Vegas game show history

There's a multi-state lottery game show that recently started airing, and it's taped in Vegas.

"Monopoly Millionaires' Club" is taped at the Rio, and it's basically several games of chance that offer big cash prizes if you beat the odds. Contestants are people in the audience who qualified for the show via their local state lottery. Details about it can be found at Wikipedia. For the moment, there's a second Wikipedia article about it.

The first episode is available on YouTube. (See below) I sampled about half of it before I started this column.

The show offers some big cash prizes, and the games in which they are awarded are loosely based upon the Monopoly board game. The big hook is a $1 million prize, presumably at the end of the show. I'll know more after I finish writing this blog.

The show would be boring to watch if not for the big cash prizes during each game. It ain't "Jeopardy!" There's no trivia or knowledge required to play the game. It's not "The Price is Right." You can't play along, trying to guess the price of a bag of rice. The fact people are gambling to win big cash prizes is the only reason the show is appealing. If the top prize were $10,000, people would line up to be a contestant, but few people would watch.

Big cash prizes are an easy way to draw viewers to an otherwise uninteresting game. (See also: "Deal or No Deal")

What bugs me about the show is that it, like most attempts at some form of a game show during the past 15 years, relies upon an actor/comedian to host it. In this case it is Billy Gardell, who is currently starring on the CBS show "Mike and Molly." Usually the chosen host is a known actor/comedian who doesn't have a hell of a lot going on. Drew Carey had hosted a forgettable high stakes game show for CBS prime time when he was tapped to replace Bob Barker. Bob Saget wasn't doing much when he was asked to host my favorite big money prime time game, "1 vs. 100." Howie Mandell wasn't doing a lot of talent show judging when he was handed "Deal or No Deal."

Gardell isn't bad, but as a game show aficianado, it still bugs me that he was tapped to host the show. Ironically the show uses Todd Newton, who does have a game show host resume –– albeit for second-tier game shows and live stage shows based upon TV game shows –– as its co-host. He does what appear to be pre-recorded bits with folks playing simple games for cash prizes, separate from the action at the Rio. I've never been a big fan of Newton, and his overly enthusiastic celebration of a $10,000 win actually makes me thankful that Gardell is the host of the main game.

So the Monopoly game show is now taping in Vegas. It's not the first. I'm not an expert on this topic, but I know of a few other instances where games shows made Vegas their home.

As noted previously, the current rendition of "Let's Make a Deal" began its run at Tropicana.

Now and again "Wheel of Fortune" will tape a couple of weeks from one of the casinos. The recent episodes I saw were taped at the Venetian.

"The Price is Right" doesn't take its show on the road like WOF, but for its 30th anniversary there was a special show taped at the Rio.

In the early 1990s, as daytime game shows were falling out of favor, Caesar's Palace was the setting for a short-lived NBC game show called "Caesar's Challenge."

I don't remember this, but the final season of the original run of "Hollywood Squares" was taped at the Riviera in the early 1980s. I read host Peter Marshall's autobiography and he wrote a bit about that year, including a story about how he had an incredible run of luck gambling in the casino one night (roulette, I think) and was mysteriously robbed of his winnings while asleep in his hotel room. I might have that story wrong, but that's what I recall. I enjoyed Marshall's book, I should read it again.

Without researching the subject, those are the game shows I'm aware of that have a tie to Las Vegas.

What did I miss?

My price was wrong

I wish I could forego my knack for long-winded reminiscing as I revisit another chapter in Las Vegas game show history, but that's not possible.

For several years there was a "The Price is Right" stage show in Vegas. It was an afternoon show, and it was a bastardized version of the TV game show America loves.

As a lifelong game show fan, I attended several TPIR tapings in Hollywood. Six of them, to be exact, over three separate trips about 15 years ago, including one about two weeks after 9-11. So many people had canceled travel plans because of 9-11 that the usual flock of would-be contestants didn't show up for the taping. Oh, they filled the studio with an audience, but it wasn't quite the circus outside the studio that most people experience.

Six shows, and not one call to "come on down."

Several years ago the folks at Caesar's had a ticket deal where you could purchase a 48-hour pass – for about $115, tax included – for shows in the Caesar's empire. Well, any of the second-tier shows. If you wanted to go to one of their premium shows, you could buy a ticket at a discount.

I was on a solo trip to Vegas, so I bought the "all-stage pass," or whatever they called it, and used it to see six or seven afternoon, evening and late night shows.

You had exactly 48 hours to redeem your pass for tickets, and you had to show up at the box office prior to the show for a ticket. If it turned out the show was sold out (which wasn't an issue) you were out of luck. I used it to see several shows, including the Price is Right stage show.

I told myself I'd never pay to see the Price is Right fantasy camp when I've been to the real thing. But given I had bought the pass, and my afternoon show options were limited, I decided I might as well see the stage show. I timed it so that I bought my 48-hour pass shortly before the Wednesday afternoon show, then came back on Friday to cash in my pass for a ticket as early as I could do so at the box office for that day's show. That allowed me to see the 2:30 show both Wednesday and Friday afternoon, despite the fact that the pass hit the 48-hour expiration before the start of Friday's show. There was no Thursday show, otherwise I would have been there for it, too.

