Deal or No Deal Island is down to just five contestants. The skillful blend of the original Deal or No Deal with Survivor has created a show unlike any other. The Banker invited 13 guests to visit his tropical island. They competed in excursions that challenged them mentally and physically. The last remaining contestant will face the Banker for a chance to win up to $200 million.
Last time, contestant Nicholas Grasso faced off against the Banker. But when he made a bad deal, he was eliminated from the game.
Nick joined Reality Tea writer Kim Stempel to discuss his elimination, his feelings about the argument in The Temple, and who he hopes wins it all.
Nick discussed his strategy going into the game
Kim Stempel: I know that you mentioned on the show that you and your fiancée, Nicole, were planning your dream wedding in Tuscany. Has that happened yet? Or are you still planning?
Nick Grasso: We’re still planning. We are in the final phase of it. Let’s just say, it’s a lot. We’re getting there. And it’s coming around the corner very fast and I can’t wait.
Kim: That’s awesome! Going into Deal or No Deal Island, did you have a strategy?
Nick: So, I had a strategy. You know, I’m a bigger guy. I wanted to just attack every single competition, even though I didn’t know what the competition would be.
Just go in hard, go in fierce, and come out victorious. Ultimately, that wasn’t the case for some of the challenges because some were luck-based and I didn’t have the outcome in my own hands at some of the challenges. So, you know, you can have a strategy going in, especially into a game you don’t know. It’s a new game, so you don’t know what to expect. So, you have a strategy but you always have to be on your toes and be able to switch it, if [need] be.
Why Nick switched his alliance
Kim: What did you think your biggest strengths were coming into the game?
Nick: My biggest strengths were definitely my knowledge of just how to like, read situations, how to adjust on the fly, how to just be a strong guy, physically and mentally. So, I think that was definitely one of my biggest and best attributes.
Kim: We know that you were part of the Night Owls. Were you part of any other side alliances?
Nick: So, in the beginning, like I said in one of the episodes, I was close with Rob [Mariano], I was close with Aron [Barbell]. And then, it just [became] clear to me that I was never gonna be Rob’s number one, you know? So I felt more comfortable you know with the Night Owls because I knew I was definitely Amy [McCoy’s] number one. You know, and it just stemmed from there. So, I definitely started with Rob and Aron and then things trickled different ways, you know?
Kim: When you saw that Boston Rob was part of the competition, what did you think?
Nick: So, honestly, I’ve never really been a big watcher of Survivor. I’m a big, like, The Challenge … I watch Jersey Shore. I’m sure people [aren’t] too surprised about that. So, walking into it, I honestly had no clue who Boston Rob was. I was just going off of hearsay. ‘Oh, that’s Boston Rob!’
And I’m just like, ‘Oh!’ So, I’m keeping it in the back of my head like, ‘This might be a problem here.’ So, it definitely posed a threat but not an imminent threat to me right away.
Nick discussed the most dangerous players
Kim: Who did you think were the most dangerous players in the competition?
Nick: So, going into it, I’m just looking at size, who can match up with me physically. I was looking at Dawson [Addis]. Dawson is a bigger guy. Rob, he’s an elder guy compared to me, but he was still in [good] shape. So, I’m looking at those guys, really.
I could just trounce everybody else. I know in a physical competition there really wasn’t going to be any competition. So, I’m looking at those guys, Dawson and Rob, and you also gotta watch out for the quiet, sneaky ones. So, you gotta keep an eye out for those, as well.
Kim: Who were the quiet, sneaky ones, Nick?
Nick: The quiet, sneaky ones … I was nervous about Alyssa [Klinzing]. She came off right away, you know, like a beautiful girl, just very quiet. You could just see her moving and watching and observing things. And that’s what I noticed right away. So, I was very on my toes about her from the very beginning.
What it was like playing against the Banker
Kim: What did it finally feel like playing Deal or No Deal in The Temple?
