Name: The Curious Case Of Rita Buttgas | David Letterman
Uploaded: 2026-01-16T16:01:25.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Curious Case Of Rita Buttgas | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2026-01-16. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'The Curious Case Of Rita Buttgas | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2026-01-16. Transcript available.

- Okay, I'll tell you what let's do.
Let's play the old secret word.
Alan, what is tonight's secret word, sir?
- Dave, tonight's secret word is rodeo.
- Rodeo!
- The Late Show's secret word
is brought to you by Larry King.
- Whoa, how about that?
- The only man on American television resembling an owl.
- I don't like that.
What happened to, what happened to the hosie cow account?
- They're all gone, sold out.
- We have a new sponsor, Larry King
is sponsoring the secret word.
And the jackpot, what is the jackpot tonight?
- Tonight's jackpot is $100.
- $100 damn dollars.
- The Late Show's secret word
has been brought to you by Larry King.
He looks like an owl.
- Okay.
- It's only $100?
- $100, we had a winner on Friday night,
and she's here, the secret word on Friday.
Well, we'll find out.
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello
to the most recent secret word winner, Rita Butkus.
Rita, come on out, here she goes.
Thank you.
- Thank you, Rita, come on out, here we go.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Rita, come on out, here we go.
- All right.
Congratulations, Rita.
Let's tell the folks a little bit about yourself.
Where are you from?
- I'm from Bynum, Montana.
- Bynum, Montana.
Now that, Montana, that's big sky country, right?
- Yes.
- Must be beautiful out there.
- Yes, it is.
- What do you do for a living?
- I am a park ranger at Glacier National Park.
- Really?
- Wow.
- Yes.
- Pretty good.
And how long have you worked at the park?
- About five years.
- Wow, it must be great.
Is it fun?
It must be very exciting.
I bet something happens every day
that you just don't see in any other job,
any other part of the world,
because it's truly a land of wonderment up there, isn't it?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- Yes.
- And I know, I've not been to the park,
but I know they have that going to the, going to the--
- Going to the Sun Highway.
- Going to the Sun Highway.
Now, what is that like?
- That's, it's very beautiful.
It's considered one of America's most scenic drives.
- Wow, and how long is that?
- It's about 20 miles.
- And do you drive that every day?
- No.
- Yeah.
- No.
- Have you taken the drive out there at all?
- No.
- Really?
I mean, you're busy, I guess.
- Yeah.
- What about the wildlife, grizzlies?
Ever seen grizzly?
- No.
- Oh, boy.
But there are grizzly in the park, right?
- Yes, yes, sir.
- Moose, you ever see a moose?
- No.
- I've heard--
What do you do for the, uh, at the park, though?
- I, um, I take the tickets when the car comes in,
I'm at the little booth.
- Oh, I see, I see.
Well, good for you.
Now, a lot of people have varying strategies
about how to win the Secret Word Contest.
Do you watch the show every night?
- No, no, but I, I know who you are.
- You've heard of me.
I've heard of you.
- Yeah, sure, yeah.
Um, and tell the folks what the secret word was
that you won, Rita.
- It was, uh, newt.
- Newt?
- Newt.
- Oh, newt.
And how did you, how did you get newt?
Did you, uh--
- A friend told me.
- A friend told you that.
Well, you've won yourself, and by the way,
am I pronouncing your last name correctly?
Is it Butkus?
- Butkus, Butkus.
- Yes.
- Uh, you've won yourself, uh, $800.
And, uh, as always, uh, we like to, you know,
what are you gonna do with the money?
- I'm going to, uh, get my car painted and have lunch.
- Wow.
- That's pretty good.
Okay, well, that's just great.
And I tell you what, bring out the check.
Here we go.
It's $800.
Here we go.
It's $800.
Here, there.
Look at that.
That's just...
Thanks for us.
All right.
Thank you.
Did you have a nice Father's Day?
- Yes, we did.
- Yes, we did.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
Now, Rita.
- Yes, we did.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Now, Rita.
You've won the $800, and it doesn't make any difference.
