Posted 6:19 PM by Kevin

Wow it's been forever since I've touched this thing.

I had to dust it off since I have a new webhost -- I'll get all the broken images and stuff fixed at some point.

Posted 2:06 AM by Kevin

A full trip report (and more pictures) to come, but here's a start for stuff from Vegas Trip 6.

On the very first slot machine I played this trip, I got a handpay!



I think the machine ran out of paper. :)


Friday, June 1st, we went to the Foundation Room atop Mandalay Bay -- I snapped a picture of the Las Vegas Strip with my cell phone:




On Tuesday, June 5th, I hit a Straight Flush progressive at the Silverton casino for $162.75!




While we were there, I also took some video of their giant salt water aquarium with my cell phone:



...more to come!

Labels: Vegas

Posted 9:56 AM by Kevin

So, here's the big trip report on the most recent trip to fabulous Las Vegas.

We had an afternoon/evening flight. Got in to Vegas around 6:00pm. Grabbed our luggage and found the Dollar rental car shuttle without much of a problem. We hopped on, I identified myself as a "fastlane" member (now "Dollar Express"), and the driver found me on the sheet and told me that I'd be able to pick any of the midsize cars at the lot (what my reservation was for). I showed him a free upgrade coupon that I had (and a $10 bill underneath it) and asked him how the upgrade coupon works. He told me that the coupon would upgrade me from a midsize to a full size, and to just give that to the people at the lot exit. I groaned internally at that point, since I figured that the $10 tip might get me further than what I already had. But, no matter -- I was in Vegas!

We drove to the lot -- had a really nice conversation with the driver, actually -- he asked where we were from, where we were staying, etc. etc. We got there, he handed us our bags, and I thanked him and handed him the $10 anyway -- he was really nice... and I was in Vegas! :)

We got there, and there were no midsize or full size cars to be found, and there was a small crowd at the pick-up tent. Upon seeing the lack of cars, I looked for our shuttle driver, and he was still there, with his window open. I walked over and asked, "Okay, so what do I do if there are no full size cars available?" He told me to hold on a second, and ran inside. He came back, and said, "We're going to get you upgraded to a 300." A Chrysler 300. :) Seems my $10 wasn't a bad investment after all, as we got upgraded to a luxury class car for the price of a midsize. :) He took us inside, explained to the desk guy that we needed to be upgraded, and left us in good hands. The desk person printed up some paperwork for us, and told us to wait outside for a few minutes and we'd have a car. While we were waiting, we saw a couple offered a PT Cruiser convertible for their "midsize" car, which they took, and then a staff member drove up in a 300 for us. Nice. $13.99 + tax a day for four days for a Chrysler 300. Something like $87 total for the Sunday - Thursday trip.


Chrysler 300 - click to enlarge

We drove straight to the LV Hilton. I knew they still had the $1 Million "Supernova" game, which I got 6/7 of the way through last trip (7/7 would have been $1 Million) (and we didn't have a new "Resorts International" card, so we got one which entitled us to a free play each). We also used coupons from the American Casino Guide for coupons for their buffet (buy one get one with new slot club signup). I think I made it through three letters at Supernova, and won a Hilton keychain. I played Pick 'Em at the Spacequest bar -- turned my $20 into $40 and cashed out with that and a couple of drinks. I then made my way to the Pai Gow table to try and get entered into their upcoming tournament. I verified that the promotion was still on, and bought in for $100. I won all of two hands, pushed a couple, and lost the rest. Didn't get a single Fortune bonus (including the flush to qualify), and burned through $125 in less than 15 minutes. I was quite unhappy about that. I've seen bad streaks at Pai Gow -- I just wish I wasn't involved with that one. We played some $.01 slots, and then decided we were hungry. Off to the buffet, 2-for-1 coupon in hand. About $14 got us dinner for two, and it was really pretty good. I enjoyed the cooked-to-order pasta station, as well as many of the other selections.

I threw three dollars into the Megabucks machine -- didn't win. :)

It was getting to be later in the evening, and time to go check in at Main Street Station. Took I-15 to downtown, and checked in. I had requested one of the remodeled rooms, and got one -- we were at the end of the hall on the 17th floor, facing the highway. The room really was nice, and the towels were provided in the room without having to make a special request, and they didn't even have any holes in them. :) Actually, once we saw the room we wondered if we had made a mistake in staying there only two nights rather than all four.


MSS Room - click for more pictures

The in-room safe was closed and locked -- I asked about it at the front desk, and was told that someone would be sent up to look into it -- either nobody ever came, or they weren't able to open it as it remained closed and locked the entire trip. No biggie, though, as I didn't really have the need to use it.

We played some Treasure Chest Video Poker -- I got a couple of 4-of-a-kinds for 140 credits each time, and a $5 and $3 scratch card. We then wandered out towards Freemont street, and spent the rest of the evening downtown (I recall a $.99 Shrimp Cocktail at the Golden Gate), ending up back at MSS for some serious VP. Didn't win a ton anywhere, didn't lose a ton, either. An average night for gambling.

I don't remember what all we did the second day. I'm fairly sure we hit the Boulder Strip that day, looking for Cash King Checkers at Sam's Town (it's gone), and then spending some gambling time at Boulder Station. We ate at the buffet there (ACG 2-for-1) during "lunch" (3:30pm or so), so $6 for two of us. I think we left a $5 tip for our server there, as he was very good. I strongly recommend this buffet to anyone visiting -- we've been there three times now, and have been very happy with the food, especially for the price. If memory serves, we also dabbled around on the strip that night, going to the Luxor, Aladdin, Riveria, and perhaps some others. We ended up going back to downtown, wandering Freemont street, and back to MSS for some more VP.

