Remember the NMSU Student Who Won Big Money on Supermarket Sweep

There have been many times when El Paso has appeared on TV, but so has Las Cruces, New Mexico. People will certainly remember the episode of Hotel Hell, where Gordon Ramsay visited a hotel in Las Cruces. But another show that featured someone from Las Cruces was Supermarket Sweep in the '90s. Not only was this person on the show, but a New Mexico State University student would also become a huge winner in 1991.

Who was the NMSU student who appeared on Supermarket Sweep?

On an episode that aired on July 18, 1991, the host David Ruprecht did what he always did on the show; with his high energy, he would say hello to the crowd and then he would allow the contestants to introduce themselves and tell the audience a little bit about themselves.

In this particular episode, there were two people named Lani & Denise -- 2 close friends from high school. Denise, in particular, mentioned that she was a criminal justice student attending New Mexico State University (which is found in Las Cruces), aka NMSU, home of the Aggies.

Both Lani & Denise would do pretty well -- they would win a total 2:20 to use during The Big Sweep and would get enough groceries to win for a chance of getting the $5000 prize. And they did! They would end up winning $5,774. But that was just the first appearance from both of these ladies.

Lani & Denise would appear again on the November 4, 1991 episode during the “Super Sweep of Champions”, where past winners were given a chance to fight for $10,000. Lani & Denise would do even better this time, earning a total of 3:00 to use during the big sweep.

Once again, they would win and have a chance to win not $5000, but $10,000 this time. And just like the last time they would win again. From that particular episode, they would win over $11,000;

If you combine the total they had from their previous appearance, they both won $16,837. That's about $38,780 in today's money. Definitely not bad for some intense shopping!

Denise wasn’t the only person from New Mexico to appear on the show; an Albuquerque woman named Serena appeared on an episode that aired September 23, 1991. she would not win the grand prize, but she and her partner Donya still earned over $500 in the store (still not bad!).

It’s truly amazing to think that a show I grew up watching back in the 90s, that someone from NMSU, the college that is just LESS THAN AN HOUR AWAY FROM EL PASO, not only what they make the show, but they become a huge winner in such an iconic television show. I don’t know where Denise is now, but I hope that she knows that she was certainly a cool part of Las Cruces/El Paso history, and certainly television history too.

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