I'm attempting a Blog, since it's all the rage. While I'm a late-comer to Blogging, I was one of the first people to LiveJournal, so I'm not that far behind. :)
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Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Okay, folks. Here's the long awaited(?) recap of my trip to Kansas City, and my "The Price Is Right LIVE" experience.
I drove down to KC for two reasons. One, to see my friend Troy, and two, to see the live stage version of The Price Is Right. This is the show that had been at the Harrah's casino in Reno, Nevada. When I first heard about the show there, I was excited at the notion of seeing it, but knew I would never be in Reno. When I found out it had traveled to Kansas City, I said to myself, "that's doable."
I took a few days off of work, and drove my still-new-to-me Jetta down to Kansas City on Wednesday, May 19th. Troy and I went to Harrah's on Thursday evening, got our tickets for the show that night, and gambled a little. I was excited because they have the fourth TPiR slot machine there (Dice Game!). ...and, AND, it was voiced by Rod, which now makes me wonder if he didn't voice all ten of them before he passed away, and if IGT still plans to release the other six... Only time will tell, I guess.
Back to the story, though. Troy and I waited in line to check in. While in line, there were kiosks to swipe your casino club card (what I call the "frequent gambler" card, but due to strange gaming laws in Missouri one has to have a card to enter the casino). The kiosks randomly picked patrons to be eligible to spin the big wheel during the stage show. Also, those who were selected received a refund for their $30 ticket to see the show. Very cool. Unfortunately, neither me nor Troy were winners in the kiosk 'slot machine', although people both two before and two after us in line were.
While we moved forward in line, there was a desk with a pile of blank "price tag" nametags and markers, and a sign indicating that everyone would need a nametag, to only put your first name on it, etc. We each made tags (I considered making a tag that said, "Regis," but passed on the idea). Then we made it up to a bank of computers with Harrah's and TPiR LIVE staffers where we checked in. Our tickets and club cards were entered into the computer, and we were told to be sure to show up before 7:00 as once the doors closed, we would not be able to get in.
Back to the casino we went, and then as the showtime neared, back to the ballrooms where the show was set up. We were taken to our seats, and told to make sure to sit in the seat indicated on our ticket. On each chair there was a hand-held device with four buttons on it. Troy (who had attended a show previously) told me that it was used as a "fastest finger" device to pick the contestants.
Just a few minutes before the show started, I snapped this picture of the nearly filled-to-capacity ballroom and the stage:
I believe I figured that there are around 400 seats in the ballroom, based on the number of rows and the number of seats in each row. The lights dimmed, the crowd screamed, and the audio system boomed Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part Two" (known by many clueless sports fans as "The 'Hey' Song"). The audience screamed some more, and out came the announcer, Daniel Rosen.
Daniel warmed up the crowd, and was super enthusiastic (and had to have been super out-of-breath after all the running around in the audience that he did). He made a bunch of jokes, and had the crowd in great spirits. He did an awesome job of working the crowd, and made it clear that we were all to be loud and obnoxious throughout the show, screaming out pricing suggestions, screaming to "come on down" and screaming to win lots of cash and prizes! Once he finished his warm-up schtick, he directed our attention to the video screens, which showed a short clip about Todd Newton, the host of the stage show. (We were told that none other than Marc "Double Dare" Summers had been hosting the show for a few weeks, but that his run had just ended earlier in the week.)
Daniel then told everyone it was showtime! The video screens showed a fake 'countdown' (as if the show was being taped for air), and then cue the audience, cue the TPiR music, cue the insanity! The video screens showed panning shots of the crowd going nuts, with the traditional open of TPiR (the chase lights around the border of the screen, silly sayings in a blue font flashing across the screen ("Big Cash!", "Big Prizes!", "Everybody Plays!", etc.), and Daniel said, "...and now, the host of The Price Is Right LIVE, TODD NEWTON!", the big doors on the set opened, and out came Todd! It was very cool, and even though it wasn't being taped or anything (maybe it was, but not for air anyway), the whole thing had the excitement of actually being at the real show. The crowd screamed, and we were on our way.
Todd welcomed everyone, and pumped up the crowd another notch (just in case we weren't excited enough). It was then explained how the keypads worked. On the big screens, we would be shown three items previously aired on The Price Is Right. It would be our job to press the button on our keypads corresponding to the LEAST expensive item, then the MOST expensive item. The four people who did so correctly in the fastest amount of time would be called to "Come On Down" to contestants' row. We were told that we could not begin answering on the keypads until the red revolving lights on top of the projector screens lit up.
We were then given a practice round. "Let's go back to the year 2000. Item "A" is a Kit Kat bar, item "B" is a Ford Focus, and item "C" is a Volkswagen Beetle. Answer now!" The red light came on, and I pressed "A, C" on the keypad. I looked on my screen, and saw that only "A" had registered. I pressed "C" and my display then read "AC". I had actually pressed the second button too quickly and it didn't register! Oops. I made a mental note, though, to slow down a quarter of a second or so between button clicks.
After a little more chit-chat, we were told to get ready, because it was time for the first qualifying question. The question was similar to the practice one, and was from a recent year, and was fairly easy. I thought I had a good chance because I was quick and didn't have a problem with the keypad. I looked at my display which proudly showed, "CB", what I had entered. I looked at Troy's display, and it showed "BC". I asked him why he answered like that, and he reminded me that the answer was LEAST expensive, then MOST. I had entered the first one as MOST, then LEAST. Aargh! The answer was obvious to me, too, and I was peeved that I totally blew the first one. Once time had expired, Todd asked Daniel for four contestants, they started the music and the chase lights, and Daniel called the first name. True to the show, they had a camera panning all over the place trying to find the person who was flailing their way down the aisle. Daniel called the second name... "Troy Diggs, come on down!" My friend Troy made it to contestants' row on the first try! Two more names were called, and then the item up for bids was brought out. Todd mentioned that if there was an exact bid that the contestant would win $100. ...but it would be paid in nickles, in the form of 2000 credits on the winner's choice of TPiR slot machines in the casino!
If memory serves me, the first item up for bids was a watch. The fourth person called to come on down (slowest of the four qualifiers) bid first, followed by the third person, followed by Troy, followed by the first person called (fastest qualifier time of the group). Troy bid $125 on the watch. I believe the last person to bid made a $1 bid, and won because the watch was worth $110. Troy and the other two were sent back to their seats with a t-shirt (one shot and that's it!), and the winning bidder went on stage to play... RACE GAME! The prizes were all introduced a-la-TPiR, with Daniel doing the announcing. Todd explained the rules, gave the person the four price tags to put on the four items, and off to the races they went. The audience all shouted their suggestions and disapproval at the order the contestant put the prices on, but on the first pull of the lever to see how many were correct, the display flashed a big "4", and everyone cheered because the game was won!