The second day was, without a doubt, the worst streak of gambling I have ever had. I couldn't win ANYTHING. I couldn't get a hand in VP to save my life. At one point, I resorted to the slots as a diversion, and reality was almost reversed -- I was losing at VP, and then winning money back in the slots. Usually it's the other way around. It was an AWFUL day for gambling -- I think I lost about $500 (a lot for me to lose in one day -- chump change to other people, I'm sure). It was discouraging.

Around Midnight or so, we went to the Triple 7 brewpub at MSS for some late-night food. We split a pizza and an order of chicken fingers. Good food, and charged it to the room. :) We then did some more Freemont Street wandering, and wound up at the Vegas Club. We hit a few slot machines, and I happened to glance over at the bar and noticed something really strange -- a progressive sign that indicated "$2450.34". I couldn't believe it was possible, but we went to the bar and sure enough, the progressive on their $.25 video poker was over $2400! I plunked my butt down, and threw in a twenty. The bartender there was really nice, and they had Bacardi Razz, the rum (my favorite). The bartender commented that he has worked at LVC for six years, and has never seen that progressive that high. Sadly, I didn't hit the Royal, but my luck had finally turned around as that first $20 lasted (honestly) two and a half hours. I hit two or three four-of-a-kinds (I was playing Bonus Poker), and was just generally doing well. I drank quite well that night -- even taught the bartender a shot that he hadn't heard of. I wound up staying there for about three to four hours -- only invested $80 all together into the VP, and had a really great time. Four to the Royal at least three or four times, but never quite enough.

Got only a few hours of sleep at MSS that night, but I was up and ready to go the next morning. We hit the MSS buffet for breakfast (I'm pretty sure we had a 2-for-1 from somewhere -- perhaps the ACG?). Charged it to the room, and then got our stuff together to check out. I checked in with my host, Ipo, who looked at my play and told me that I was going to have to stay at Casino Rate. I understood -- if I had purely gambled at MSS I would have expected more, but we were all over downtown and even the strip. While it would have been nice to have the room comped, it wasn't the end of the world, and quite frankly I like not being tied down to one place for gambling. I'm sure I gambled enough to at least get some discounted room offers in the future.

On a whim, I went back to the host desk and asked if she could take care of any of our food. She made a call to find out how much we had spent (somewhere in the $30 range), and gave me a slip that comped it all. When checking out, I tried to use the Las Vegas Advisor "free night" coupon, but was told that I would have had to have booked my reservation using that coupon. I insisted that I *had* asked to use it when I booked (I really did), and that I had been told to just present it at the desk. The desk lady told me that my host might be able to do something, but that she couldn't. I think I was beginning to annoy Ipo as it was the third time she was seeing me in about fifteen minutes. I explained the situation, she made a call, and then took the coupon and gave me the free night. I think she was probably bending the rules, although legitimately, I wasn't getting anything more than I was entitled to with the coupon. Regardless, I think Ipo is awesome, and I plan to send her a token "thank you" gift, because she really was good to me.

Right, enough about all of that. I wanted another crack at the $2400 progressive at the Las Vegas Club. We spent another hour or two there, and I finally gave up on it. We wandered over to the (creepy) Plaza, as I had read that the Plaza has the "Chase The Royal" video poker game. I didn't see it anywhere, but did find a game that looked interesting -- "Double Pay Poker". I picked nickles, and took a crack at it. It's a triple play game, and there's a paytable for the initial deal (a different deal on all three hands), and then for the final outcome of the three hands using the bottom hand to hold cards on all three, like a traditional triple-play game. I was max betting, which on nickles was 30 credits, or $1.50. My fourth hand or so, I'm dealt an ace and queen of spades and three throwaway cards. Wouldn't you believe it, I drew the 10, king, and ace of spades for a Royal Flush on the bottom hand....for a whopping $200. I was steamed, as I had spent a collective 5 hours at the Vegas Club betting $1.25 a hand chasing a $2400 Royal, and here I bet $1.50 for a $200 payout. I just kept shaking my head at the machine. In reality, though, that $200 made up for money I spent chasing the other Royal, so it wasn't bad. I mean really, who would complain about winning $200? :)

After the Plaza, we got back in the 300 and drove to northern Las Vegas -- to the Rampart, specifically. I feel stupid for this, but I knew I wanted to go to the Rampart, but I couldn't remember why. We did have a 50-coin 4-of-a-kind bonus coupon from the ACG to use there, but I couldn't get a 4-of-a-kind to save my life there. The Rampart also had $.01 Price Is Right slot machines -- I've never seen those less than $.05 before or since. Strangely, the $.01 Plinko had some software glitches. Music wouldn't play when it was supposed to. The wheel "dinged" when I went over (rather than playing the 'losing horns'). Weird.


