Health Alert: Red Hot Mommas
by Stepahnie Stahl
(CBS 3) PHILADELPHIA Millions of women are suffering through the difficulties of menopause and there are very few treatments. Medical reporter Stephanie Stahl has the story of one unique solution. Read full story
Resident is on red hot seat for TV's Millionaire
By THERESA KATALINAS, February 18, 2006Bucks County Courier Times
All JoAnn Gigliotti wanted was a chance to visit her 20-year-old son, Joseph, in Russia as he studies abroad this summer.
A new business owner and single mother of two, Gigliotti, 45, of Morrisville realized having enough cash to take the trip would be no small feat. So she rolled the dice and took a chance at a less-traveled moneymaking route.
Her shot at success? One in a million. Or, 22,000 to be more precise.
That's how many people take the online test for the syndicated game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" each year. Of those, between 200 and 300 are selected as contestants for the half-hour multiple choice question-and-answer show, according to spokeswoman Trisha Miller.
After taking the 30-question test for the second time last summer, Gigliotti made the cut. In November, she traveled to New York for two days of taping.
"The experience was really exciting and terrifying. It's a big studio. I got a chance to meet Tony Danza when I was going to the bathroom," Gigliotti said with a laugh while manning Red Hot Momma's, a New Hope boutique that carries cooling clothes for menopausal women. "You have to be escorted to and from the bathroom. Tony Danza was walking into his show. I shook his hand."
On Friday afternoon, Gigliotti, clad in black pants and a red button-front blouse, made her TV debut from the show's "hot seat" alongside "Millionaire" host Meredith Vieira.
"You are a red hot momma," Vieira said in greeting Gigliotti. "You look good."
And, if looks are measured in cash winnings, the beaming brunette looked great after finishing Friday's show $25,000 richer. Gigliotti will appear on "Millionaire" again on Feb. 27 at 12:30 p.m. on ABC to finish her quest for $1 million.
Until it airs, Gigliotti said she's prohibited from revealing how much she won. Regardless, the gamer-at-heart said she would saddle up in the contender's seat again, if given the opportunity.
"I raised [my children] on Monopoly and Scrabble and Bingo," Gigliotti said. "I know a lot of useless stuff, I think."
On Friday, a final question valued at $25,000 stumped Gigliotti. When Vieira asked her what "authoritarian ruler claimed he made the trains run on time," Gigliotti knew immediately which of her five at-home "phoner friends" to call - her son Joseph. And the American University senior who's majoring in international relations didn't even need to hear the multiple choices.
"Mussolini," he answered upon hearing the question.
"I'm just really glad I could be part of her support structure," Joseph Gigliotti said before the show aired.
JoAnn Gigliotti's sister Kathryn Panzitta, a four-year Morrisville councilwoman, cheered Gigliotti on from her family and friends seat in the audience.
"I know she has it in her," Panzitta said. "She knows all the trivia, all these fantastic facts."
And, the fact of the matter is, with at least $25,000, a trip to Russia this summer just got easier.
Theresa Katalinas can be reached at 215-269-5081 or tkatalinas@phillyBurbs.com.