After the game, the curtain closed and Daniel called out four names of people who had been selected to win 1,000 Harrah's reward points for their frequent gambler cards ($10 comp value).
Then, time for the second qualifier. I had the correct answer on this one, but hit the two buttons too close to each other and had the same thing happen as in the practice round. By the time I got the second letter to register, it was far too late. Sure enough, I had it correct, but was too slow.
The second pricing game was Hole In One.
The contestant totally biffed the pricing values of the products to try to putt closer to the hole. All of the audience was screaming at him to change his mind, but he didn't. He wound up putting from the second-to-last line. As I recall, he was a newlywed on his honeymoon. Todd asked him where he was from, and the guy said he was from Kansas City. Todd asked him why he went to North Kansas City for his honeymoon! :) ...he then said that he thought it would be a good thing if he won a trip to go on a real honeymoon, to where, Daniel!? (Daniel: It's a trip to Las Vegas!) A trip for two to Vegas (staying at the Harrah's, of course). But, he would have to putt from far away. His first shot was off the mark, wide to the right. Todd then walked over to the sign and pressed the button to reveal that the game was not just "Hole In One", but that it was "Hole In One... Or Two!" A second chance for the newlywed. He putted the ball, this time right on target... ...but too hard. The ball hit the edge of the cup and flew all the way to the back of the green. (Cue the "losing horns", literally.) If I recall, though, this was the contestant who bid correctly on his item-up-for-bids, and did win $100 in credits on a TPiR slot machine, so not a total loss.
More Harrah's reward points winners were announced, and some clips from funny moments from TPiR were shown on the big screens. Todd also gave a big thank-you to Bob Barker for having made the show what it was, which got a big round of applause. Very classy. You could tell that Todd had a great amount of respect for both Mr. Barker and for the show that he was hosting, and I thought that was really cool. Then, Todd told us it was time for the big wheel! After telling us to muster up every ounce of energy we had to cheer for it, the curtains opened to bring out the wheel!
The thing looked awesome in person. Much better than on TV, and much better than my camera captured it, too. Very shiny, very bright, very glittery, very awesome. He said that it was the same wheel from the show, but I'm not so sure. The score display was not the same, and that would also mean that the show in L.A. couldn't tape while the stage show was in its run, so I have my doubts. Either way, it was very well made, and could pass as the real deal. :)
Three people were called out of the audience to come on... up on stage to spin the wheel. Those people were called from the small group of people who had qualified through the random selection from the kiosk when registering.
The winner of the wheel showdown would receive $250 in cash. A spin of $1 would win $100 and a bonus spin (the bonus amount was not revealed). Nobody spun $1. I did my best to yell, "Big Bucks, No Whammies!" while the wheel was spinning, but everyone else was shouting, too, so I'm sure it didn't carry to the stage. :)
After the wheel shindig, it was time for the third qualifier. I messed it up. It was from 1985, and the three products were the "gimme" cheap one (I don't remember -- let's say a pack of gum), a video game, and a pinball machine. Now, I know my pinball, and I know that pinball machines are a lot more expensive than video games. Apparently not in 1985, though. Either that, or it was some really expensive vid, but they didn't give the titles of either game. Regardless, I did not get the answer correct, and did not go on down. The third pricing game was Cliffhangers...
I know the picture is blurry, but it was the only one I got. :-/ The contestant sent the yodeling mountain climber over the edge, and did not win the brand new refrigerator freezer that was being played for.
Fourth qualifier, apparently in 1982 a can of refried beans was cheaper than a small packet of powdered gravy mix. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure. The fourth game was "It's In The Bag" with a top prize of $2,400. The contestant screwed up the second item (we all knew it), and wasn't smart enough to walk with the $150 he won for getting the first item correct, so he wound up with $0 and "boo"s from the audience for not stopping.
...and with that, time for the showcase. To qualify for the showcase, three pop-culture multiple choice questions were asked on the video screens (with Todd reading them out loud). Each question had one answer. The two people in the room with the most correct (and fastest) responses would be in the showcase. The third question was worth "triple" the value (what value, we don't know), but I suspect that if one didn't get all three, they didn't have a prayer. I did not get all three.
Two older ladies were called to Come On Down to the showcase. Neither of them were really enthusiastic about it, and both slowly walked up to the stage.
The showcase was introduced. It started with a trip to Louisiana (to a Harrah's casino), then a home theater system, a flat screen TV, a leather chair on the turntable, and what else Daniel? (Daniel: A NEW CAR!), yup, a new sporty Ford Mustang! I looked at Troy and said, "They actually give away a car each show?" Troy said, "Keep listening." Todd explained that both ladies would write down what they bid on the entire showcase. The one who bid closest without going over would win the trip to Louisiana. If the winner was within $100 of the actual value of the showcase, then they'd win everything (including the car). Aah, now it made sense.
The ladies submitted their bids, $27,000 and $31,000, or thereabouts, as Todd revealed them. Then, before the actual retail value of the showcase was revealed, Todd told the audience members to pick up their keypads and vote as to which contestant they thought would win the showcase, or to vote "C" if we thought it was a double overbid. I picked the $27,000 lady. The actual retail value was $24,760 or something like that, so a double overbid. Daniel announced two more names that won 10,000 Harrah's points ($100 comp value!), and then Todd thanked everyone for coming, encouraged us to meet him and Daniel after the show in the casino lobby, and waved goodbye.
Click to enlarge picture in a new window.
As you can see, people then left the ballroom. We went up to the stage, and I got a picture of me standing in contestants' row, and then took a picture of the score displays as seen from the stage.
We went out to the casino lobby, and sure enough, there was Todd and Daniel, just hanging out chatting with people. How very cool. I had always heard that Todd was a nice guy, and I'm happy to say that it was 100% true. I've had encounters with stuck-up celebrities and stuck-up semi-celebrities. Todd was one of the nicest, friendliest people I've ever met. I told him that I was a fan of all of his work, and that I was a big game show fan, and how the whole experience was just a thrill. Todd was really receptive to it all. Daniel was really awesome too, but I didn't chat with him too much -- that night (foreshadowing!). Todd and Daniel were also very kind to pose for a picture with me, and Todd autographed my ticket. My day was complete, I didn't win a thing, and I had an absolute BLAST!
Troy and I talked, and we decided that we wanted to see the show again. We had seen a sign indicating that the Friday show was sold out, so we went to see if we could get tickets for the Saturday show. There was no Saturday show. That meant that the next show we could get tickets for would be Sunday at 2:00pm. Sunday was the day I hoped to go back to the Twin Cities. We waited in line at the box office and I asked the guy working if there were possibly any seats open for the Friday show, based on cancellations, or whatever. I asked if he could look in the computer, but he said that it was sold out and that there wouldn't be any cancellations. Sucky.