Rampart Casino - click for more pictures

I neglected to realize that the reason I wanted to go to the Rampart was for Cash King Checkers. I didn't see it, and forgot to really look for it or ask about it. :sigh: The Rampart was also rather hot inside, at least compared to other casinos. We each used a $5 match play coupon at an empty blackjack table. I asked the dealer if he minded if we did a "hit and run" -- he said he didn't mind at all. I threw a $1 tip bet out there on my bet, too. My friend lost his bet, and I pushed. The dealer checked with the floorman -- the coupon remained after the push (I know other casinos give you one crack at it, win, lose, or push). So, I got a second chance with the coupon. Sadly, I also lost my hand. The dealer thanked me for the tip bet, and I thanked him for his time.

We left North Las Vegas and headed towards The Orleans. We stopped on the way at the Gold Coast, as my friend had a $6 TITO voucher from the last visit (expired by date). We asked at the change booth, and after a quick radio call, they were given the go-ahead to cash it, and I decided that I wanted to play some VP. I was headed for a bank of machines near the back of the casino, but then remembered that the bars there have 9/6 JOB, and that there would be better drink service at the bar, so I stopped at the bar I was at, and plunked myself down. Threw $20 into the machine, and started playing. About five or so hands in, dealt the K-J-Q-10 of hearts. Held those four, and without hesitation hit the "Draw" button. Ace of hearts!!! Got my Royal after all! ...although it was only ("only") for $1000 instead of that $2400 I had been chasing. I called my friend, and while I was on the phone with him, I noticed something interesting. The screen was flashing, "Jackpot! $2000". I said, "Wait a second -- holy crap, I'm playing $.50! I won $2000!!!" I have to thank the person ahead of me, whomever that was, because they had changed the multi-denom machine to be $.50 instead of $.25! What a surprise that was!


$2000 Royal - click to enlarge

So, I got my first W2G, and $2000 in cash handed to me. :)

We went over to the Rio shortly afterward. My friend signed up for a slot card and was given a TPiR t-shirt and a Win Finder. I asked how to get a Win Finder without signing up for their slot club (as I already had one), and was told that they were being handed out at Harrah's until 5:00 that day, and they would be at the Rio from noon-5 the next day (Wednesday). The Win Finder "might" start blinking after an hour. If it did, you could turn it in to play Plinko to win up to $100!

We decided that it was as good a time as any, so we headed over to the Orleans to check in for our last two nights in Vegas. Checked in, and then headed straight to Harrah's. We each got a Win Finder there, and I won a TPiR t-shirt when they scanned my card to get the Win Finder! Played a little VP there, left up $10, and wandered around the Harrah's section of the strip. No blinking on any of our Win Finders from either Harrah's or Rio.


The Orleans room pictures - click for more

We each signed up at Casino Royale for their slot club, got our "$50 in free slot play" (we didn't win anything), and then plunked down for some Video Poker. I played Shockwave (I love that game!), and eventually got a single 4-of-a-kind for the $25 bonus coupon from the slot club "fun book" (sheet of coupons). I didn't (sadly) get another 4-of-a-kind within ten hands, so no extra $1000 from the machine. We played the WOF slot, and I did get to spin the wheel, but did not qualify for the $10 bonus coupon (if you spin "40" or higher, you can use the coupon for a $10 bonus). Left a few dollars there, and continued wandering. We went to the Imperial Palace for the first time ever. Saw the "dealertainers", and my friend spun the wheel for a free buffet coupon for his new slot club sign-up. I threw away my t-shirt coupon from the wheel -- I'll spin it again and sign up at a later date, provided I spin something decent. We wound up never using the buffet coupon, either.

I wanted to go to the bank because I didn't care for the idea of carrying my $2000 Royal Flush winnings around. We drove to a (somewhat) nearby branch, and I deposited $1800 of it. I think we went back to The Orleans and hit the pool after that, staying out there until the pool's closing time (8:00 PM). We used an ACG 2-for-1 coupon and ate dinner at the Orleans buffet. Fair. Not really worth the price of admission without a 2-for-1, in my opinion.

Played some more VP and slots at The Orleans (played $.01 Othello slots and completed the bonus round for something like a win of $15 on a $.01 machine), then decided to hit one of the local clubs. Had a decent time, and then around 3:00 AM we headed back to the Strip. I know we ended up at the Monte Carlo that evening, and I made some fair money on a particular "Jackpot Poker" video poker game that has always treated me well. ...and, the Monte has Bacardi Razz (LVC, Monte Carlo, and the Cannery are the only three casinos I know of that carry it, although I'm sure others do). Hit a few 4-of-a-kinds there, only 150 credits each time, though. The machine is so damn loud, too, and it's my fault. My last trip, about three months ago, the machine had zero volume. I asked if a tech could turn it up, and he did -- way too loud. Before he closed it up, I asked him to turn it down a little, which he did, but the end result is that it is still the loudest machine in the row. It was a riot to be generating half the noise of the casino at 4:00 AM. :)

Finally went back to The Orleans. I think we crashed into bed at that point.

Wednesday was our last full day in Vegas. We drove to the Rio for the Win Finders (no winning found us), and Bellagio during the day -- got some great outdoor pictures from there. Took the tram to the Monte Carlo, played a little more there and then walked to New York - New York. We still had our ESPN Zone $20 certificates to redeem. Played a little at NYNY. I love the Family Feud slots, although they're awful tight. We then decided it was dinner time, so off to ESPN Zone. They were still out of the coolers, so he took my address and is sending them to me. We each got our $20 voucher, as well as our free game cards. Dinner was great. We split an appetizer, and each got a different burger. $38 total tab -- had to pay $2 or so in tax (the more I think about that, I think they're ringing up their coupons wrong, but I digress), and tipped eight or nine dollars because our server was really great. It was a great experience -- the food being free made it even better. :) Upstairs, we used the free video game cards and played a few different games, including a round of bowlingo.

