I am the next contestant on ...

Awesome man! Congrats on your experience and thanks for sharing!

 

Did you feel up one of the beauties? Did you get into a fist fight, ala Happy Gilmore, with the old fart.

 

that's cool. nice job.

 

You're weren't the only one, Songbird.

 

Congrats!

 

That's great. I've had friends appear on Jeopardy and do very well. On the price is right, don't you have to pay taxes before you're allowed to receive the goods?

 

My dream has always been to see someone spin the wheel so hard that they fall and get sucked underneath it. Man, I'd love to see that.

 

I remember one show where they called the contestant three times and they didn't show. Apparently, they had gone to the bathroom.

 

Yeah, and that's where they get you.

A guy I knew in college won a jukebox and assorted other items. He had to sell most of it to pay the taxes, because what you win counts as earned income at the retail price.

And Donnie, good to see you back here. It absolutely IS worthy of a mention here. Well done!

Sincerely,

The owner of mental double-wide of useless knowledge

 

There was one recently where a guy tried to bid $250,000 on his showcase. Bob basically asked him what the hell he was thinking, he revised his bid to $60,000 and was still over by more than $30,000.

 

But that's only if you decide to keep the prizes. They can't tax you if you give it back. Can they?

 

OK, had to rescue the fiancee from some car trouble, so I'm late on the return here ... let's see ...

* The Beauties: Honestly, I was so into the games that I didn't do much (or enough) ogling. From what I saw, however, the current crop is still up to high standards, but maybe not those of our youth. I think Deal or No Deal is poaching the better talent, what with the need for 26 of them. I learned by looking at the TPIR page on CBS.com that they actually list which models will appear on which shows because they've had so many people ask about it. Huh.

* Sexual shenanigans: Bob did hold his phallic mic dangerously close to my face more than once. And he just held it there and waited for my mouth to ... you know what, I'm not ready to talk about this yet.

* Taxes: After the show, they rounded up the contestants in a back hallway (seriously) and made us sign about 47 waivers, including our agreement to pay both California and federal taxes on any winnings over a certain amount (I think $500). There wasn't much to sign for on this day, however, as both car games were lost and the showcase was a double overbid. I was told I will receive my clock by sometime in July, and they gave me a special postcard to mail in if I haven't seen the Ridgeway Victoria II by then.

* Selection: Hey Rhody, that's the interesting part. So we got in line at 2:15 a.m. ... and there were already 200 people in front of us. We weren't even sure we'd make it to the studio, as tickets don't guarantee admission. We found out by about 8 a.m. that we'd get in. So then, another six hours of waiting before they take all 325 people who will be in the studio audience and send them in packs of 10 to a group interview with a producer and his assistant. Your selection is based entirely on this 10-15 second opportunity. I was friendly and energetic, and just totally clicked with the producer. He talked to me longer than the other folks, and my better half said he took a long look at me as we walked toward the studio. We both kinda felt like I might get on the show, and what do you know??? ;D

* Fistfights with Bob Barker: After the mic incident, he owned my mind and body. That's all I can say. Seriously, though, dude's old. They have enough makeup on that you don't really notice as much, but still ... actually, one of the coolest moments of the show was on my second spin of the wheel ... I'd spun 40 cents and the wheel was slowing down on 60, and Bob's voice got very excited ... I got another 40. And then, the girl behind me also spun 40 and 40, and Bob seemed very sure that it was the first time in TPIR history that the wheel had stopped on the same number four times in a row. So yes, I was a part of history.

* Clock: TSP, thanks. What's so strange is that there's a history with me and my fiancee about grandfather clocks. When her dad died a couple of years back, one of the very, very few things she wanted from the house was a grandfather clock with which they'd grown up and always had in their dining room. Her mother, being the peach she is, wouldn't let her near it. So now, we get to start our own tradition with our own clock. It's kind of cool. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I also won the hardwood floor cleaner (actual retail price: $20) from my car game. AWESOME!

By the way, here's the clock:



Thanks for the congrats. I've really wanted to share this with my second cousins and stepbrothers here in the SportsJournalists.com family, but I've been blocked out by the server issues for a while. Big props to Cosmo for showing me how to get back in. And Cosmo -- I hadn't thought of O'Hoolix in at least five years. I still have that ESPN pocket schedule somewhere in my office boxes. Nice.