We played some more at the casino, and I played Pai Gow poker, and got a straight flush which paid $50. Not too bad. :)
I think we did the tour of casinos when I was down there. Not sure where I went on which night, but it didn't really matter...
Back at Troy's apartment, I decided to look on Harrah's web site since it was possible to buy show tickets online. Sure enough, there was ONE SEAT open for the Friday show. I snapped it up, and it was decided that I should go since Troy lives there (and could go again if he wanted), and he had already been to the show twice.
Friday night, I got psyched up again, and did it all over again! I was not randomly chosen to spin the wheel, but that was okay (although I would have loved to get my $30 back for the ticket!). I had to pay a $5 service fee for buying online. I did politely complain about that (as I wouldn't have had to pay the fee if the guy had just looked in the computer and let me buy the seat at the box office), and they gave me my $5 back. ...which I promptly lost in a TPiR slot machine. :)
I went into the show, and was pumped again. Daniel came out, and riled up the crowd once again. I realized how scripted the show was watching it for the second time, as everything was pretty much the same, right down to the actual wording of the jokes in the warm-up. But.. that's okay -- it's a stage show, after all. If you went to the same theater play two nights in a row, you'd expect it to be the same, right?
Todd came out, said hello, and told everyone that it was a special night. He announced that tonight's show was show number 500 for the live stage show, and was also the 100th consecutive sold-out show! How cool, I was at show number 500! (and 499, but I digress...) The qualifying questions and the items up for bid were NOT the same (I didn't have too much of an advantage, other than being sober (a lot of people weren't!), and having been through the process once before). I nailed the first qualifier, but... wasn't fast enough! I couldn't believe it. I got it right, I did it quickly, and I wasn't called. Race Game again, and the person won the game after changing two prices from her original attempt.
After the first game, I heard my name announced by Daniel as one of the winners of 1,000 Harrah's club points! (Again, $10 comp value.) Cool, at least I got something. Second qualifier, I screwed up the answer, but a girl from the row behind me (the back row) didn't, and she made it to contestants' row, made it on stage, played Hole In One, putted from the second-to-closest line, and won a trip to Vegas! We all congratulated her when she came back to her seat.
Bring out the wheel. Two of the people selected had the same last name and came from the same seating area. Turns out it was daughter vs. mother-in-law. ...and they tied and had a spin-off! Daughter won.
Third qualifier. I thought I got it right, but wasn't sure. First name was called to Come On Down, and then.........
"Kevin Nagle! Come on down!!!" I bolted out of my seat and screamed, "YEAH!!!!!" at the top of my lungs! I did the whole arm flailing thing just like they wanted, and even leaped off of the three steps from the upper seating tier (Where I was in the back) onto the main floor. I'm sure I looked great. :) As I ran up to contestants' row, I flashed a smile at Todd on stage. He smiled back with recognition on his face, and walked over to me and shook my hand and congratulated me for making it! I was thrilled! I thanked him, and then something clicked in his mind (he hadn't been shaking anyone else's hand), and he turned to the first person who was called down and did a, "Umm, yeah, and congratulations to you too!" type of thing. :) Heh.
The other two people arrived in contestant's row, and Daniel, what's the next item up for bids? (Daniel: It's a digital camera!)
It was a somewhat cheap digital camera, could record some video and audio, though. It was the brand of camera pictured above, if not that exact model. Prices are inflated on TPiR, though, so with that in mind...
The first person to bid said, "$200". The second person bid "$225". I bid $110, and cringed thinking I had low-balled it a little too much -- I just knew that the guy to my left (the first one called) was going to bid $111. To my (somewhat) relief, he bid $1. ...and the actual retail price is... (I was thinking in my head, "If it starts with a "1", I'm good").... "One hundred forty nine dollars, Kevin, you win!"
Woo ha! I won! Up on stage I went with Todd Newton in front of a sold-out crowd!
As the audience was cheering and the other three went back to their seats, I bounded up on stage where Todd was waiting, he shook my hand while smiling and told me (off microphone) that he was glad I made it up there. I told him that I was glad that I made it up there!
The curtain opened to reveal (as Todd said to me off-microphone, "Surprise, surprise") CLIFFHANGERS!
Todd said, "Daniel, tell Kevin what he can win!" (Daniel: It's a brand new refrigerator-freezer!)
While Daniel was reading the plug for the fridge, I said to Todd while laughing, "What the hell am I going to do with a refrigerator-freezer, and how am I going to get it up to Minneapolis!?" :) He laughed.
"Back to you, Todd!" Todd said to the audience, "Now folks, Kevin drove all the way down here from Minneapolis to see this show." (everyone applauded, strangely) "...and Kevin, if you win that refrigerator, you're going to have to strap it to the top of your car and drive right on back up there with it!" (laughter)
Todd asked me if I knew the object of the game. My reply? "Sure; you don't want to hear too much yodeling." (laughter) "That's right, because if we hear too much, that mountain climber is going to go right off the edge of that cliff."
Daniel then introduced the three items for me to guess the prices of. A toy aquarium (not a real one -- plastic fish included!), Trivial Pursuit, the DVD edition, and a pair of FRS family walkie-talkies.
Todd asked me for my bid on the first item. I bid $17. Todd asked, "Is that right?" :BUZZ!: "Okay Kevin, the mountain climber will start when you tell him to." I replied, "Todd... let's hear some yodeling." He started up the mountain, with Daniel encouraging the audience to shout, "Stop!! Stop!! No!!! Stop!!" I did some shouting of that, too! He (finally) stopped eight steps up the mountain of twenty-five steps. Eek, too much lost on the first item! The second item was the Trivial Pursuit game. Everyone in the audience was screaming prices. I couldn't understand any of them, except for a lady in the front row who was very insistently shouting, "$35! It's $35!" I had been thinking $40 myself, so I split the difference and bid $37. Sure enough, the mountain climber moved up two steps and the price was revealed as $35. Todd pointed the lady out, and I thanked her. Finally, the pair of walkie-talkies. I had a $15 swing in either direction (15 steps left). I looked at the $35 lady, and she just shrugged -- she didn't know. :) I held my hand on my ear in a, "I can't hear you" gesture, which just got the crowd to scream even louder! :) I finally bid $63. (That gave me $48 to $78 as a range.) I was thinking even higher, but settled on what I bid. As soon as I bid $63, I swear that EVERYONE in the audience groaned. I thought, "Aah, crap, what did I do?!" I thought my bid was pretty good.
Start the yodeling. Start the screaming of, "No! Stop! Stop! No!!!!" I was just amused by it all at first, but then he got higher, I got more nervous, and higher, and more nervous, and higher, and he kept yodeling, and I kept shouting...... ....and with two steps to spare, he stopped!! The price was $50, and I won!!!