We hit the MGM Grand. I got to play "Austin Powers Video Poker" which was a hoot -- it needed more volume, though. We even trammed it over to the Luxor again, but didn't stay long, and made our way back to Bellagio. I figured, "What the heck", and we walked from Excalibur all the way to Bellagio, rather than taking the tram from Monte Carlo over. We stopped in Boardwalk, which was the first time I had ever been there. Nothing too special, but not as creepy as it looks from the outside. I was pumped because there was a technician from IGT setting up a brand new bank of The Price Is Right slot machines -- "Money Game". Unfortunately, the games were not up and running yet, so I didn't get to play. We did find the Family Feud video slot (I knew it existed, but had never played it), and got to see the bonus round, so life was good. Over to Bellagio, saw a fountain show (Luck Be a Lady Tonight), and then picked up the car.


Bellagio fountains at night - click for more pictures

I wanted to use the ACG coupons we had at the Hard Rock for their slot club sign-up, so we went over there at around 11:00pm. Signed up, got the coupon sheet, and played some. I only got up to 7 points after some VP and slot play, so I didn't get a chance to cash in the "bring this back when you get 10 ponts for a gift" coupon. We did each get a free shot glass from the gift shop. I used the LVA $10 matchplay coupon for a hand of "no bust blackjack" (I know it's an awful game, but I was playing one hand, and it was the only $10 table I could find at the time.) I lost. The slot club coupons also had a $10 matchplay, so I found a different blackjack table and sat down to use it. The dealer was in the middle of a handshuffle, which gave the floorperson plenty of time to see my coupon, pick it up, read it, and then grill me about it, asking where I got it, if I was a new slot club sign-up, where my slot club card was, etc. Kinda being an ass about it, if you ask me. I was peeved from the experience. I played one hand with $10 and the coupon, won, and cashed in. As I said, I was peeved about how much I was hassled to use a coupon that THEY issued, and didn't want any further part of playing there. When all was said and done, I was still up $10 there on their matchplay coupons. (Lost $10, won $20.)

We left, and got stuck in traffic (at Midnight! Darn construction EVERYWHERE!). We finally made it to the south valet at Wynn, and left the car there. We went into Wynn, and enjoyed the surroundings again (I was there on opening night). We took pictures of the non-casino areas, and got to see the last water show of the night (from the inside, sadly, as there was nothing open to let us go outside).

I think I broke even at $.25 video poker, and left a few $$ behind at the slots. A great time, though, but it was time to go. Back to The Orleans we went, and did some more gambling there. We ate at the 24-hour Subway inside the hotel (with the 15% off coupon from the hotel funbook), and then I played a bonus VP game while my friend hit the slots. Within 20 minutes I hit the four aces for $200. :) Bed called shortly after that, although I did take a crack at the "Double Down Stud" game which had a $21,000 progressive jackpot for a (essentially) dealt Royal. No such luck, but did do okay on the game.

The next day we checked out, sad that we would be leaving Las Vegas later that afternoon. I had wanted to check out Terrible's, so we did go there for lunch (2-for-1 buffet coupon) and some gambling. I would much rather spend the same money for the Boulder Station buffet. The Terrible's buffet wasn't "terrible", but it wasn't much to write about, either. I was under-impressed with the casino, too.

We were going to head to a south-strip casino to spend our last hour or so before having to head to the airport, but we literally got stuck in traffic for an hour on the back streets of Las Vegas. Construction (of what I don't know because we never saw anyone working) had most of the streets down to 1 lane, which caused backups as far as the eye could see. If we could have gotten to it, taking Las Vegas Blvd. would have been faster moving. The end result was that we had time to gas up the car, but if we went anywhere else we would have had time enough to go inside, and leave ten minutes later.

So, we returned the car a little earlier than planned, shuttled over to the airport, and I threw about $80 into the airport video poker machines. Couldn't hit anything there, either. Finally (three hours later!) our plane left, and we had an awesome view of the south end of the strip (looking to the north) out the right side of the plane.

All in all, I think I'm up about $1500 for the trip, including hotel, meals, car, etc. Another great Vegas trip, and I can't wait to go back!

Labels: Vegas

Posted 2:55 AM by Kevin

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!

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.

Posted 5:46 AM by Kevin

My day of Pyramid fun...



I managed to get an audition time for the Donny Osmond hosted "Pyramid" game show during their "Pyramid City Sweep" event at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

I was told that I had an audition time of 10:00a, and to be there no less than ten minutes early. I woke up a little after 8:00, and got to the mall right at 9:30. I went to the area where the Pyramid stage was set up. On the stage was a nice mock up of the set, including a pyramid of six monitors with trusses and everything, designed to look very much like the set. Also, two contestant desks were on the stage, also in the styling of the show.

I asked at one of the tables, and was instructed where to go for the audition -- an empty store on the first level. There was already a line there of about forty people -- all registered in advance (I believe) waiting to check in. I hopped into line, got checked in, and went into the store. There were around 100 folding chairs set up, each with a clipboard and a "pyramidgameshow.com" pen. :) There was a contestant application/information sheet on everyone's clipboard which we were instructed to fill out. It had typical things on it such as name, address, phone number, hobbies/interests, have you been on any other game/reality shows in the past ten years, if so which?, etc. Attached to that card was a salmon colored sheet with thirty numbered blank lines.

