Former New York lottery announcer Yolanda Vega is winning some money of her own.
Vega and her family have won four games in a row on “Family Feud,” totaling more than $40,000. According to the Times Union, they’ll have a chance to win a car in a fifth and final appearance Wednesday night.
Vega is competing with her daughters, Gabriella Gordon and Rebecca Vega, her son-in-law Nick, and her niece Ana Ramos. Gabriella and Rebecca said they wanted to celebrate their mom’s retirement with a “beautiful gift” for Christmas 2021 by applying to be on the TV show, doing a mock “Family Feud” game and interview with producers. They were invited to appear on the show in April and filmed their episodes in June.
The Vega family won Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday night. Highlights posted on YouTube show them successfully nailing what lies men tell (”where they’ve been” was the No. 1 answer), Yolanda and Nick coming just shy of 200 points in the “Fast Money” round Tuesday, and host Steve Harvey yelling “Yolanda Vega!”
Vega retired as the face and voice of the New York State Lottery in January 2022, ending a 32-year announcing career that included presenting jackpot winners with oversized checks for Powerball, Mega Millions and other lotto prizes. She avoided interviews and made few appearances on the news, but was well known since the 1990s for her popular catchphrase: “I’m Yooooolaaaanda Vega.”
“I love my job. I love giving away millions of dollars and announcing the numbers on TV,” she told Wendy Williams in 2019. “I love it passionately.”
“Family Feud” has been hosted by Harvey since 2010. Contestants must guess popular answers to survey questions while “feuding” with another family; winners advance to the next episode to face another family.
On Wednesday’s episode, the Vega family will have a chance to win a car.
“Rebecca tried to call dibs on the car months in advance since she’s the only one who doesn’t have a car,” Yolanda Vega told the Times Union. “But we didn’t even entertain the thought because we never imagined we’d get close. But when we made it to game four, we actually had to take the conversation more seriously since we were so close.”
“Family Feud” airs weeknights at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Syracuse area on CBS 5 (WTVH); episodes can also be streamed with fuboTV, Paramount+, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream, or YouTube TV.
Families interested in auditioning for the show can apply at familyfeud.com/audition.
New York Lottery queen Yolanda Vega announces the winning numbers for the Mega Millions jackpot in New York, Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Shiho Fukada)
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