I jumped up in the air, Todd shook my hand again and congratulated me, the audience cheered, and I was on cloud nine.
I headed back down off the stage, and one of the crew members told me to "meet over by that tree at the end of the show" and pointed to a small potted tree on the side of the ballroom. I went back to my seat, and everyone there congratulated me (and a few asked what I was going to do with a refrigerator!).
The rest of the show didn't matter. I screwed up my answers to try and make it to the showcase, but I didn't care. The showcase had the same car, but a slightly different trip, and I think a washer-dryer instead of the home theater and TV setup. I screamed out, "$22,440!" from my seat more than a few times as the two contestants were writing down their bids. I got a few strange looks.
One contestant bid $37,000(!!). The other bid $26,500. Most people voted for that contestant. I voted for a double-overbid.
Actual retail price: $22,652. If I had gone $112 higher, my bid would have been correct to win everything! Not that I was up there to begin with. Nevertheless, my awesome bid then got some looks of, "Wow, he knew what he was talking about," from the people who had given me strange looks earlier. :)
So, the show was over. A couple of names were announced as having won 5,000 Harrah's club points, the curtain closed, and that was that. I headed down to the "meeting tree" and saw the other contestants from the show, including the girl who won the trip to Vegas. I asked her if she wanted to trade prizes. :) She declined my offer.
The producer of the show told the small group of us, "Okay, if you're here because your name was called to receive Harrah's points, go see that lady over there with the clipboard. If you're here because you won a prize, stay here." I told him that I was, strangely, there for both reasons. He told me to stay put, as the list of award points was going to make its way back to him.
He congratulated all of us for winning whatever it was that we had won, and explained how taxes were going to work. If the value of the prize we won was over $600, a 1099 would be sent out at the end of the year and we'd have to pay tax on the total value. Prizes won from the stage show were not considered gambling winnings (and subject to a $1,199 cap instead of the $600 cap), and as such would be taxed at the $600 threshold. Additionally, if any of us were to win anything else non-gambling at a Harrah's property this year, it would be combined with our winnings from the show for a total amount to be taxed.
He then told us that we could optionally take a cash substitution for the prize won ("oh hell yes!" I said out loud). The cash value would not be the same as the retail value -- it would be the actual amount that the show paid for the prize won. The same tax limitations applied. He told us to complete our paperwork on clipboards that had been given to us, and that one-at-a-time he would have us come up and he would tell us the cash value for each item and let us decide.
I filled out my contestant sheet which showed the two prizes I won (the digital camera and the refrigerator) and then asked if I could set my clipboard down and leave for about five minutes "to go say 'hi' to Mr. Newton in the casino lobby." The producer told me that Todd and Daniel were both going to be coming back to the ballroom once they were done meeting the people out in the lobby, as Todd had friends in Kansas City and that he and Todd and Daniel were all planning to go out that night after they finished with the show. So, I stayed put. Sure enough, five minutes later Todd walked in. He walked across the back part of the room (presumably to the stage and his dressing room), but then he saw me, stopped, turned around and came over to me to congratulate me again. How very cool. We chit-chatted for a couple of minutes, and he told me that the excitement I felt being a contestant on stage was probably about the same as the excitement he felt the first time he got to host the show. (The man has hosting in his blood, and he's awesome at it.) He also made a comment about it being nice to see big fans of The Price Is Right come to the show, and especially make it on stage. I thanked Todd about a million times more, and told him that I had a blast. Todd then spoke to the other contestants for a couple of minutes. At some point, Daniel walked in, too. Daniel (who had also remembered me from the previous night) congratulated me, and we talked for a while. I told him that he had done an awesome job, too, and that I didn't really get a chance to tell him that the night before. We talked about some industry stuff (did you know that Todd used to be a mobile DJ for weddings, like me?), and then he and Todd were getting ready to head backstage to dress down for their evening ahead. Daniel (who was sweating, and I can't blame him -- the man was in a full suit and running all around all night) had already taken off his tie and his jacket. I asked them if I could bother them for one more picture as I wasn't smiling too much in the first picture. They both were more than happy to take another picture with me -- Daniel even put his jacket and tie back on (totally unnecessary, but very cool that he was willing to). One of the staffers took this picture:
I think those two are the coolest people in show biz. I was very impressed with how nice they were, and how down-to-earth and "normal" they both were. :)
After they left, it was time to get down to business. Big bucks, baby. The fridge could be delivered to me in MN, or I could take cash for it. The retail value was somewhere around $1,400, and the retail value of the camera was $150. I don't need a refrigerator, so I opted to take the cash value of $475 (according to the producer, they have a good arrangement with Lowes to get the fridge at such a low price!). The cash value of the camera was $50. I figured I'd keep the camera as it would make a nice gift for someone (I don't need a digital camera -- I have one already!). But... that put me at $625 in cash and prizes. ...which meant I'd get taxed on $625 at the end of the year. Icky, and I hate dealing with taxes as it is -- mine are complicated. So... after saying I wanted the camera, I changed my mind and took the $50 for it instead, and walked with $525 tax free dollars! They gave me a slip to take to any cashier, and I did.
While "boarding" the casino (they're technically river boats, but I think they'd sink if they weren't held up by concrete in the river), the lady who swiped my club card asked me how I was doing. I (still quite excited) told her, "Great, I just won $525 from The Price Is Right LIVE show!" She got all excited and congratulated me and gave me a hug! ...and then the advice to not spend it all in the casino. I promised her that I wouldn't, and went inside. I brought my slip to a cashier's window, and claimed my cash. :) I then went straight to my car to make about a dozen phone calls to tell friends and family about the experience (and one to LJ, my most recent PhonePost), and I put most of the cash in the glove box.
Back inside I went, and played some more Pai Gow poker. I managed to get another straight flush in my hand, so I was excited at winning another $50. But, as the person next to me pointed out, it wasn't just a straight flush, it was a Royal Flush (I knew that, but I didn't know there was a difference in payout). For my $1, I got paid $200 for the Royal! Not too shabby, and not a bad night at all.
Sunday morning Troy and I went back to Harrah's. I was able to redeem my 1,000 points that I won from the show (plus another 200 I had earned in play over the weekend), and bought both of us Sunday brunch (mostly comped) before driving back to the Twin Cities.
...and the rest is history. :)
The Price Is Right LIVE stage show runs through Tuesday, June 8th at Harrah's North Kansas City. If you're anywhere near there, GO TO THE SHOW! It's a great time. I imagine it will travel to another Harrah's location after it's KC run, but who knows...
I'll close this post with a picture of the set borrowed from Mandel (approval to use pending!). Click on the image for a larger picture. Thanks, and goodnight, everybody!
Click to enlarge picture in a new window.