While we were waiting, they had a DVD running of an episode from the first season with a $25,000 win on it.

About ten minutes past 10:00, a man came up to the front of the room and introduced himself as Stephen Brown, executive producer of Pyramid! I was impressed that the E.P. of the show would be at a publicity tour -- I figured that there would be a contestant coordinator of sorts there, but not the big cheese himself. Anyhoo, he introduced himself, and thanked everyone for coming. He asked a few general questions and then explained how the audition process was going to work. He showed a montage video of a lot of winner's circle categories, clues, and answers, with the montage finishing with a $100K win (with less than a second on the clock!). He told us that the first part of the audition process was to play the end game - the winner's circle round. He was going to put in a tape with a list of five items for each blank, and our job was to write in the category for each list. Essentially, "receiving" in the end game, but writing our guess on paper. We were only allowed to write one answer, and were told to write something down for each answer, even if it was only a guess. He said, "so, for example, if the tape says, 'A Shamrock, Grass, A Pine Tree, Certain Paint', you would write, 'things that are green.' Don't just write 'green' because I'll mark you wrong." He told us to write the following in the margin of our sheets:

"Things that are..."

"What a ___ might say"

"Reasons..." (which he told us that the key word to listen to was "because" -- "Because you want to be informed - because you like the comic strips - because you follow the stock market" ("reasons you read the newspaper")

Basically, it was a list of the three most common "styles" of WC categories. ...and we were told to write our answers in those forms, as it is also the form that must be used on the show.

He selected "tape 3" of WC category clues, but the tape wasn't cued up. He had to fast-forward through an entire Pyramid episode, which created a lull in all of the conversation in the room. While he was racking through the tape, I piped up and said, "Thank you for bringing back the score displays on the contestant tables." He looked up at me, smiled with an acknowledgment that I paid attention to the finer details of the show (beyond the "ooh, Donny Osmond" that everyone else was asking questions about), and said, "You're welcome. I resisted those for a long time, but I finally gave in." I figured that I might not have the opportunity ever again to directly talk to the E.P. of the show, and it was an improvement that I was very much in favor of, and I think it was taken well.

He got to the beginning of the "welcome to the audition", a videotaped statement from Donny himself, and he fast-forwarded right through it! He told us that we didn't need to hear it, as it more or less said everything he had already told us. He rolled the tape at the sample clues, which included the "things that are green" that he had already given us. ...and then the test began.

He had warned us that they would be going pretty quickly, and he wasn't lying! He also told us that there would be a very low threshold for who makes it and who gets cut. "Just so you know, I think one or two of you might not make it (he said to the group of 65 of us)." (cue laughter) He told us that he couldn't tell us how many you could get wrong and still move on (I personally think that it was because it's essentially graded on a 'curve' of sorts), but that it was a low number.

The test went through, and it was pretty rapid-fire. I got stuck on two or three of them, but figured out what it was by the fifth clue, which left very little time to write the answer as the next one was already starting. Two of them I wrote down the keyword, and then when I had time with others, went back to write the phrasing around it. For ones with clues that began with "I'm a ...", I learned to immediately begin writing, "What a ___________ might say" instead of waiting until I figured out what the "blank" might be.

I'm not going to discuss the clues or categories in detail. It wouldn't be fair to someone who may audition with that tape in the future on the off chance they read this, and I don't know how necessary it is to get into the specific categories.

I will say that I was only unsure of one, maybe two on the entire test. I actually though that perhaps I aced it, especially after discussing an answer with the people around me after we had turned in our tests to be "graded". The category listed five book titles, only one of which I knew for sure was by a specific author. I guessed at, "(author name) novels", which turned out to be right.

While the tests were being graded, Stephen came back in front of the group, and fielded more questions. A lot of the questions were "What's Donny Osmond really like?" and things of that nature. One person asked about having returning champions, which Stephen indicated would not be happening anytime soon. He explained that the shows are aired in the order they decide, not in the order of taping, and between markets that double-run the show and different celebrities every two to three shows, it just wasn't gonna happen. There were a couple of remarks he made which basically said, "That was the old show, this is the current show, we're doing our thing with the current show and we've made changes that we think are in the best interest of the show, so cope with it and enjoy it." (not a direct quote, just more or less what I got out of a couple of comments) ...which, I think is a fair statement to make, too. Whether it's six clues in twenty seconds or seven in thirty, the game play is essentially the same. They've made some changes, yes, and that's the show that we get. I still enjoy the show, even if I maybe would do some things differently. But I digress...

I asked an intelligent question (I thought). I asked what the atmosphere was like when Dick Clark was a guest on the show. He told me that it was great, that Pyramid really is Dick's show, and that both Dick and Donny are good friends, and that he (Stephen) also has a good relationship with Dick Clark as Stephen was a (the?) producer of Winning Lines! I didn't know that, and thought it was kind of neat. (According to TVTome.com, he was also the co-executive producer of "Legends of the Hidden Temple.")

Finally, the tests were graded and Stephen brought a small stack to the front of the room. He told us that fifteen people were going to be staying, and that if he didn't read our name that he thanked us for taking the time to try out, and to keep watching Pyramid! He read thirteen names (with most of the people applauding after each name read!), then he read my name. I was beginning to get nervous -- I was positive I nailed the test, but kept waiting and waiting... :) The fifteenth name was of a radio personality that I knew because I interned at the radio station she was at years ago...