I had read enough reviews via Trip Advisor to know the secrets to this stage show. If you were lucky enough to play a game, you played for modest prizes, yet the games were trickier than on TV. A progressive game that has cash prizes ("It's in the Bag") is played for $16,000 on TV. I think the top prize during the stage show was $2,400, and it seemed to be ridiculously impossible to intelligently play the game until completion and pocket $2,400. You have the option to stop along the way, and I would have stopped at $300 had I been on stage to play the game, it was that difficult.

They chose everyone randomly to participate, and four people would be called to contestant's row to bid on a small prize and win the right to go up on stage. You didn't get to stay in contestant's row if you lost out, they pulled four new people each time.

The show was in Bally's big theater, big enough to seat hundreds of people. The theater was less than half full, however. I'd estimate it drew a crowd of about 250 per day.

On my first day I was the first person called, and I was able to take the coveted fourth spot in contestant's row. We were bidding on some speaker system, and even though I bid last and was trying to be strategic, I bid too high in bidding over one of my competitors. The prizes were mostly in the $200 range, and the others seemed to know this, as we weren't getting bids over $500. At this point I don't remember what game I would have played had I been on stage. Needless to say I was disappointed, but I wasn't having much luck at blackjack during that trip, so this was par for the course.

At the end of the day everybody had a chance to be randomly called up on stage for the showcase. Two people were called, but I wasn't one of them. The secret to the showcase was that they made it seem like it was expensive, but in reality it was between $14,000 and $15,000. Unlike the TV show, both contestants privately bid on the same showcase, which included a bunch of shares of a stock that sounded expensive, a Mexican vacation that sounded expensive and an economy car. You'd think the economy car would be worth at least $15,000, but it must have been the most stripped-down version of a compact car. The trip was probably far less fancy than it sounded (it was probably three nights, no frills) and the stock might have sounded impressive because it was a well known name, (Yahoo, I think,) but it clearly wasn't a blue chip.

If a winning bid came within $100 of the actual retail price without going over, the contestant won the showcase. If it was more than $100, I think they gave you the trip. If both overbid, nobody won. I knew you had to bid in the $14,000 range to win, and although I couldn't have been the only one who knew this, others in the audience were shocked when the host read the actual retail price, as were the contestants, at least on the first day, because both overbid by plenty.

I had read that people won the showcase occasionally, but if you didn't know the secret, it was just about guaranteed you would overbid.

The show is no longer in Vegas, but it tours regularly to casinos around the country. I went to it here in Minnesota a couple of years ago with my girlfriend and her sister and brother-in-law, as they wanted to go. I didn't want to, even though a ticket was just $15, but I went, as I didn't want to be a jerk. They changed the format of the showcase, as just one person played for it, and they played "10 Chances" in order to win the showcase prizes. And they've made sure it is even more unlikely a person will win the compact car they show off.

As for the hosts of the show, it is a revolving gig. In Vegas they'd change hosts every week or two. Sometimes it was Jerry Springer. Sometimes it was second-rate game show hosts of yesteryear that only hardcore game show fans know by name. In my case it was Bob Goen, known most for his years co-hosting "Entertainment Tonight." I was surprised he never mentioned he was the last host of the daytime version of "Wheel of Fortune." I bet most people don't remember that two people hosted the daytime show after Pat Sajak left NBC daytime for a crack at a late night talk show. Goen was one of them, but it was never mentioned that day. Very weird.

In case you didn't guess, I wasn't lucky enough to be called to "come on down" on Friday afternoon.

The game show gods just don't smile down upon me.

I couldn't close a deal

Previously I wrote about a faux game show coming to downtown Las Vegas, "Lovers or Losers: The Game Show."

In 2009 I attended a real game show. In Las Vegas.

As noted previously, I have enjoyed game shows about as far back as I can remember. As a teenager in the 1980s I thought the greatest job in the world would be game show host. And I've wanted to be on a game show for most of my life, dating back to my teenage years when I mailed a letter asking if "Press Your Luck" was planning a teen week. Never mind the fact I had no idea how I'd get from Minnesota to California to appear on the show. My parents weren't about to finance that trip. (I still have the "No, but thanks for watching" letter the show sent me more than 25 years ago.)

I've taken several solo trips to Vegas over the years. My friends all say they want to go to Vegas, but when you ask them to commit to a trip, the timing just isn't right. With nobody to join me in the fall of 2009 I went during the first week of November. I flew out on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 1, and stayed at a timeshare property west of the Orleans. 

I planned the trip because I could afford to go, I wanted to go and I hadn't been to Vegas in at least a year. I went in early November because I work weekends in October at a local haunted attraction.

As I started planning my trip I learned that the latest incarnation of "Let's Make a Deal" was coming to CBS, to be hosted by Wayne Brady. And it would tape at the Tropicana. I knew that my Vegas vacation would include attending a taping of the show if at all possible.

It turned out they had two taping days during the first week of November, Monday and Friday. And each day they'd tape two shows. 