Nick: It was invigorating. It was exhilarating. And also it had me very anxious, you know, all day long, knowing that I’m going in. It was a surreal moment.
I used to watch [Deal or No Deal] with my mother since I was I was like, I don’t even know, 10 years old, maybe. It was kind of like bringing back a childhood memory almost.
But now it’s real life. It wasn’t Howie Mandel, but Joe [Manganiello] gives him a run for his money. Joe was awesome. So, being next to him, a guy who makes me feel small, was also pretty intimidating. So that added to the intimidating factor of the game itself, but overall it was just amazing.
Kim: You and Joe had a little bromance. I was like, ‘I can see these guys hanging out.’
Nick: Oh, man. Joe M, he was awesome! He actually came to Brooklyn to watch the premiere episode. He was in New York doing a lot of press. [Joe] came to Brooklyn and we ended up watching the episode together. And he was just … I can’t say over and over again how much of an amazing guy he really is. And he made everything so comfortable in the game for everybody. He never pushed anybody to an awkward or weird point, and he just knew where to take the game to even elevate it for the viewers.
Kim: I thought that Joe was awesome as well. That is so cool that you got to watch the premiere with him!
Nick: It was awesome. It was a real bromance for sure moment, I’ll tell you that!
Kim: I hope he’s coming over for Sunday dinner next time.
Nick: Offer is on the table.
Nick reacted to Rob and Stephanie’s argument
Kim: What were you thinking during Rob and Stephanie [Mitchell’s] argument in The Temple?
Nick: When I tell you, it sucked the wind out of the room. It sucked all the energy out of the room. It was a high, intense game. I was feeling good. You know, I run well with high energy, with good vibes. I don’t like the bickering, here and here and here and that.
So, it kind of … not ruined my game. At the end of the day, I chose my own destiny. But I feel like it did, you know, derail my momentum. It did … it stole my mojo.
Kim: Yeah.
Nick: It kind of sucked. It sucked having that be a part of my game. Aron, a couple of times, he even said, ‘Guys, this isn’t fair to Nick.’ I really thank him for that. In the moment you’re not hearing things. You’re just hearing that, and you’re trying to focus on the game.
So, hearing Aron say that and really trying to stick up for me. It was awesome. It sucked, but listen … adds to the drama and it adds to the show and I hope the viewers loved it at the end of the day. You know?
Kim: That must be so distracting when you’re trying to think.
Nick: It sucked. Plain and simple, it sucked.
Why Stephanie’s lie was “unnecessary”
Kim: Were you surprised that Stephanie lied to you about Rob putting your name out there?
Nick: I was a little, Honestly, seeing that, I was very surprised. In my opinion, it was unnecessary because the outcome was going to be the outcome regardless of her lying to me or not.
So, for her saying that to me kind of just showed that she was a little [untrusting] of me. She thought I was going to flip the script if I had beat the Banker and take her out instead of Rob. But that was never the case because I was true to my alliance through thick and thin.
So, that’s the one thing I was like, ‘It’s a little weird for you to lie about that.’ Because it was unnecessary. It makes her game look worse. It makes her game look a little less credible. I know who she is and she’s a really great person but it was just unnecessary at that moment. The outcome was going to be the outcome. Rob was, and is, my biggest threat up until this point, no matter what.
Kim: Yeah.
Nick: So why not take the only person I see who could actually stop me from winning, out [of the game].
Kim: It must have been disappointing, too, since you were in an alliance. To be like, ‘Why would you think that I would try and take out out?’
Nick: Watching that, I wanted to call her up like, ‘Steph. What were you thinking? Why would you even think that? I was riding with you from day one. We were very close throughout the whole thing, and then you throw that little snippet in there and now America sees it as a big malfunction in the whole alliance and it puts a big tarnish on our name.’ So, I don’t know. Just unnecessary.
No regrets about his game
Kim: Do you have any regrets about your gameplay on the show?