So, a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and we moved on...

Some people asked to know how they did on the test. He told us that he couldn't tell us, but he did tell us that nobody got a perfect score. As best I could tell, the "worst" anyone in our group did was three wrong, but I'm not certain of that.

He had the fifteen of us gather closer to the front of the room, and then congratulated us on making it that far in the audition process, and explained that we'd be playing the front game with each other in front of him. He took two people at a time and with chairs facing each other, had one person give while the other received, and then vice versa. He told us that it was good to use our hands to be descriptive with the clues, and to think of common phrases or brand names to get people to get to an answer. I noticed that on the better "givers" in the group, which also were the ones using their hands, he made notes on their information cards. Once the two people had each given once and received once, they were shuttled off to get their pictures taken to be stapled to their info sheets, and sent on their way.

When there were only a few of us left in the room, while he was waiting for the next two to get settled, he looked up at me and said, "Do you ever go on the Game Show Network message boards?" I replied, "Sure... what, do you lurk in there sometimes?" He replied, "No... I post in there sometimes, though. I say more than I should in there, too!" I thought that was pretty neat.

I wound up being last, and since there were an odd number of us, Stephen had one of the people who had already been up there stay to be my partner. I sat down, and he said to me, "do you want to give or receive first?" I said, "I'll give... ...I feel like I'm on the old show." (smile) He smiled back and said, "Yeah, that's not gonna happen. (having the option to give or receive in the main game)"

I think I did well. I've always been afraid of receiving, but did well with that, too. I think we only really got stuck on one of each, which wasn't bad at all. He thanked us, I thanked him and shook his hand. He had told all of us to be at the stage at 5:00 when the finalists would be announced. I asked him after my audition if it was really necessary to be there at 5:00 as I had to work. He said, "well, no, but yes - be there." He told us that they were going to pick four (I think) finalists and announce them at 5:00, they would all play a game on stage, and then their names were going to be thrown into a hopper, and one of them would be drawn to go on the show.

I got my picture taken, and then wandered outside to call work to beg to come in late, and was able to. After my phone call, I went to the stage area, where there was now a big crowd because Donny was scheduled to be there at noon -- it was just a few minutes before noon. I saw Stephen again, and got his attention and told him, "Just so you know, I'm just getting over a cold -- that's why my voice is so crappy." He said, "aah, okay... hey, go tell Bill -- he's the tall guy with the hat over there -- go tell Bill you're one of the contestants." I said, "Okay!" and went over to Bill who was at the side of the stage. I introduced myself and told him that "Steve told me to tell you that I'm one of the contestants" (not knowing quite what was meant by that), and Bill said, "okay, great" and opened up the rope barrier to let me in to the stage area. He introduced me to two local radio DJ's, "Crisco" and "Jackson". (Okay, one's an intern, but whatever.) Crisco indicated to me that he loved Pyramid. Jackson indicated that if I was on his team, I'd be carrying the team. It clicked in my mind that it said on the City Sweep site that at the various city sweep events that local celebrities would be playing the game on stage, and I was about to be in that game! They picked one other contestant (a female who had auditioned but was cut), and we had a coin toss to determine partners. The lady lost the toss, giving me the choice. I picked Crisco, and on to the stage we went! They had four headset microphones set out for us (think Brittney Spears type microphones). Of the four of us (including two radio people), I was the only one who knew how to wear the headsets -- the other three were putting the band on top of their heads, rather than behind them, which looked ridiculous. The emcee came out on stage (not Donny), and introduced us to the crowd of about 300 (waiting for Osmond's appearance, no doubt), and away we went!

There were six categories put out on the pyramid monitors (all Minnesota themed), complete with actual game sound effects. I was given first choice, and picked a "Camp Snoopy" themed category, which turned out to be about dogs, if I remember correctly. I've always had a knack of figuring out what the categories are generally about, but more so as to which ones are more difficult than the others, and I was dead on all game.

First round (the Snoopy one), we got five out of six. Twenty seconds goes by quickly! The crowd applauded, I high-fived Crisco, and the other team got to pick. While they were playing, I whispered to Crisco, "Let's pick, Princess Kay of the Milky Way" -- I bet it's about dairy products or candy bars," he agreed. Before I knew it, the crowd was cheering -- the other team (with Jackson, who didn't know anything about the game) just got six out of six! We were down a point, six to five.

Round two. Princess Kay, "describe these dairy products" (yes!), first was Ice Cream ("Baskin Robins" I said, while making an ice cream scooping motion), don't remember what was second or third, but I won't forget #4 - "Sour Cream." I said, "Not sweet, but ____" (trying to get him to say "sour"), he didn't. He said everything but, and even said, "Whipped Cream". I tried to get him to stay near that, but finally gave up and passed to get to "Eggnog." "You drink this during the holidays!" I shouted, and time ran out, and then Crisco said "Eggnog." He knew it, but time ran out right as I said "holidays" not giving him a chance to answer. Ugh. Three right, putting us at a score of 8 to 6, but the other team still had their round two to go! Bad shape. I don't remember the category they picked, but it was one that I had guessed to be tougher, and it was. They really, really struggled, and only got two correct! TIE SCORE! (8 - 8)

Round three. I had the choice of "Maxi-apolis" or "Show me the way to Lake Wobegon". Knowing nothing about Garrison Keillor and deciding it would probably be a difficult category, I chose "Maxi-apolis", guessing to Crisco that it would be "things that are big". "Name these things that are big in Minnesota!" Woo! I don't remember the entire list, but one that sticks out in my mind was, "We're currently in this!" me: "The central time zone!" (laughter from the crowd) "The Mall of America!" Six out of six, baby! Instead of being out of the game, we were in mad control! Now, the other team had to get six out of six just to tie! The category became, "name these fictional places" (ouch!), and after them passing on the third one, I smiled at Crisco because I knew we had just won the thing. Final score, 14 - 11.