By the way, what happened to the giant check?
Didn't they used to bring out a big check?
- It used to be.
Well, yeah.
- I don't know.
We'll get to it later.
And you'll keep that $800 regardless of what happens,
but I know you've had a chance to think about it,
and I'm going to ask you now,
would you like to try and solve the puzzle?
- Yeah.
- Okay, she's going to try and solve the puzzle.
All right, here we go.
Put up the clock.
Here comes the music.
Think about it.
Go ahead, Rita.
Take a look.
There it is.
All right.
Think about it.
Take all the time you need.
Must get lonely up there in Bynum, huh?
- No.
- Yeah.
Oh, okay.
I'm going to have to call for your answer now, Rita.
What do you have?
Is it, "I wouldn't give your troubles to a monkey on a rock"?
Let's see, is it?
It's a well-known phrase,
"I wouldn't give your troubles to a monkey on a rock."
Congratulations.
What do we have for her, Ellen?
Dave, it's a brand new set of golf clubs.
Yes, Rita, you'll be hitting the links in style
with these tailor-made TI Bubble II golf clubs.
With the latest bubble shaft technology,
breakthrough titanium head design,
and precision welds at all stress points,
you'll never hit anything like the TI Bubble II.
Total cash value over $500.
It's tailor-made TI Bubble II golf clubs.
Happy golfing from your friends at the Late Show Secret
Word Campus.
We'll be right back with Felicity Huffman,
ladies and gentlemen.
Congratulations.
Let's play the secret word.
What is tonight's secret word?
Here we go.
Dave, tonight's secret word is pie.
Pie, ooh.
Pie, that's an easy one.
The Late Show Secret Word is brought to you
by the next president of the United States of America,
J. Danforth Quayle.
Vote for Quayle.
He's dumb.
Okay.
The jackpot?
Tonight's jackpot is $100.
$100.
$100.
The Late Show Secret Word
has been brought to you by Larry King.
He looks like an owl.
That's an owl eating a mouse.
I know.
I understand that.
The audience loves it.
I guess they do.
Night in and night out,
that's the best part of the show.
Well, I'm not arguing with that.
Okay.
Now, savvy viewers realize that since the jackpot
is $100 tonight,
that means that last night we had a winner.
Boy, did we have a winner.
Because last night the jackpot was huge.
It was like $1,500, $1,600 or something.
And this is doubly exciting for us.
I don't think this has ever happened.
It turns out that the person who won the jackpot last night,
get ready for this, Paul.
Yeah.
Is a three-time winner.
Oh, get out of here.
Huh?
Get out of here.
No.
The same person has won three times?
That's right.
That's right.
Please, ladies and gentlemen, do me a favor.
Welcome back all the way from Bynum, Montana.
Three-time Late Show Secret Word winner, Rita Butkus.
Rita, come on out and say hello.
Hi, Rita.
How are you doing, Rita?
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
I feel like I know you pretty well.
You've been on the show.
This is your third time.
Right.
Congratulations.
And again, I must ask you, am I pronouncing that name correctly?
Butkus.
Butkus.
Yes.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
Yes.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
That's an interesting name.
Yes.
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
Is that German?
No.
Not German.
Okay.
Uh...
Welcome back.
Uh...
Now, as I recall...
First of all, let's run down the words.
What was the first word you won on?
Uh...
The first word was Newt.
Newt, right.
The second word for the Tournament of Champions.
Yeah.
Rita, by the way, won the Tournament of Champions.
Congratulations.
Yeah.
And that word was...
Soda.
Soda.
And...
And the word last night for the jackpot...
Uh...
Was...
Sphygmomanometer.
Sphygmomanometer.
Yes.
Wow.
My goodness.
Now, do you know what that word means?
Sphygmoman...
No.
Yeah.
Would you be interested in knowing the definition of the word?
Between you and me, I couldn't care less.
But it's...
Have you found...
Have you found that by playing the game, you've increased your word power and
expanded your vocabulary?
No.
Can I ask her a question?
What is it, Paul?
What?
Because I'm just...