I drove down to KC for two reasons. One, to see my friend Troy, and two, to see the live stage version of The Price Is Right. This is the show that had been at the Harrah's casino in Reno, Nevada. When I first heard about the show there, I was excited at the notion of seeing it, but knew I would never be in Reno. When I found out it had traveled to Kansas City, I said to myself, "that's doable."
I took a few days off of work, and drove my still-new-to-me Jetta down to Kansas City on Wednesday, May 19th. Troy and I went to Harrah's on Thursday evening, got our tickets for the show that night, and gambled a little. I was excited because they have the fourth TPiR slot machine there (Dice Game!). ...and, AND, it was voiced by Rod, which now makes me wonder if he didn't voice all ten of them before he passed away, and if IGT still plans to release the other six... Only time will tell, I guess.
Back to the story, though. Troy and I waited in line to check in. While in line, there were kiosks to swipe your casino club card (what I call the "frequent gambler" card, but due to strange gaming laws in Missouri one has to have a card to enter the casino). The kiosks randomly picked patrons to be eligible to spin the big wheel during the stage show. Also, those who were selected received a refund for their $30 ticket to see the show. Very cool. Unfortunately, neither me nor Troy were winners in the kiosk 'slot machine', although people both two before and two after us in line were.
While we moved forward in line, there was a desk with a pile of blank "price tag" nametags and markers, and a sign indicating that everyone would need a nametag, to only put your first name on it, etc. We each made tags (I considered making a tag that said, "Regis," but passed on the idea). Then we made it up to a bank of computers with Harrah's and TPiR LIVE staffers where we checked in. Our tickets and club cards were entered into the computer, and we were told to be sure to show up before 7:00 as once the doors closed, we would not be able to get in.
Back to the casino we went, and then as the showtime neared, back to the ballrooms where the show was set up. We were taken to our seats, and told to make sure to sit in the seat indicated on our ticket. On each chair there was a hand-held device with four buttons on it. Troy (who had attended a show previously) told me that it was used as a "fastest finger" device to pick the contestants.
Just a few minutes before the show started, I snapped this picture of the nearly filled-to-capacity ballroom and the stage:
I believe I figured that there are around 400 seats in the ballroom, based on the number of rows and the number of seats in each row. The lights dimmed, the crowd screamed, and the audio system boomed Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part Two" (known by many clueless sports fans as "The 'Hey' Song"). The audience screamed some more, and out came the announcer, Daniel Rosen.
Daniel warmed up the crowd, and was super enthusiastic (and had to have been super out-of-breath after all the running around in the audience that he did). He made a bunch of jokes, and had the crowd in great spirits. He did an awesome job of working the crowd, and made it clear that we were all to be loud and obnoxious throughout the show, screaming out pricing suggestions, screaming to "come on down" and screaming to win lots of cash and prizes! Once he finished his warm-up schtick, he directed our attention to the video screens, which showed a short clip about Todd Newton, the host of the stage show. (We were told that none other than Marc "Double Dare" Summers had been hosting the show for a few weeks, but that his run had just ended earlier in the week.)
Daniel then told everyone it was showtime! The video screens showed a fake 'countdown' (as if the show was being taped for air), and then cue the audience, cue the TPiR music, cue the insanity! The video screens showed panning shots of the crowd going nuts, with the traditional open of TPiR (the chase lights around the border of the screen, silly sayings in a blue font flashing across the screen ("Big Cash!", "Big Prizes!", "Everybody Plays!", etc.), and Daniel said, "...and now, the host of The Price Is Right LIVE, TODD NEWTON!", the big doors on the set opened, and out came Todd! It was very cool, and even though it wasn't being taped or anything (maybe it was, but not for air anyway), the whole thing had the excitement of actually being at the real show. The crowd screamed, and we were on our way.
Todd welcomed everyone, and pumped up the crowd another notch (just in case we weren't excited enough). It was then explained how the keypads worked. On the big screens, we would be shown three items previously aired on The Price Is Right. It would be our job to press the button on our keypads corresponding to the LEAST expensive item, then the MOST expensive item. The four people who did so correctly in the fastest amount of time would be called to "Come On Down" to contestants' row. We were told that we could not begin answering on the keypads until the red revolving lights on top of the projector screens lit up.
We were then given a practice round. "Let's go back to the year 2000. Item "A" is a Kit Kat bar, item "B" is a Ford Focus, and item "C" is a Volkswagen Beetle. Answer now!" The red light came on, and I pressed "A, C" on the keypad. I looked on my screen, and saw that only "A" had registered. I pressed "C" and my display then read "AC". I had actually pressed the second button too quickly and it didn't register! Oops. I made a mental note, though, to slow down a quarter of a second or so between button clicks.
After a little more chit-chat, we were told to get ready, because it was time for the first qualifying question. The question was similar to the practice one, and was from a recent year, and was fairly easy. I thought I had a good chance because I was quick and didn't have a problem with the keypad. I looked at my display which proudly showed, "CB", what I had entered. I looked at Troy's display, and it showed "BC". I asked him why he answered like that, and he reminded me that the answer was LEAST expensive, then MOST. I had entered the first one as MOST, then LEAST. Aargh! The answer was obvious to me, too, and I was peeved that I totally blew the first one. Once time had expired, Todd asked Daniel for four contestants, they started the music and the chase lights, and Daniel called the first name. True to the show, they had a camera panning all over the place trying to find the person who was flailing their way down the aisle. Daniel called the second name... "Troy Diggs, come on down!" My friend Troy made it to contestants' row on the first try! Two more names were called, and then the item up for bids was brought out. Todd mentioned that if there was an exact bid that the contestant would win $100. ...but it would be paid in nickles, in the form of 2000 credits on the winner's choice of TPiR slot machines in the casino!
If memory serves me, the first item up for bids was a watch. The fourth person called to come on down (slowest of the four qualifiers) bid first, followed by the third person, followed by Troy, followed by the first person called (fastest qualifier time of the group). Troy bid $125 on the watch. I believe the last person to bid made a $1 bid, and won because the watch was worth $110. Troy and the other two were sent back to their seats with a t-shirt (one shot and that's it!), and the winning bidder went on stage to play... RACE GAME! The prizes were all introduced a-la-TPiR, with Daniel doing the announcing. Todd explained the rules, gave the person the four price tags to put on the four items, and off to the races they went. The audience all shouted their suggestions and disapproval at the order the contestant put the prices on, but on the first pull of the lever to see how many were correct, the display flashed a big "4", and everyone cheered because the game was won!
After the game, the curtain closed and Daniel called out four names of people who had been selected to win 1,000 Harrah's reward points for their frequent gambler cards ($10 comp value).
Then, time for the second qualifier. I had the correct answer on this one, but hit the two buttons too close to each other and had the same thing happen as in the practice round. By the time I got the second letter to register, it was far too late. Sure enough, I had it correct, but was too slow.
The second pricing game was Hole In One.
