If you’re going to go out first, you might do it in iconic fashion!Luke Olejniczakplayed a risky game from start to finish, buthe’ll be remembered forever as One Dollar Lukein honor of the worst case inDeal or No Deal Island(DONDI) history. Between playing based on football inspirations and declining every offer from the new banker, Luke’s time on Season 2 ofthe reality competition seriesis not filled with regret.
The private chef from Wisconsinmay have been roastedbySurvivorlegend andDONDISeason 1 iconBoston Rob Mariano, buthe’s standing firm in his decisions.While many fans were shocked by his ultimately wrong moves, including stealing the $450,000 case instead of the high ticket cases, Luke shares the reason behind the madness. Plus, he shares just how close he andAustralian Survivor’s Golden God,David Genat, truly were. “We had a Wisconsin handshake. A good old boy’s handshake. If I won, he was not going to go home. And I feel that if he would have played, he would have done the same for me,” Luke revealed.
Back for another iconic season,Deal or No Deal Islandtakes the classic NBC gameshow and spins it on its headas players are tasked to endure physical challenges as they retrieve briefcases to build up the final jackpot. The last remaining contestant gets to play the final high-stakes game against the banker in hopes of walking away with a life-changing cash prize. Hosted byJoe Mangianellolast season, the banker was portrayed byHowie Mandel. This season, he’s passed the baton over to a new banker. A woman. If I were making a deal right now, I’d bet it’sSofía Vergara, but we’ll have to wait on that reveal until the finale. For now, it’s time to chat to the first out of Season 2.
Luke Discusses His Risky Banker’s Pyramid Scheme Decisions
COLLIDER: He took a big risk every step of the way. It’s officially $1 Luke! How are you?
LUKE OLEJNICZAK:Doing good, brother. Doing good. Yourself?
I’m doing great. Let’s start simple. If you could describe your experience on Deal or No Deal island in three words, what would they be?
LUKE: Very, very intense. I didn’t really have time to settle in, brother, I got the whole enchilada pretty quickly.
What was it like being on the Bankers' private island and having those stunning accommodations?
LUKE: Oh, goodness. Buddy, I’m used to Wisconsin deer camps, where you’re sleeping on the cot, and you have mice in the camp. And it’s cold, you have a draft. So to have memory foam mattresses, pressed robes, air conditioned yurts, catered food. Yeah, it was, it was an upgrade. I honestly found that to almost work against me. I was hoping it would be more of a camping-style kind of thing, but having such nice accommodations really equaled the playing field for everybody.
From the start. Joe told you all the homework that you may have done was just out the window. How much preparation and homework did you do prior to stepping onto the island?
LUKE: None. I was too busy with my private dinner parties. In order to make this work, I had to clear out my schedules, so I had to load up pretty heavy prior to leaving. I didn’t do much at all. I did a lot of running. I was running anywhere from 30, a couple of those weeks. I did 70 miles a week. But other than that, nothing.
Let’s discuss the Bankers Pyramid Scheme. It was all about risk versus reward. Why go with the high-risk case off the bat?
LUKE: Well, you know, I went in wanting to have control of my game, and that is where I felt I was going to have control. Otherwise, you’re at the risk of everyone else, especially if you went with the lower end cases, or what have you. All I knew is this, the one thing guaranteed was you’re going to have some kind of control over your game with the risky cases.
The Golden God David wanted you all to wait and watch to see who took which case. Were you just so eager and excited to get on the zip line and start your own adventure?
LUKE: I didn’t hear him. I didn’t hear him. He is a very masculine man in many ways, but his talking voice is not very loud. It’s just not. You can’t hear him.
Did you anticipate the first excursion to be so cutthroat?
LUKE: Ah, yeah, I kind of did. You could see right away, as soon as that boat hit the dock, that banker wasn’t going to waste any time.
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Let’s talk about what was going through your head when you got the steal case, and you opted not to steal one of the unrevealed high cases. Why go for the $450,000 one?
LUKE:So one thing that was not seen on camera, and it’s at no fault of the camera crew, because there is a lot going on, but the three of us had a predetermined plan that we were going to get a bird in hand. We were going to take the highest value case of the low case groupings, grab that, and there would be enough juice in the other group to make it happen. Well, when we went to go ahead, and it’s time to steal cases, I asked the group, ‘Hey, yes?’ and they just both clammed up. They didn’t say anything. And I’m not the best at math, I thought, screw it. I’m just going to go with our predetermined plan. That obviously was not the correct decision. But why even have a plan if you’re not going to follow it? Let’s not even have a plan.