...and on to the winner's circle! The crowd cheered, and we scrambled to set up chairs for the bonus round. I was forced to receive (not where I want to be in the WC, and not how it is for season two of Pyramid), and sat with my back to the Pyramid monitors, facing the crowd. Crisco sat facing me, and we got ready. The emcee explained that there was no actual money up for grabs, and then said, "sixty seconds on the clock!", and there was silence. A computer glitch. After a minute, I offered (over microphone) that I had a wristwatch. :) I also said, "things that are technically difficult!" Finally, the computer was ready. "Sixty seconds on the clock!" - the audio guy hit the wrong button, and the background music for the bonus round started playing. I saw them scramble, hit the correct button, and the "clock" sound played. "Ready, go!" I don't remember much of it, but after the second category, I realized that all the categories had a Minnesota theme to them ("Twin Cities suburbs", "Why you read the Star Tribune", etc.). We got stuck on the Star Tribune one because Crisco forgot to say, "because", so I kept naming newspapers without the form of "Why you read the..." I think I remember the emcee saying to him, "because!" (to prompt him to say that as part of his clue). We got past it, and he gave me the clue, "I'm a candy coated in chocolate. I have a caramel center." I said, "Things a Milky Way would say, things a Snickers would say..." he then said, "I'm in a red wrapper and I'm made by Pearson." "THINGS A NUT GOODIE WOULD SAY!" Boom, winner. I beat the winner's circle, and the crowd went wild! I didn't realize it was the sixth one until everyone started cheering. I also didn't realize that there had to have been only seconds left in the round, as there was no clock facing me, and as far as I know, not one visible to Crisco either. What an experience! You truly lose track of everything while you're in that seat, and I only paid attention to my partner the whole time. The only other thing I could hear while the round was going was the "ding" of a correct category as it kind of "cut" through the air. Besides that, even if there were a million people out there, it was just him and me. When I won, I was really excited. ...and that proves what a great game Pyramid is. I'm bolding this for a reason: The amount of money a show gives away does not determine how exciting a show is. I won nothing (other than the same game that everyone else did), but I was excited as anything! It doesn't matter whether they're giving away ten cents or ten thousand dollars, Pyramid is a really great, solid game concept, and the drama is there to make the game exciting no matter how much money is at stake. Even if Pyramid only gave away a thousand dollars for a WC win, it would still be more exciting than Pepsi's "play for a billion" or anything else out there with big money.

All four of us got "Pyramid", the home game to take with us, and we were backstage when Donny was introduced and ran by us to get on stage. In retrospect, I should have had Donny autograph the game -- I thought about it, but I didn't want to seem like I was one of the "groupies" getting all googly over him.

So, after all of that, I went to my car to put my winnings in the trunk, then back into the mall for lunch. I was looking at the menu of a new BBQ place, to decide if I wanted to eat there, and the person in front of me turned around to go somewhere else, and it was Stephen Brown again. I did a double-take, assured him that I wasn't following him, and went on with my lunch. I wound up getting pasta from the pizza place, and sat and ate. Stephen passed by my table on his way back to the Pyramid area and told me to check with him after the 1:30p audition group (the second of three audition groups for the day) and he'd let me know where I was in the standings (because he knew I had to get to work). I nodded, and enjoyed the rest of my lunch.

At 3:30 when the third audition group was scheduled to go in (and the 1:30 was just wrapping up), I snuck in (okay, with the permission of the Pyramid staff), and said to Stephen, "I know you're busy, I can just stick around until 5:00 if you want..." He looked up and said, "Well... we had a lot of really good people in this last group... I think it's going to put you a little bit below the threshold... ...but it doesn't mean that you can't get called back, either." (He had explained earlier that they have taken more than one person from the mall events and flown them to L.A. to be on the show, but that at each event they only determine one person, and then sometimes call other people who applied and invite them on the show.) I thanked him, indicated that I could always use a job, too! :) ...and went on my way.

I'll admit it. I was a little dejected that night at work. I had tried not to get my hopes up leading up to the event, and even in the audition session, but things just seemed to be falling into place, I thought that perhaps -- perhaps I had a chance. ...and I'm not completely out the running, but I'm not holding my breath either. Regardless, it was a great, great experience. ...and getting to play on stage was just icing on the cake -- it made a great day even better.

The entire crew was really awesome. From the production assistants that were there to the emcee on stage to Stephen himself, it was a blast to be there, and even if I never make it on the show, I'll always know that I went to the top of the pyramid in less than sixty seconds! Truly a classy operation. I know that dealing with the public can be less than fun at times (that's an understatement), and having to deal with hundreds of wanna-bees (like me) can be a real pain in the rump. I found in particular Stephen Brown to be a truly nice, friendly person, who didn't seem to be bothered by having to deal with everyone trying to get on the show. He struck me as someone I wouldn't mind having coffee with and just talking shop.