The contestant totally biffed the pricing values of the products to try to putt closer to the hole. All of the audience was screaming at him to change his mind, but he didn't. He wound up putting from the second-to-last line. As I recall, he was a newlywed on his honeymoon. Todd asked him where he was from, and the guy said he was from Kansas City. Todd asked him why he went to North Kansas City for his honeymoon! :) ...he then said that he thought it would be a good thing if he won a trip to go on a real honeymoon, to where, Daniel!? (Daniel: It's a trip to Las Vegas!) A trip for two to Vegas (staying at the Harrah's, of course). But, he would have to putt from far away. His first shot was off the mark, wide to the right. Todd then walked over to the sign and pressed the button to reveal that the game was not just "Hole In One", but that it was "Hole In One... Or Two!" A second chance for the newlywed. He putted the ball, this time right on target... ...but too hard. The ball hit the edge of the cup and flew all the way to the back of the green. (Cue the "losing horns", literally.) If I recall, though, this was the contestant who bid correctly on his item-up-for-bids, and did win $100 in credits on a TPiR slot machine, so not a total loss.
More Harrah's reward points winners were announced, and some clips from funny moments from TPiR were shown on the big screens. Todd also gave a big thank-you to Bob Barker for having made the show what it was, which got a big round of applause. Very classy. You could tell that Todd had a great amount of respect for both Mr. Barker and for the show that he was hosting, and I thought that was really cool. Then, Todd told us it was time for the big wheel! After telling us to muster up every ounce of energy we had to cheer for it, the curtains opened to bring out the wheel!
The thing looked awesome in person. Much better than on TV, and much better than my camera captured it, too. Very shiny, very bright, very glittery, very awesome. He said that it was the same wheel from the show, but I'm not so sure. The score display was not the same, and that would also mean that the show in L.A. couldn't tape while the stage show was in its run, so I have my doubts. Either way, it was very well made, and could pass as the real deal. :)
Three people were called out of the audience to come on... up on stage to spin the wheel. Those people were called from the small group of people who had qualified through the random selection from the kiosk when registering.
The winner of the wheel showdown would receive $250 in cash. A spin of $1 would win $100 and a bonus spin (the bonus amount was not revealed). Nobody spun $1. I did my best to yell, "Big Bucks, No Whammies!" while the wheel was spinning, but everyone else was shouting, too, so I'm sure it didn't carry to the stage. :)
After the wheel shindig, it was time for the third qualifier. I messed it up. It was from 1985, and the three products were the "gimme" cheap one (I don't remember -- let's say a pack of gum), a video game, and a pinball machine. Now, I know my pinball, and I know that pinball machines are a lot more expensive than video games. Apparently not in 1985, though. Either that, or it was some really expensive vid, but they didn't give the titles of either game. Regardless, I did not get the answer correct, and did not go on down. The third pricing game was Cliffhangers...
I know the picture is blurry, but it was the only one I got. :-/ The contestant sent the yodeling mountain climber over the edge, and did not win the brand new refrigerator freezer that was being played for.
Fourth qualifier, apparently in 1982 a can of refried beans was cheaper than a small packet of powdered gravy mix. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure. The fourth game was "It's In The Bag" with a top prize of $2,400. The contestant screwed up the second item (we all knew it), and wasn't smart enough to walk with the $150 he won for getting the first item correct, so he wound up with $0 and "boo"s from the audience for not stopping.
...and with that, time for the showcase. To qualify for the showcase, three pop-culture multiple choice questions were asked on the video screens (with Todd reading them out loud). Each question had one answer. The two people in the room with the most correct (and fastest) responses would be in the showcase. The third question was worth "triple" the value (what value, we don't know), but I suspect that if one didn't get all three, they didn't have a prayer. I did not get all three.
Two older ladies were called to Come On Down to the showcase. Neither of them were really enthusiastic about it, and both slowly walked up to the stage.
The showcase was introduced. It started with a trip to Louisiana (to a Harrah's casino), then a home theater system, a flat screen TV, a leather chair on the turntable, and what else Daniel? (Daniel: A NEW CAR!), yup, a new sporty Ford Mustang! I looked at Troy and said, "They actually give away a car each show?" Troy said, "Keep listening." Todd explained that both ladies would write down what they bid on the entire showcase. The one who bid closest without going over would win the trip to Louisiana. If the winner was within $100 of the actual value of the showcase, then they'd win everything (including the car). Aah, now it made sense.
The ladies submitted their bids, $27,000 and $31,000, or thereabouts, as Todd revealed them. Then, before the actual retail value of the showcase was revealed, Todd told the audience members to pick up their keypads and vote as to which contestant they thought would win the showcase, or to vote "C" if we thought it was a double overbid. I picked the $27,000 lady. The actual retail value was $24,760 or something like that, so a double overbid. Daniel announced two more names that won 10,000 Harrah's points ($100 comp value!), and then Todd thanked everyone for coming, encouraged us to meet him and Daniel after the show in the casino lobby, and waved goodbye.
Click to enlarge picture in a new window.
As you can see, people then left the ballroom. We went up to the stage, and I got a picture of me standing in contestants' row, and then took a picture of the score displays as seen from the stage.
We went out to the casino lobby, and sure enough, there was Todd and Daniel, just hanging out chatting with people. How very cool. I had always heard that Todd was a nice guy, and I'm happy to say that it was 100% true. I've had encounters with stuck-up celebrities and stuck-up semi-celebrities. Todd was one of the nicest, friendliest people I've ever met. I told him that I was a fan of all of his work, and that I was a big game show fan, and how the whole experience was just a thrill. Todd was really receptive to it all. Daniel was really awesome too, but I didn't chat with him too much -- that night (foreshadowing!). Todd and Daniel were also very kind to pose for a picture with me, and Todd autographed my ticket. My day was complete, I didn't win a thing, and I had an absolute BLAST!
Troy and I talked, and we decided that we wanted to see the show again. We had seen a sign indicating that the Friday show was sold out, so we went to see if we could get tickets for the Saturday show. There was no Saturday show. That meant that the next show we could get tickets for would be Sunday at 2:00pm. Sunday was the day I hoped to go back to the Twin Cities. We waited in line at the box office and I asked the guy working if there were possibly any seats open for the Friday show, based on cancellations, or whatever. I asked if he could look in the computer, but he said that it was sold out and that there wouldn't be any cancellations. Sucky.
We played some more at the casino, and I played Pai Gow poker, and got a straight flush which paid $50. Not too bad. :)
I think we did the tour of casinos when I was down there. Not sure where I went on which night, but it didn't really matter...
Back at Troy's apartment, I decided to look on Harrah's web site since it was possible to buy show tickets online. Sure enough, there was ONE SEAT open for the Friday show. I snapped it up, and it was decided that I should go since Troy lives there (and could go again if he wanted), and he had already been to the show twice.
