Wichita man is the big winner on Tuesday’s episode of a popular NBC game show
He knew that Bugles make better finger nail tips than Pringles, and now Wichita’s Clayton Dir is $100,000 richer.
Clayton, a local physical therapist, competed as a contestant on Tuesday night’s episode of Ellen DeGeneres’ NBC game show “Ellen’s Game of Games” and won the show’s top prize of $100,000.
His wife, Valley Center Middle School math teacher Renae Dir, also appeared on the show, assisting her husband in the first of three individual games he won on his way to the big money.
Tuesday’s episode, hosted by DeGeneres, started with two couples competing in a game called “Stink Tank.” Renae, strapped to a chair over a vat of slime, had to estimate how many correct answers her husband could get to one of DeGeneres’ questions to avoid being dunked. Though Renae was repeatedly slimed, the couple won that round, assuring Clayton a spot in the final round.
At the end of the show, Clayton went head-to-head with three other people who had won games over the course of the hour in a game called “Know or Go.” DeGeneres asked the players a series of questions, and if they were wrong, they disappeared dramatically through a chute under their feet. Dir was the last man standing.
That earned him the right to play the final game by himself. It was called “Hotter Hands,” and Dir had to answer a series of seven questions in 60 seconds. Each one he got correct elevated him to another level of prize money.
Dir effortlessly sailed through all seven questions, knowing for example that Disneyland was known as the “The Happiest Place on Earth,” that hippology was the study of horses not hippos, and that Classic Blue was the Pantone Color of the Year for 2020.
The final question asked Clayton to decide whether Bugles vs. Pringles were the snack most qualified to substitute as fingernails.
When Ellen announced him the winner, Dir screamed, shouted and jumped around.
“That’s a lot of money,” he said.
Earlier in the show, he told DeGeneres that if he won, he and his wife would use the money toward a new house and donate some of it to an animal shelter.
In an interview last week, the Dirs, who have been married for three years, said they are known among their friends for hosting an annual backyard competition they call “Couples Olympics.” The pair competes against their married friends in three-legged races, corn hole, wheelbarrow races and other yard games, and the Dirs are four-time reigning champions.
It made them think they might be good at “Ellen’s Game of Games,” a show they love to watch together. The show flew them to Los Angeles to tape the show in August.
Clayton, 26, is a Wichita State University graduate who works at Wichita’s Natural Wellness Physiotherapy.
Watch a replay of the show on nbc.com.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 9:50 AM.
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