I think I'm going to send a "thank you" card to him and all of the Pyramid crew, as I'm sure they probably don't get much praise for their dedication and hard work. As I said above, the whole day was really a blast, and I'm thankful for the opportunity.

...and that, is a long post. Time to post and go to bed.

Posted 6:42 AM by Kevin

I'm.... shocked.

Blogger just updated my site correctly. All of the archive problems that I had been having... all of the damn bugs that pushed me away from Blogger... it's working! WOO HOO!!!!!

I knew I had the settings correct! It wasn't my fault!!!!! :)

Posted 6:39 AM by Kevin

Subject: Please make sure your tray-tables are in the upright position...

I haven't updated in a while. Life is doing okay right now -- been much worse, been better. I don't want to focus on that right now, however.

What I do want to focus on is one of the scariest experiences of my life (I'm sure), and that's coming up this Thursday.

It all goes back to me being in the car on the way to work yesterday...

::insert dream sequence sound effect::

I was listening to KS95, a local Top 40 radio station. In the afternoon drive, there are two co-hosts, and one of the daily contests is called "Smarter Than Staci" (Staci being one of the co-hosts)... ...anyway, the guy who called in to compete was not smarter than Staci. I caught the final question out of five which was the "tiebreaker" -- whoever could answer it first would win. The question was, "Who invented the telephone?" After a pause (trying to 'give it to' the contestant), Staci finally gave the answer since clearly the contestant didn't know. That meant that the contestant didn't win the prize, so now 'caller 10' would win.

The other day, I heard the prize they were giving away that day was a GameWorks prize package, and a decent one at that. I like GameWorks, and I figured that it would be cool to win it (if that was in fact the prize), so I called in on my cell phone. Busy. Called again. Busy. Called again. Ringing. RINGING! It rang about five times, and then, "Hello, KS95!"

Now, having called in and won contests before, I know that if you're not caller "10" or whatever, they'll just answer the phone, "KS95, you're caller seven, try again!" and hang up all in the span of two seconds... so, when they answered the phone just as, "KS95!", I knew then and there that I was the right caller. Never the less, I did the standard, "Hi, what caller am I??!" line. The conversation continued like this:

Me: What caller am I??!
Moon: Well, we have a couple of questions for you.
Me: Okay...
Moon: Are you over 18?
Me: Yes
Moon: Are you under 225 pounds?
Me: Yes
Moon: Are you able to follow directions reasonably well?
Me: Generally, yes. :)
Moon and Staci: Then you're caller ten!!!! WOOOOO!!!!
Me: Allright!
Staci: What's you're first name?
Me: Kevin.
Staci: Do you know what you've won?
Me: No - I didn't hear it announced... (they cut out this line and the previous for air)
Staci: You've heard of Red Baron pizza, right?
Me: Sure.
Staci: Well, Red Baron has a squadron of bi-planes that they do acrobatic air shows with.
Moon: You know - the old planes with the outdoor cockpits...
Me: Sure... (thinking to myself, 'I've won tickets to an air show.')
Staci: Well, you've won a ride in the Red Baron plane as they perform over the Taste of Minnesota!

It took a second to sink in.

Moon: Do you get airsick easily, or are you okay in airplanes?
Me: Generally I'm okay -- I just don't want to fall out!
Moon: Well you see, here's the thing.... ......they strap you in! :)
Me: Oh, okay. :)
Moon: ....and then the pilot asks you how many cahones you brought with you, and then starts doing loop-de-loops and barrel rolls!
Me: Oh my.
Moon: So, be sure to enjoy a nice Red Baron pizza before you go up in the plane! :)
Me: Uh....
Moon: Oh no, you should probably eat the pizza after you go up in the plane.
Me: (finishing the sentence for him) ...yeah, after I go up there.... :)
Staci: Kevin, stay on the line and we'll get some information from you!
Me: Okay, thanks!

Off air (or I should say, off 'tape'), I gave my contact information, and Staci told me that I'd get a call soon because it's going to be this Thursday at either 3:30 or 4:30pm. I told her that I was excited, but also scared at the same time! She laughed and said that she would be too. :)

I called Joel's work, but he was in an interview with someone -- a mutual friend was already listening to KS95 -- I told him to keep listening as my phone call would be coming on after the current song (which it did). I called Joel later and asked him if our friend had told him the news. Joel's first response was, "yeah, that's great, I'm not going up there with you!" :) His next comment was, "Is your will made out to me?" :)

::end dream sequence::

So, good times. Check out the Red Baron Squadron page for pictures of the planes and some other info. Joel said he's going to take pictures -- I'll post some of them if they come out decently. Wish me luck.

(Update, 6:29a: Apparently my LJ is on the "Cartman" cluster, which is being worked on, as such I can't post this right now. I'm going to blog it so I don't lose the post, and then add it to my LJ when I can...)

Posted 7:23 AM by Kevin

Maybe... just maybe this will work...

::sigh:: Well, I figured out the directory structure issues -- the archives are in their proper directory, and stuff points to where it's supposed to. The only problem is that the damn archive file doesn't get published when I post and publish, meaning that an entry makes it to the front page, but the actual archive page doesn't get new information, so the post never makes it to the page. Aargh!