Friday night, I got psyched up again, and did it all over again! I was not randomly chosen to spin the wheel, but that was okay (although I would have loved to get my $30 back for the ticket!). I had to pay a $5 service fee for buying online. I did politely complain about that (as I wouldn't have had to pay the fee if the guy had just looked in the computer and let me buy the seat at the box office), and they gave me my $5 back. ...which I promptly lost in a TPiR slot machine. :)
I went into the show, and was pumped again. Daniel came out, and riled up the crowd once again. I realized how scripted the show was watching it for the second time, as everything was pretty much the same, right down to the actual wording of the jokes in the warm-up. But.. that's okay -- it's a stage show, after all. If you went to the same theater play two nights in a row, you'd expect it to be the same, right?
Todd came out, said hello, and told everyone that it was a special night. He announced that tonight's show was show number 500 for the live stage show, and was also the 100th consecutive sold-out show! How cool, I was at show number 500! (and 499, but I digress...) The qualifying questions and the items up for bid were NOT the same (I didn't have too much of an advantage, other than being sober (a lot of people weren't!), and having been through the process once before). I nailed the first qualifier, but... wasn't fast enough! I couldn't believe it. I got it right, I did it quickly, and I wasn't called. Race Game again, and the person won the game after changing two prices from her original attempt.
After the first game, I heard my name announced by Daniel as one of the winners of 1,000 Harrah's club points! (Again, $10 comp value.) Cool, at least I got something. Second qualifier, I screwed up the answer, but a girl from the row behind me (the back row) didn't, and she made it to contestants' row, made it on stage, played Hole In One, putted from the second-to-closest line, and won a trip to Vegas! We all congratulated her when she came back to her seat.
Bring out the wheel. Two of the people selected had the same last name and came from the same seating area. Turns out it was daughter vs. mother-in-law. ...and they tied and had a spin-off! Daughter won.
Third qualifier. I thought I got it right, but wasn't sure. First name was called to Come On Down, and then.........
"Kevin Nagle! Come on down!!!" I bolted out of my seat and screamed, "YEAH!!!!!" at the top of my lungs! I did the whole arm flailing thing just like they wanted, and even leaped off of the three steps from the upper seating tier (Where I was in the back) onto the main floor. I'm sure I looked great. :) As I ran up to contestants' row, I flashed a smile at Todd on stage. He smiled back with recognition on his face, and walked over to me and shook my hand and congratulated me for making it! I was thrilled! I thanked him, and then something clicked in his mind (he hadn't been shaking anyone else's hand), and he turned to the first person who was called down and did a, "Umm, yeah, and congratulations to you too!" type of thing. :) Heh.
The other two people arrived in contestant's row, and Daniel, what's the next item up for bids? (Daniel: It's a digital camera!)
It was a somewhat cheap digital camera, could record some video and audio, though. It was the brand of camera pictured above, if not that exact model. Prices are inflated on TPiR, though, so with that in mind...
The first person to bid said, "$200". The second person bid "$225". I bid $110, and cringed thinking I had low-balled it a little too much -- I just knew that the guy to my left (the first one called) was going to bid $111. To my (somewhat) relief, he bid $1. ...and the actual retail price is... (I was thinking in my head, "If it starts with a "1", I'm good").... "One hundred forty nine dollars, Kevin, you win!"
Woo ha! I won! Up on stage I went with Todd Newton in front of a sold-out crowd!
As the audience was cheering and the other three went back to their seats, I bounded up on stage where Todd was waiting, he shook my hand while smiling and told me (off microphone) that he was glad I made it up there. I told him that I was glad that I made it up there!
Todd:Now Kevin, you're a big fan of the show, right?
Kevin:Yes I am, Todd.
Todd:How many episodes of The Price Is Right would you say you've seen?
Kevin:That would be a number in the hundreds, Todd
Todd:So... you know most of the games, right?
Kevin:Right.
Todd:So I wouldn't have to explain the rules of any of the games to you, right Kevin?
Kevin:Most of the games, that would be right. (I didn't want to fall into a trap of not knowing how to play a game and then having to ask for the rules!)
Todd:So then, I bet you know how to play this!
The curtain opened to reveal (as Todd said to me off-microphone, "Surprise, surprise") CLIFFHANGERS!
Todd said, "Daniel, tell Kevin what he can win!" (Daniel: It's a brand new refrigerator-freezer!)
While Daniel was reading the plug for the fridge, I said to Todd while laughing, "What the hell am I going to do with a refrigerator-freezer, and how am I going to get it up to Minneapolis!?" :) He laughed.
"Back to you, Todd!" Todd said to the audience, "Now folks, Kevin drove all the way down here from Minneapolis to see this show." (everyone applauded, strangely) "...and Kevin, if you win that refrigerator, you're going to have to strap it to the top of your car and drive right on back up there with it!" (laughter)
Todd asked me if I knew the object of the game. My reply? "Sure; you don't want to hear too much yodeling." (laughter) "That's right, because if we hear too much, that mountain climber is going to go right off the edge of that cliff."
Daniel then introduced the three items for me to guess the prices of. A toy aquarium (not a real one -- plastic fish included!), Trivial Pursuit, the DVD edition, and a pair of FRS family walkie-talkies.
Todd asked me for my bid on the first item. I bid $17. Todd asked, "Is that right?" :BUZZ!: "Okay Kevin, the mountain climber will start when you tell him to." I replied, "Todd... let's hear some yodeling." He started up the mountain, with Daniel encouraging the audience to shout, "Stop!! Stop!! No!!! Stop!!" I did some shouting of that, too! He (finally) stopped eight steps up the mountain of twenty-five steps. Eek, too much lost on the first item! The second item was the Trivial Pursuit game. Everyone in the audience was screaming prices. I couldn't understand any of them, except for a lady in the front row who was very insistently shouting, "$35! It's $35!" I had been thinking $40 myself, so I split the difference and bid $37. Sure enough, the mountain climber moved up two steps and the price was revealed as $35. Todd pointed the lady out, and I thanked her. Finally, the pair of walkie-talkies. I had a $15 swing in either direction (15 steps left). I looked at the $35 lady, and she just shrugged -- she didn't know. :) I held my hand on my ear in a, "I can't hear you" gesture, which just got the crowd to scream even louder! :) I finally bid $63. (That gave me $48 to $78 as a range.) I was thinking even higher, but settled on what I bid. As soon as I bid $63, I swear that EVERYONE in the audience groaned. I thought, "Aah, crap, what did I do?!" I thought my bid was pretty good.
Start the yodeling. Start the screaming of, "No! Stop! Stop! No!!!!" I was just amused by it all at first, but then he got higher, I got more nervous, and higher, and more nervous, and higher, and he kept yodeling, and I kept shouting...... ....and with two steps to spare, he stopped!! The price was $50, and I won!!!