I'm totally in the dark.
Yeah.
How do you...
First of all, it's butt gas, isn't it?
No, it's not.
It's...
How do you...
How do you...
First of all, it's butt gas, isn't it?
No, it's not.
It's...
How do you win?
Rita?
Or...
Miss...
Miss butt gas?
You, stop!
How?
What did you do to win?
Stop saying that!
I wanted to...
What did you do to win?
Don't pay attention to him.
He has a deal with Clorox.
He's...
Don't say that.
All right.
So, now, when you started out, you didn't...
You didn't really, uh, watch the...
Watch the show so much.
No.
Because you're, uh...
You, uh...
You go to bed early, was that it?
No, I'm kind of a night owl.
Oh, I see.
I just didn't watch the show.
But now, are you watching more and more because you've got an interest in
winning and so forth?
I mean, you're pretty good at the damn game, I'll tell you.
Um...
No.
Actually, my television was stolen.
Television was stolen.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Well, then, how did you know what the secret word was?
Um...
My ex-husband called me and told me I'd won.
Oh!
Oh!
That's very nice of your ex-husband.
Right.
How is he?
He's fine.
Yeah.
He's fine.
Um...
You, uh...
I-I believe I remember this about you.
You, uh...
You, uh...
Is it Yellowstone?
No, no.
Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park.
That's, uh...
In Montana.
Right on the Canadian border.
Right near the Canadian border.
Right.
Must be beautiful out there, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's your, uh...
That's what they describe it.
I've seen it in the license plates.
The big sky.
The big...
The big sky country.
Does it...
It must see...
Is it actually not really larger, is it?
No, I...
I just don't know.
Don't know.
Yeah.
Now, uh...
Well, what's going on at the...
At the Park Glacier this time of year?
Um...
Well, actually, there's a lot of people stealing things from the gift shop.
And...
I guess.
I don't know.
What kind of...
What kind of stuff do they take?
Um...
Shot glasses.
Trinkets.
You know, crap.
But how about...
You got up there, you got that going to the sun highway.
Yes.
That must be great.
When you get on, it must feel like you're going to the sun, right?
When you're driving on that highway?
I don't know.
I don't know.
You've been up there, right?
In the slideshow?
On the highway?
Yeah.
No, I've never been on the highway.
Really?
No.
You should take a...
Now, are the rest of the Rangers all excited for you?
You know, I haven't actually told anybody.
I see.
Okay.
All right.
So, uh...
So, let's...
You've won.
You've won.
Anything else we got to cover here?
Oh, the money.
How much was the money?
It was $1,600.
$1,500.
$1,500.
What do you get...
Rita, what are you going to do with the money?
My accountant was hoping that we could get this in equal payments spread out
over 20 years.
You're kidding, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Bring out the check.
Here we go.
There you go.
There you go.
There's your first...
There you go.
There's your first...
Your first three-time winner.
Rita Bucus, all the way up.
Rita Bucus, all the way up.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You're kidding, right?
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Bring out the check.
Here we go.
There you go.
There's your first...
Your first three-time winner.
Rita Bucus, all the way up.
We'll be right back with the U.S. Women's World Cup Clack with me.
Thank you.
I have a very special...
Ah!
A very exciting surprise for everybody.
Right.
And, and, uh, I don't know if you remember this about a year ago here on The
Late Show.
A very popular feature was the, uh, secret word contest.
Sure.
The secret word.
Remember this?
That's right.
And, uh, uh, I don't know if you remember this about a year ago here on The
Late Show.
A very popular feature was the, uh, secret word contest.
Sure.
The secret word.
Remember this?
That's right.
That's right.
We did, we did it for about six, eight months, and then we did some focus group,
uh, research
testing on it and, uh, learned something fascinating about the secret word
segment.
Everyone hated that.
That's right.
We did, we did it for about six, eight months, and then we did some focus group,
uh, research
testing on it and, and, uh, learned something fascinating about the secret word
segment.
Everyone hated that.
That's right.
But that didn't keep us from doing it night after night after night.
