'I remember looking at my dad'

While Schlaud had an idea of what she would do if she chose a winning briefcase, she had no sense that she would win half a million dollars. But she did have a strategy going into the game. "I played the [mobile] app. That actually helps conceptualize the odds— as different amounts are eliminated— what it does to affect the deal with the banker," she explains. "I'm sure there is a formula of sorts. So that … helped me with my decision-making, ultimately."

CNBC: Courtney Schluad, $500,000 "Deal or No Deal" winner. CNBC

There was one thing, however, that she couldn't predict or strategize for. At one point in the game, Schlaud turned to the audience to search for her parents. "I remember turning around and looking at my dad and … he looked very feeble to me. Something was different," she recalls. "It clicked in my head and then the game kept going." The image of her father reinforced an idea she already had: to use a portion of whatever she made treating her parents well. Afterward, about three or four weeks later, "we got the news," Schlaud says: Her dad had kidney cancer.

Family first

While she didn't end up with a $1 million briefcase, she struck a deal with the banker for a whopping $500,000. And she plans to spend a portion of the money on her parents. She says she's grateful that her dad has good medical coverage and that "he's going through a really good hospital." She's also grateful her episode aired before her dad had his kidney removed. "This whole time, we've been dragging our feet, waiting. In another parallel universe, we would be in a very dark state, going day to day waiting for this date to come. But here we are. We're enjoying the heck out of all of the ads. It's been a blast," she says.

I played the app. That actually helps conceptualize the odds. Courtney Schlaud 'Deal or No Deal' winner

"This show has given us extra light," she continues. "We haven't had to just be horribly sad leading up to my dad's cancer removal." Overall, Schlaud says, the experience has brought her family closer.

Life with a half million dollars

Her advice to anyone who comes into a windfall is to take some time between collecting the money and making any big spending decisions, which is advice money experts offer, too. "We're not going to go splurge. No gambling. We'll definitely doing a financial advisor before we do anything," she says. "Like, I know I have student loans, but what's the best way to pay [them] off? Do we just take the chunk of money, put it to the side and let it accrue interest?" Before she makes any big decisions, "we are definitely going to get guidance," she says. After all, an advisor can give you "the tools to make sure you're not making a stupid move."