I jumped up in the air, Todd shook my hand again and congratulated me, the audience cheered, and I was on cloud nine.
I headed back down off the stage, and one of the crew members told me to "meet over by that tree at the end of the show" and pointed to a small potted tree on the side of the ballroom. I went back to my seat, and everyone there congratulated me (and a few asked what I was going to do with a refrigerator!).
The rest of the show didn't matter. I screwed up my answers to try and make it to the showcase, but I didn't care. The showcase had the same car, but a slightly different trip, and I think a washer-dryer instead of the home theater and TV setup. I screamed out, "$22,440!" from my seat more than a few times as the two contestants were writing down their bids. I got a few strange looks.
One contestant bid $37,000(!!). The other bid $26,500. Most people voted for that contestant. I voted for a double-overbid.
Actual retail price: $22,652. If I had gone $112 higher, my bid would have been correct to win everything! Not that I was up there to begin with. Nevertheless, my awesome bid then got some looks of, "Wow, he knew what he was talking about," from the people who had given me strange looks earlier. :)
So, the show was over. A couple of names were announced as having won 5,000 Harrah's club points, the curtain closed, and that was that. I headed down to the "meeting tree" and saw the other contestants from the show, including the girl who won the trip to Vegas. I asked her if she wanted to trade prizes. :) She declined my offer.
The producer of the show told the small group of us, "Okay, if you're here because your name was called to receive Harrah's points, go see that lady over there with the clipboard. If you're here because you won a prize, stay here." I told him that I was, strangely, there for both reasons. He told me to stay put, as the list of award points was going to make its way back to him.
He congratulated all of us for winning whatever it was that we had won, and explained how taxes were going to work. If the value of the prize we won was over $600, a 1099 would be sent out at the end of the year and we'd have to pay tax on the total value. Prizes won from the stage show were not considered gambling winnings (and subject to a $1,199 cap instead of the $600 cap), and as such would be taxed at the $600 threshold. Additionally, if any of us were to win anything else non-gambling at a Harrah's property this year, it would be combined with our winnings from the show for a total amount to be taxed.
He then told us that we could optionally take a cash substitution for the prize won ("oh hell yes!" I said out loud). The cash value would not be the same as the retail value -- it would be the actual amount that the show paid for the prize won. The same tax limitations applied. He told us to complete our paperwork on clipboards that had been given to us, and that one-at-a-time he would have us come up and he would tell us the cash value for each item and let us decide.
I filled out my contestant sheet which showed the two prizes I won (the digital camera and the refrigerator) and then asked if I could set my clipboard down and leave for about five minutes "to go say 'hi' to Mr. Newton in the casino lobby." The producer told me that Todd and Daniel were both going to be coming back to the ballroom once they were done meeting the people out in the lobby, as Todd had friends in Kansas City and that he and Todd and Daniel were all planning to go out that night after they finished with the show. So, I stayed put. Sure enough, five minutes later Todd walked in. He walked across the back part of the room (presumably to the stage and his dressing room), but then he saw me, stopped, turned around and came over to me to congratulate me again. How very cool. We chit-chatted for a couple of minutes, and he told me that the excitement I felt being a contestant on stage was probably about the same as the excitement he felt the first time he got to host the show. (The man has hosting in his blood, and he's awesome at it.) He also made a comment about it being nice to see big fans of The Price Is Right come to the show, and especially make it on stage. I thanked Todd about a million times more, and told him that I had a blast. Todd then spoke to the other contestants for a couple of minutes. At some point, Daniel walked in, too. Daniel (who had also remembered me from the previous night) congratulated me, and we talked for a while. I told him that he had done an awesome job, too, and that I didn't really get a chance to tell him that the night before. We talked about some industry stuff (did you know that Todd used to be a mobile DJ for weddings, like me?), and then he and Todd were getting ready to head backstage to dress down for their evening ahead. Daniel (who was sweating, and I can't blame him -- the man was in a full suit and running all around all night) had already taken off his tie and his jacket. I asked them if I could bother them for one more picture as I wasn't smiling too much in the first picture. They both were more than happy to take another picture with me -- Daniel even put his jacket and tie back on (totally unnecessary, but very cool that he was willing to). One of the staffers took this picture:
I think those two are the coolest people in show biz. I was very impressed with how nice they were, and how down-to-earth and "normal" they both were. :)
After they left, it was time to get down to business. Big bucks, baby. The fridge could be delivered to me in MN, or I could take cash for it. The retail value was somewhere around $1,400, and the retail value of the camera was $150. I don't need a refrigerator, so I opted to take the cash value of $475 (according to the producer, they have a good arrangement with Lowes to get the fridge at such a low price!). The cash value of the camera was $50. I figured I'd keep the camera as it would make a nice gift for someone (I don't need a digital camera -- I have one already!). But... that put me at $625 in cash and prizes. ...which meant I'd get taxed on $625 at the end of the year. Icky, and I hate dealing with taxes as it is -- mine are complicated. So... after saying I wanted the camera, I changed my mind and took the $50 for it instead, and walked with $525 tax free dollars! They gave me a slip to take to any cashier, and I did.
While "boarding" the casino (they're technically river boats, but I think they'd sink if they weren't held up by concrete in the river), the lady who swiped my club card asked me how I was doing. I (still quite excited) told her, "Great, I just won $525 from The Price Is Right LIVE show!" She got all excited and congratulated me and gave me a hug! ...and then the advice to not spend it all in the casino. I promised her that I wouldn't, and went inside. I brought my slip to a cashier's window, and claimed my cash. :) I then went straight to my car to make about a dozen phone calls to tell friends and family about the experience (and one to LJ, my most recent PhonePost), and I put most of the cash in the glove box.
Back inside I went, and played some more Pai Gow poker. I managed to get another straight flush in my hand, so I was excited at winning another $50. But, as the person next to me pointed out, it wasn't just a straight flush, it was a Royal Flush (I knew that, but I didn't know there was a difference in payout). For my $1, I got paid $200 for the Royal! Not too shabby, and not a bad night at all.
Sunday morning Troy and I went back to Harrah's. I was able to redeem my 1,000 points that I won from the show (plus another 200 I had earned in play over the weekend), and bought both of us Sunday brunch (mostly comped) before driving back to the Twin Cities.
...and the rest is history. :)
The Price Is Right LIVE stage show runs through Tuesday, June 8th at Harrah's North Kansas City. If you're anywhere near there, GO TO THE SHOW! It's a great time. I imagine it will travel to another Harrah's location after it's KC run, but who knows...
I'll close this post with a picture of the set borrowed from Mandel (approval to use pending!). Click on the image for a larger picture. Thanks, and goodnight, everybody!
Click to enlarge picture in a new window.