Well, uh, as you may remember, the big, uh, the all-around, the big winner, the,
uh, overall
champion of, uh, the secret word contest.
Of course.
Was a lovely woman from, uh, Montana, I believe.
Yes.
Her name was Rita, uh, Butkus.
Yes, Butkus.
She, here we have a picture of Rita right there.
She's, look, that's her sitting down and she won.
Yeah.
Look at all the money she won on the secret.
Well, anyway, to make a long story short, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to
the show.
Rita Butkus.
Rita, come on out.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It's great to see you.
Thank you very much for being here.
Thanks.
I, uh, I told everybody that you were the big secret word winner and that was
always a
lot of fun.
how much money did you actually win?
I won, uh, $1,500.
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
Pretty good.
And, uh, I know it's just none of my business.
but what did you do with that money?
I had some work done for that money.
I had some work done for that.
I had some work done.
I had some work done.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
It's a good job.
And, uh, it's a good job.
I'm going to have a good job.
Oh, it's a good job.
And, uh, I told everybody that you were the big secret word winner and that was
always a
lot of fun.
How much money did you actually win?
I won, uh, $1,500.
Wow.
Wow.
Pretty good.
And, uh, I know it's just none of my business, but what did you do with that
money?
I had some work done on my car.
Yeah, that's great.
Well, by the way, am I pronouncing your name correctly?
Is it Butkus?
Butkus.
It's spelled oddly, but it is Butkus.
Butkus.
Okay.
Now, you, uh, you're from Montana and, uh, how was your flight?
Fine.
It was, uh, delayed eight hours in Great Falls.
Oh, my God.
And what, what airlines is that?
What possible difference could it make?
Yeah.
I guess that's true.
Now, you're from, uh, here's what I know about, uh, is it Bynum?
Bynum.
Bynum, Montana.
Yes.
And that's Big Sky Country, isn't it?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
And, uh, what does that mean, Big Sky?
Uh, I'm not sure.
Not sure.
No.
Uh, do you, do you get a chance to see the show out there, Rita?
No.
Oh.
Well, I know as a, as a park ranger, you probably have to get up early and, uh,
so you, uh,
in bed early?
No.
No.
No.
I, I, I actually have, uh, insomnia, Leela.
Is that right?
Well, you should try watching the show then.
That'll take care of that.
Uh, so, Rita, now, when you come to New York, I'll bet that's a lot of fun, isn't
it?
Oh, yeah.
It's a regular Knott's Berry Farm.
Yeah.
And, and, uh, how is the summer going so far?
Well, I would just like to remind, uh, vacationers and visitors to the national
park that, uh,
and campers.
Campers, right.
That, um, Glacier National Park has glaciers.
Right.
And geysers are in Yellowstone.
Oh, that's right.
So, there's glaciers, there's geysers.
Geysers, yeah.
Some confusion sometimes?
They just don't get it.
Don't seem to get it, yeah.
Um, well, uh, I think it's appropriate that you're here tonight because it's
the height
of, of the season, and you have tonight some, some grizzly bear, uh, safety
tips for us
tonight.
Okay.
Yes, I do.
Okay.
Um.
In, um, in 1982, my husband, Bob, was disemboweled by a grizzly bear.
Oh, my God.
What, what year was that?
82.
Oh, right.
You were right.
You were right.
And, and did, but did Bob survive?
It's hard to bounce back from a disemboweling.
Yeah, I, I suppose that's true.
When you think about it, I didn't, um, so, so, if you don't mind, if it's not
too painful,
how, how did this happen?
Well, it was evening, dusk, and a grizzly bear wandered into camp looking for
food.
Looking for food.
And, and, and, and what, what did Bob do then?
He began throwing rocks and sticks at the bear.
Right.
And, and does, does that work?
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I guess not.
I guess not.
I guess not.
I guess not.
I guess not.