I took the bus down Tropicana Avenue to the casino at 8 a.m. Monday morning to make sure I was in line early enough to ensure a seat in the audience. Game shows give out more tickets than they have seats for, as they know there's a no-show factor, and they want to ensure all the seat are full. 

I brought my costume in a bag so I didn't have to wear it on the bus. I wore pink scrubs, with a pink cartoon jacket and a nurses hat. The scrubs were one of my costumes for the asylum maze I worked in at the haunted attraction. The idea was that I was a pediatric nurse, and my makeup included false eyelashes and bloody red tears. I have longer hair, and despite the fact I'm 6 feet tall, some people wouldn't realize it was a guy wearing the pink scrubs, at least until I spoke. I surprised a lot of people. 

Ever wonder why LMAD contestants dress as if it's Halloween? As the story goes, way back in the 1960s people use to wear their Sunday best to go to the show. One week a woman showed up with a fancy had and/or a sign, and that got the attention of host Monty Hall. That inspired future contestants to try other stunts to get Monty's attention. Soon LMAD became a daily costume party.

LMAD gave us $10 in free play at Tropicana for showing up, and we waited in line for hours to attend the mid-afternoon taping. It was a lot of standing or sitting around and talking with others in line, and there was a break where we could grab a snack inside the Tropicana, although it lacked a lot of quick, easy fast food options, as I recall. 

By early afternoon we were being filed into the makeshift studio in the back of the Tropicana, and soon the show was underway. Host Wayne Brady would pick people out of the audience to play games for prizes, and he doesn't pick the players at random. There's a short interview potential contestants do prior to the taping, and the producers decide who they think will make a good contestant. 

I wasn't picked on Monday afternoon to play a game. Before the show ended we were told they'd have a few open seats for the second taping of the day, and we were welcome to stay and fill a seat if we wanted. Most people left, but I figured I might as well stay and watch them tape a second show. I had little hope I'd bet picked to play a game on the second day. They had 200+ new contestants to choose from, why would they choose somebody who they passed over during the first taping?

I recall being told they'd choose somebody from the 30-40 holdovers who stayed to fill a seat during the second taping, but I'm not sure if they did. It's not as if all of us sat together in one section, we filled seats mostly at the far ends of the studio, out of camera range for many shots during the game. 

The next taping day was Friday and I went back in the morning to do it again. Same result. I stayed for the second taping, despite having no hope of being picked.

I remember Friday better. I wound up in line that morning next to a group of locals, including a young, attractive woman who was full of energy all day. Her grandmother was part of her group, and by the time we were being seated for the taping, they wanted to make sure I was part of their group and we were seated down in front.

I was so sure the cute, personable woman was going to be picked. She struck me as a perfect contestant, but she didn't get picked either. I don't think their group stayed for the second taping, but I was going home the next day, I hadn't won money playing blackjack that week and I didn't have big Friday night plans since I was on a solo trip, so I stayed just for the experience of seeing a TV game show taped one more time. 

The latest incarnation of LMAD is decent. I'm not a big fan of the fact they have Wayne Brady and his announcer do skits and bits during the show, and unlike the classic version of the game, there are no pricing games. They've worked in a few games that incorporate trivia, and they have some fun games of strategy and luck that are fun to watch, so I watch it during those rare weekday afternoons I'm not working. 

I tried to videotape all the shows I attended, and I know I saw myself in the audience in most, if not all of them. I don't remember a lot about the games, the players or the Big Deals, at this point, as it has been five years since those shows aired, and I haven't seen them since they aired. Obviously I'd have more vivid memories had I been picked as a contestant.

So why wasn't I picked? It's hard to say. I think I project well and have a lot of the qualities a producer looks for in screening contestants. Despite that, LMAD passed me over, and I have yet to be picked as a contestant after attending six tapings of "The Price is Right."

In hindsight I might have made a stupid decision when I attended LMAD. It's a costume party, sure, but you never seem to see any gory, creepy costumes. I wore pink scrubs, and a white nurse hat, as well as my pink animal print jacket. One thing I didn't do before attending the taping, however, is wash my costume. I had fake blood on the shirt and pants, and the old-fashioned white hat had blood stains on it. I wore the jacket closed to cover the shirt, the pants weren't covered in blood, and I didn't wear any Halloween make up. But perhaps my costume was bloody enough that they didn't want me to be on camera. I don't know it for a fact, but my hunch is that I killed any chance I had of being picked because of my poor costume choice.

I wish I would have rinsed the costume in my shower after Monday's taping. The fake blood is water soluble, so I could have rinsed all of it out and skipped wearing the hat on Friday. It might not have gotten me picked as a contestant, but it wouldn't have hurt my chances. 

Since that November 2009 trip LMAD moved to Hollywood. It started in Vegas because Wayne was doing a show at the Veneitan, if I recall correctly, and this allowed him to do double duty easily. Once he was able to end his run of Venetian shows they moved the production out of Vegas. I never had a chance to go back to Vegas and try my luck again. Had they continued to tape the show in Vegas, I would have made a point to try again. 

I have never been a game show contestant, and it saddens me a bit. Being a game show contestant is not an obsession, but it's still a goal, and hope to someday make it happen, even if it means I have to skip making a trip to Vegas to do it.