Luke Stands By Playing the Banker’s Game
You really wanted to play the Bankers game. Was there ever a doubt in your mind about playing?
LUKE: Oh, absolutely not. Absolutely not. It was almost like a reaction to what happened with the cases, right? You were told you were in the bottom. It was just okay. We’re at risk. Now it’s time to play the Banker. It was that easy. It was never hemming and hawing.
Did you fear that David or Seychelle would have targeted you had they played and won?
LUKE:You know I don’t know. That’s a great question. I haven’t really put much thought into that because I just knew that I was going to play the Banker. Period. And that wasn’t going to be a concern for me. One thing David and I had that was, again, not seen on camera, and it said no fault to the camera crew, we had a Wisconsin handshake. A good old boy’s handshake. If I won, he was not going to go home. And I feel that if he would have played, he would have done the same for me.
You played numbers with a lot of football inspiration. I want to hear your predictions. Who’s winning the Super Bowl this year, and who’s winning the College Football Championship?
Okay, I’d love to see Green Bay win the Super Bowl, but I think it’s Detroit’s year. There’s a pretty special guy on that offensive line too that deserves a ring.Kevin Zeitler. That guy’s been an all star his whole life. That man needs a ring. In College Football Playoffs, I really want to see Texas. I really do, but I’m not sure they can do it. Ohio State look unstoppable.
My brother went to Michigan, so I’m very anti-Ohio State. And I mean, listen, Michigan beat them this year. So who knows? You never know. $1. Do you stand by going all the way and not taking any of the Banker’s deals?
LUKE: You know, I’m going to be honest with you, yes. And most people that are going to listen to this are going to say, ‘He’s nuts. He’s absolutely nuts.’ But here’s the thing: it weighed heavily on me that I put our team at risk. I did that. That was my decision that put us in hot water. So, there was a part of me, I knew what my case was going to be before I even went to the temple. Months ahead of time; case number seven. I figured it was destiny. If I was supposed to stay on the show, case number seven was going to pull me through. And if it didn’t, guess what, the right guy went home. And that’s exactly what happened. There was also a guarantee here. You’re going to be remembered for something. And why not kick off the show right the first episode, right?
Had you beaten the banker, who would you have eliminated?
LUKE:Of course, Seychelle. I mean, I gave David that handshake. And I want to clear this up, Seychelle is a firecracker. She’s from New York, period. But she is not that naturally toxic. Why she was so animated during the show, and even off with the interviews, again, I told her off camera that she was going to be the one sent home, so she had every reason to be upset. So I just wanted that to be out there. Maybe clean her up a little bit, because she isn’t that wild. She’s actually a very nice gal.
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So obviously, had you stayed, you would have been working with David. Anyone that you would have wanted to target?
LUKE:You know, there was a couple that were of concern to me, but yeah, I definitely would have worked with David. I really foundRockto be a guy that I could identify with. He seemed to be a guy of his word, being older as well. He’s he’s not in the bullshit. What he says is what it is. I find a lot of value in that.
Obviously, you will be remembered for the $1, but you’re also going to be remembered by being replaced byDr. Will. That’s not too shabby either!
LUKE:Yeah. I guess. I guess. Yeah.
Let’s end on a positive note. Finish the sentence. The best moment of myDeal or No Deal Islandjourney was blank.
LUKE:Running in the morning.
I love that.
LUKE:Everybody was asleep. In fact, there wasn’t a camera. There wasn’t a peep in the yurts. It was just me and just hearing the pitter-patter of my Nikes hitting the sand. Having the waves come and crash on the shore. It was a beautiful morning. What a great way to start out the day. It was God’s blessing’s for sure. I could find some stillness 1000s and 1000s of miles away from home, just like I would back home. That’s how I start my days out a lot of times is with a good morning run. So it was nice to have that. Especially the day I want to play the Banker.
Well, congratulations on being so iconic. You will definitely go down inDeal or No Dealhistory.
LUKE:Bless you, brother.
Deal or No Deal Island
A group of 13 contestants compete in dangerous games on a private island for a cash prize in an intense season-long reality competition overseen by an enigmatic Banker.
Deal or No Deal Islandairs Tuesdays at 9:00pm on NBC. All episodes are available to stream the next day on Peacock.