Uh, the bear charged at Bob, and that was pretty much it.
i guess not i guess not uh the mayor charged at bob and that was pretty much it
uh i'm terribly
sorry and uh you must have been uh stunned when you got the news i watched the
whole thing from the
van uh all right reeder we're running a little late here so yeah do you have
some
grizzly bear safety tips for us tonight uh yes i do you should make a lot of
noise you should hang
your food in a tree and don't throw stuff at them i guess and and all
encounters with grizzly bear
should be reported to it like a park ranger well yeah if you can find one
so so in closing is there one really effective foolproof way to prevent a
dangerous grizzly
bear encounter no rita butkus ladies and gentlemen
watch the whole thing from the van ouch watch the whole thing from the van yeah
you

The Curious Case Of Rita Buttgas | David Letterman

- Okay, I'll tell you what let's do.
Let's play the old secret word.
Alan, what is tonight's secret word, sir?
- Dave, tonight's secret word is rodeo.
- Rodeo!
- The Late Show's secret word
is brought to you by Larry King.
- Whoa, how about that?
- The only man on American television resembling an owl.
- I don't like that.
What happened to, what happened to the hosie cow account?
- They're all gone, sold out.
- We have a new sponsor, Larry King
is sponsoring the secret word.
And the jackpot, what is the jackpot tonight?
- Tonight's jackpot is $100.
- $100 damn dollars.
- The Late Show's secret word
has been brought to you by Larry King.
He looks like an owl.
- Okay.
- It's only $100?
- $100, we had a winner on Friday night,
and she's here, the secret word on Friday.
Well, we'll find out.
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello
to the most recent secret word winner, Rita Butkus.
Rita, come on out, here she goes.
Thank you.
- Thank you, Rita, come on out, here we go.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Rita, come on out, here we go.
- All right.
Congratulations, Rita.
Let's tell the folks a little bit about yourself.
Where are you from?
- I'm from Bynum, Montana.
- Bynum, Montana.
Now that, Montana, that's big sky country, right?
- Yes.
- Must be beautiful out there.
- Yes, it is.
- What do you do for a living?
- I am a park ranger at Glacier National Park.
- Really?
- Wow.
- Yes.
- Pretty good.
And how long have you worked at the park?
- About five years.
- Wow, it must be great.
Is it fun?
It must be very exciting.
I bet something happens every day
that you just don't see in any other job,
any other part of the world,
because it's truly a land of wonderment up there, isn't it?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- Yes.
- And I know, I've not been to the park,
but I know they have that going to the, going to the--
- Going to the Sun Highway.
- Going to the Sun Highway.
Now, what is that like?
- That's, it's very beautiful.
It's considered one of America's most scenic drives.
- Wow, and how long is that?
- It's about 20 miles.
- And do you drive that every day?
- No.
- Yeah.
- No.
- Have you taken the drive out there at all?
- No.
- Really?
I mean, you're busy, I guess.
- Yeah.
- What about the wildlife, grizzlies?
Ever seen grizzly?
- No.
- Oh, boy.
But there are grizzly in the park, right?
- Yes, yes, sir.
- Moose, you ever see a moose?
- No.
- I've heard--
What do you do for the, uh, at the park, though?
- I, um, I take the tickets when the car comes in,
I'm at the little booth.
- Oh, I see, I see.
Well, good for you.
Now, a lot of people have varying strategies
about how to win the Secret Word Contest.
Do you watch the show every night?
- No, no, but I, I know who you are.
- You've heard of me.
I've heard of you.
- Yeah, sure, yeah.
Um, and tell the folks what the secret word was
that you won, Rita.
- It was, uh, newt.
- Newt?
- Newt.
- Oh, newt.
And how did you, how did you get newt?
Did you, uh--
- A friend told me.
- A friend told you that.
Well, you've won yourself, and by the way,
am I pronouncing your last name correctly?
Is it Butkus?
- Butkus, Butkus.
- Yes.
- Uh, you've won yourself, uh, $800.
And, uh, as always, uh, we like to, you know,
what are you gonna do with the money?
- I'm going to, uh, get my car painted and have lunch.
- Wow.
- That's pretty good.
Okay, well, that's just great.
And I tell you what, bring out the check.
Here we go.
It's $800.
Here we go.
