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South Brunswick family wins quarter million dollars on game show

Grandfather, mother and son make run on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’

By Hank Kalet, Managing Editor
   One local family is a quarter of a million dollars richer after a two-cay appearance on the syndicated game show, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
   Connor and Tracy Leahy, of Kingston, and Jim Lawlor, of Princeton, Ms. Leahy’s father, appeared Thursday and Friday (today) on the show, winning $250,000 on a special “Family Week” edition of the show.
   The family opted not to answer the $500,000 question. According to a press release from the show, the family made it to $4,000 on Thursday before running out of time. They came back today and answering the $8,000 question.
   What follows is adapted from a press release from the show:
   The Lawler family did not use any of the four available lifelines — with all four lifelines — “Ask The Audience,” “Ask The Expert,” “Double Dip” and “Phone A Friend” – until getting to the $50,000 question, when they opted to use “Ask The Audience” when asked “Where would you likely find the warning ‘Contains phenylalanine’? A: Can of diet soda, B: Bag of kitty litter, C: Bottle of wine, D: Box of rat poison.”
   The studio audience voted as follows: A: 67 percent; B: 8 percent; C: 6 percent; D: 19 percent. The Lawlers decided to trust the advice of the audience and correctly guessed the answer to be “A.” Phenylalanine is found in aspartame, which sweetens most diet sodas.
   They used their next lifeline, “Ask The Expert,” on their $250,000 question, which was: “Which of these common foods was unknown in Europe prior to the discovery of the New World? A: Sugar, B: Wheat, C: Lemons, D: Potatoes.” The Lawlers connected with “Expert” Ken Jennings through a face-to-face Skype video call. Mr. Jennings said he was fairly confident that the answer was “D.” The Lawlers decided to trust his advice and correctly answered the question.
   The Lawlers then took a look at the $500,000 question with two lifelines left. Their $500,000 question was: “Which of these countries is not home to a Hard Rock Cafe? A: Kuwait, B: Bahrain, C: Lebanon, D: Syria.”
   The Lawlers used their “Phone A Friend” lifeline and called family friend Wayne Young, a psychologist from North Caldwell. Mr. Young suggested that the answer was “D,” but said that he was not certain.
   Unsure of the answer, unwilling to risk losing $225,000 if they guessed incorrectly, the Lawlers decided to not take a guess on the $500,000 question and walk away with the guaranteed $250,000 that they had already won. As it turns out, their “Phone A Friend” was right. The correct answer was “D.”