Nick: No, I can’t go with regrets. We went into a brand new show, a brand new game, not knowing who is going to be there, what we were going to do, how we were going to do it. So, all you have is your instincts, all you have is you. I rolled off my instincts … off myself every single way I went.
I did everything that I did for a reason and I stick with that until the day I die. Everything happens for a reason and I chose my own destiny and that’s what it was. No regrets.
Who deserves to win in the finale?
Kim: If you could pick one of the remaining players to win in the finale, who would it be and why?
Nick: At this point, I would choose … I got to throw Aron in there. He was a very, very just solid player. [Aron] knows what he is doing and he’s laying low behind Rob a little bit. He has a shield, and Rob thinks [Aron] is his shield, but Rob is kind of [Aron’s] shield. He knows what he is doing.
And you have to throw in, I’ve got to throw in one of the Night Owls. I’m going to say Amy because she’s a fierce player. She knows what she is doing, and right now Steph has a monster target on her. So I could see [Amy] outlasting everybody else in the Night Owls. But I would say she and Aron are the top two in my opinion I could see pulling it out, which is crazy because they’re the two smallest ones. And I’m going in there thinking, ‘Who are the two biggest ones I have to worry about?’ Imagine? That’s crazy. That’s a little twist. I like that honestly, thinking about it.
Some guys have all the luck
Kim: How did you feel about luck being such a big part of the game?
Nick: I laugh about this all the time because every time I’m at work, me and my partner are always like, ‘Oh, we’re just so unlucky.’ Little stupid things, we joke about it. We still have great lives, and great luck in general. But I still made it to the show, which is incredible luck. But when I heard there was a lot of luck involved, I was like, ‘Oh, God. This is already a disaster.’ You try to run your own destiny, like Rob luckily pulling the highest case from the water not knowing what was there.
So, some people have more luck than others. I believe in that 100 percent because Rob is one of the luckiest guys I’ve ever met. Maybe he makes it himself, but God bless him because I wish I had that kind of luck. So once I heard [about luck] I was like, ‘Oh, man! It’s already over before it started.’
Nick loved being part of Season 1 of Deal or No Deal Island
Kim: How did you end up being on the show?
Nick: A few years ago, back when I was single, they have the recruiters online, you know, the scouts reaching out to people on Instagram and all that. And one actually reached out to me on Instagram about some other show. Tried out for it, you know I went through the process. Long story short, nothing happened with that.
I got reached out to again by the same guy. He was like, ‘Hey. Do you want to apply for this new show?’ It wasn’t Deal or No Deal. It was another show prior to this. I said, ‘Sure. Why not?’ I was single at the time. Then nothing happened. I think the show got cut before it actually got produced. But the same producers for Deal or No Deal were going to be the producers of this last show.
And then this show came about. He reached out to me again and was like, ‘Nick. Hey. I know nothing happened last time. Always kept you in the loop. Would you want to try out for this show? The producers are still interested in you from the last time.’
I was like, ‘Now I’m engaged. I’m with my fiancée.’ So I had to run it by her. The boss, you know? I was like, ‘Hey, listen. Is this all right?’
She was like, ‘You better!’ She was the one who made me do it, honestly. I always wanted to, but she gave me that extra fire, that extra push to actually go through with it. She pushed me through, and I went through the process: videos, Zooms, tests, all that. And then here I am. I was on Deal or No Deal’s Island’s first season.
Kim: Wow! It must be an honor that you guys were the first ones to ever play a game that is so popular.
Nick: It’s crazy, because everybody hears Deal or No Deal, and they’re like, ‘It’s back?’ And then they hear Island, and they’re like, ‘What is this?’
So, people watch it at first, just off speculation, and then you get them hooked. And now they’re hooked on you, whether they like you or hate you, they’re hooked on you, your story, what you are bringing to the table.
For them to watch with their families every Monday night, for the first time…I think that speaks volumes and that is a great honor in itself to me so I love that I’m a member of the first season.
This interview was edited for conciseness and clarity.
Deal or No Deal Island continues on Monday, April 29 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
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