It's $800.
Here, there.
Look at that.
That's just...
Thanks for us.
All right.
Thank you.
Did you have a nice Father's Day?
- Yes, we did.
- Yes, we did.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
Now, Rita.
- Yes, we did.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Now, Rita.
You've won the $800, and it doesn't make any difference.
By the way, what happened to the giant check?
Didn't they used to bring out a big check?
- It used to be.
Well, yeah.
- I don't know.
We'll get to it later.
And you'll keep that $800 regardless of what happens,
but I know you've had a chance to think about it,
and I'm going to ask you now,
would you like to try and solve the puzzle?
- Yeah.
- Okay, she's going to try and solve the puzzle.
All right, here we go.
Put up the clock.
Here comes the music.
Think about it.
Go ahead, Rita.
Take a look.
There it is.
All right.
Think about it.
Take all the time you need.
Must get lonely up there in Bynum, huh?
- No.
- Yeah.
Oh, okay.
I'm going to have to call for your answer now, Rita.
What do you have?
Is it, "I wouldn't give your troubles to a monkey on a rock"?
Let's see, is it?
It's a well-known phrase,
"I wouldn't give your troubles to a monkey on a rock."
Congratulations.
What do we have for her, Ellen?
Dave, it's a brand new set of golf clubs.
Yes, Rita, you'll be hitting the links in style
with these tailor-made TI Bubble II golf clubs.
With the latest bubble shaft technology,
breakthrough titanium head design,
and precision welds at all stress points,
you'll never hit anything like the TI Bubble II.
Total cash value over $500.
It's tailor-made TI Bubble II golf clubs.
Happy golfing from your friends at the Late Show Secret
Word Campus.
We'll be right back with Felicity Huffman,
ladies and gentlemen.
Congratulations.
Let's play the secret word.
What is tonight's secret word?
Here we go.
Dave, tonight's secret word is pie.
Pie, ooh.
Pie, that's an easy one.
The Late Show Secret Word is brought to you
by the next president of the United States of America,
J. Danforth Quayle.
Vote for Quayle.
He's dumb.
Okay.
The jackpot?
Tonight's jackpot is $100.
$100.
$100.
The Late Show Secret Word
has been brought to you by Larry King.
He looks like an owl.
That's an owl eating a mouse.
I know.
I understand that.
The audience loves it.
I guess they do.
Night in and night out,
that's the best part of the show.
Well, I'm not arguing with that.
Okay.
Now, savvy viewers realize that since the jackpot
is $100 tonight,
that means that last night we had a winner.
Boy, did we have a winner.
Because last night the jackpot was huge.
It was like $1,500, $1,600 or something.
And this is doubly exciting for us.
I don't think this has ever happened.
It turns out that the person who won the jackpot last night,
get ready for this, Paul.
Yeah.
Is a three-time winner.
Oh, get out of here.
Huh?
Get out of here.
No.
The same person has won three times?
That's right.
That's right.
Please, ladies and gentlemen, do me a favor.
Welcome back all the way from Bynum, Montana.
Three-time Late Show Secret Word winner, Rita Butkus.
Rita, come on out and say hello.
Hi, Rita.
How are you doing, Rita?
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
I feel like I know you pretty well.
You've been on the show.
This is your third time.
Right.
Congratulations.
And again, I must ask you, am I pronouncing that name correctly?
Butkus.
Butkus.
Yes.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
Yes.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
That's an interesting name.
Yes.
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
That's an interesting name.
And is it, uh...
Is that German?
No.
Not German.
Okay.
Uh...
Welcome back.
Uh...
Now, as I recall...
First of all, let's run down the words.
What was the first word you won on?
Uh...
The first word was Newt.
Newt, right.
The second word for the Tournament of Champions.
Yeah.
Rita, by the way, won the Tournament of Champions.
Congratulations.
Yeah.
And that word was...
Soda.
Soda.
And...
And the word last night for the jackpot...
Uh...
Was...
Sphygmomanometer.
Sphygmomanometer.
Yes.
Wow.
My goodness.
