montzingo, who recently appeared on “Deal or No Deal.” “Wow is the right word.”

Standing 4 feet tall, the Richmond Beach resident was the first little person selected to appear on the NBC game show, where contestants hope to walk away with $1 million. A little shy of the high mark, Montzingo happily accepted a $48,000 deal.

Her appearance aired on two occasions: the first half on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and the final portion on Monday, Feb. 5. Montzingo and her family and friends gathered at a Shoreline church to watch the final showing on a big-screen TV.

“It was the most incredible experience of my life,” said Montzingo, who’s in her late 40s, “and that alone is worth a million dollars.”

As the first little person to appear on the show, producers were initially concerned with how she would reach a red button, located on top of a podium, that contestants push when they decide to accept a deal.

The problem was solved when it was decided that a Plexiglas platform, with four steps, would be built for Montzingo. This also enabled her to be eye-to-eye with Howie Mandel, the host of the game show.

“I said to the producer, ‘If you want me to come down and play this game, don’t even worry. I will find a way to hit the button,’” Montzingo said, “and then they decided to build a platform.”

Montzingo’s appearance on the show came about after a process that began in September 2006, when she and her youngest son, Pete, learned that open auditions for the game show were being held at the Everett Mall.

A junior at Shorewood High School, Pete encouraged his mother to audition. And because she can’t stand for very long periods of time, he offered to wait in line.

Pete stood in line for more than four hours with 4,000 other people while his mother followed him in her car until it was her turn to audition.

When the time came to audition, Montzingo learned that she would be given 30 seconds to “sell herself.” After some encouragement from her son, who is involved in school plays, Montzingo realized she’d have to think of something clever in order to stand out.

“What’s the only different thing about me than anybody else?” said Montzingo. “Ta-dah… my size.”

With her son by her side, Montzingo entertained the producers. She looked up at her 6-foot-tall son and said “I don’t know how it happened,” which got the producers laughing. After engaging them with other “silly short stories,” Montzingo was asked to attend a second audition at a hotel in Bellevue, along with 100 other people.

After the second audition, Montzingo and the others were told not to wait by the phone — it could take up to two years before they were notified. But Montzingo got a call from producers after only five weeks.

“When I hung up, I screamed,” said Montzingo, who traveled to Los Angeles in mid-November to film the game show.

Montzingo’s two sons, her mother, a friend from Richmond Beach, a childhood friend from California and her brother from Idaho all joined her for the filming of the game show. Until the airing of the show, none of them were allowed to reveal the outcome.

Montzingo’s oldest son, Andrew, who’s also a little person, barely made it home in time to watch the first airing of the show. He’s the assistant coach of the freshman basketball team at Shorewood High School.

“All the players were like, ‘You’re going to miss it,’” said Andrew. “‘I told them ‘I lived it.’”

Montzingo, who has been a member of Little People of America since the age of 6, said she’s not completely sure she was chosen because she is a little person, although she has her suspicions.

“They really liked her effervescence; they told us she was so positive and upbeat,” said Carole Taylor, Montzingo’s mother.

Some of the opportunities she’s had in life are a “bonus to being little,” said Montzingo. While this was her first game show appearance, Montzingo is a part-time actor, and has appeared in some commercials, radio ads and movies.

“You get what you got in life and you either live with it and be positive or be down in the dumps and I don’t believe in down in the dumps,” Montzingo said. “I’m really happy I’m a little person, maybe not about some of the aches and paints, but it has been a blessing.”

Oftentimes, Montzingo said people, especially young children, will be surprised at her short stature and will ask questions, like how she drives a car. When faced with potentially awkward situations, she’s learned to try and educate people.

“I may look different and walk different, but inside it’s all the same,” she said. “I don’t want them to be afraid and wonder.”

But regardless of why she was chosen for the show, Montzingo will keep watching it with her sons. They’ve been avid watchers since the show first aired.

“I love doing things with my boys and whenever they want to do something with the old mom, I’m right there,” she said. “It’s become a very fun family thing for us.”