Now, do you know what that word means?
Sphygmoman...
No.
Yeah.
Would you be interested in knowing the definition of the word?
Between you and me, I couldn't care less.
But it's...
Have you found...
Have you found that by playing the game, you've increased your word power and
expanded your vocabulary?
No.
Can I ask her a question?
What is it, Paul?
What?
Because I'm just...
I'm totally in the dark.
Yeah.
How do you...
First of all, it's butt gas, isn't it?
No, it's not.
It's...
How do you...
How do you...
First of all, it's butt gas, isn't it?
No, it's not.
It's...
How do you win?
Rita?
Or...
Miss...
Miss butt gas?
You, stop!
How?
What did you do to win?
Stop saying that!
I wanted to...
What did you do to win?
Don't pay attention to him.
He has a deal with Clorox.
He's...
Don't say that.
All right.
So, now, when you started out, you didn't...
You didn't really, uh, watch the...
Watch the show so much.
No.
Because you're, uh...
You, uh...
You go to bed early, was that it?
No, I'm kind of a night owl.
Oh, I see.
I just didn't watch the show.
But now, are you watching more and more because you've got an interest in
winning and so forth?
I mean, you're pretty good at the damn game, I'll tell you.
Um...
No.
Actually, my television was stolen.
Television was stolen.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Well, then, how did you know what the secret word was?
Um...
My ex-husband called me and told me I'd won.
Oh!
Oh!
That's very nice of your ex-husband.
Right.
How is he?
He's fine.
Yeah.
He's fine.
Um...
You, uh...
I-I believe I remember this about you.
You, uh...
You, uh...
Is it Yellowstone?
No, no.
Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park.
That's, uh...
In Montana.
Right on the Canadian border.
Right near the Canadian border.
Right.
Must be beautiful out there, huh?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's your, uh...
That's what they describe it.
I've seen it in the license plates.
The big sky.
The big...
The big sky country.
Does it...
It must see...
Is it actually not really larger, is it?
No, I...
I just don't know.
Don't know.
Yeah.
Now, uh...
Well, what's going on at the...
At the Park Glacier this time of year?
Um...
Well, actually, there's a lot of people stealing things from the gift shop.
And...
I guess.
I don't know.
What kind of...
What kind of stuff do they take?
Um...
Shot glasses.
Trinkets.
You know, crap.
But how about...
You got up there, you got that going to the sun highway.
Yes.
That must be great.
When you get on, it must feel like you're going to the sun, right?
When you're driving on that highway?
I don't know.
I don't know.
You've been up there, right?
In the slideshow?
On the highway?
Yeah.
No, I've never been on the highway.
Really?
No.
You should take a...
Now, are the rest of the Rangers all excited for you?
You know, I haven't actually told anybody.
I see.
Okay.
All right.
So, uh...
So, let's...
You've won.
You've won.
Anything else we got to cover here?
Oh, the money.
How much was the money?
It was $1,600.
$1,500.
$1,500.
What do you get...
Rita, what are you going to do with the money?
My accountant was hoping that we could get this in equal payments spread out
over 20 years.
You're kidding, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Bring out the check.
Here we go.
There you go.
There you go.
There's your first...
There you go.
There's your first...
Your first three-time winner.
Rita Bucus, all the way up.
Rita Bucus, all the way up.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
You're kidding, right?
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
Bring out the check.
Here we go.
There you go.
There's your first...
Your first three-time winner.
Rita Bucus, all the way up.
We'll be right back with the U.S. Women's World Cup Clack with me.
Thank you.
I have a very special...
Ah!
A very exciting surprise for everybody.
Right.
And, and, uh, I don't know if you remember this about a year ago here on The
Late Show.
A very popular feature was the, uh, secret word contest.
Sure.
The secret word.
Remember this?
That's right.
And, uh, uh, I don't know if you remember this about a year ago here on The
Late Show.
A very popular feature was the, uh, secret word contest.
Sure.
The secret word.
Remember this?
That's right.
That's right.
We did, we did it for about six, eight months, and then we did some focus group,
uh, research
test