As we all know, The Price is Right has been running on CBS since about ten minutes after Philo Farnsworth invented television. I think they're now keeping it on the air because of some obscure clause in the AFTRA contract that says that at all times, Drew Carey must have two series.
What you may not know is that there's a version that is not televised. Fremantle, the company that owns the venerable prize dispenser, has a "live" Price is Right show that plays around the country, sometimes in more than one city at a time. One current outpost, and it's been there for a while, is at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas. Audience members can buy tickets (about fifty bucks a head) to watch one of their favorite programs, approximately recreated on stage, and they can win prizes.
At the moment, it's hosted by Todd Newton, who seems to be the emcee of about half the new game shows done these days. The announcer is Randy West, who has announced and/or handled warm-ups on dozens of shows, including Deal or No Deal and the televised Price is Right.
I've followed Randy's career for years. He's a terrific announcer in the tradition of the late Johnny Olson and Rod Roddy…a tradition that sadly is excluded from most game shows these days. Randy and I have some mutual friends and have exchanged the occasional e-mail…so last night, I went over to Bally's, met him in person finally, and was his guest for the show there. It's not something I would have otherwise attended — I can walk from my home to where the real Price is Right is taped and get in free — but I was curious as to how they refashioned the program for the venue, and I wanted to see Randy work.
Boy, he's good. I know about voiceover and warm-up work (here's an article I wrote several years ago about audience warm-ups) and it ain't as easy as it seems, especially when a real pro does it. Randy is a real pro. Todd Newton is very good, too. He keeps it moving but puts contestants at ease and — most important — makes sure they know how to play the games they're up there to play.
Even though Randy arranged for my ticket and I was ineligible for prizes, I still had to stand in line and get the little pricetag nametag to wear on my chest. The line was fascinating. I got to talking with a couple from Wisconsin who never missed The Price is Right on the telly and were tingling at the very thought of seeing it in person. The possibility of being called to "Come on down" and play was too chilling to even contemplate. Also chatted with a family from Michigan and a few others who all admitted that it was a long-nurtured dream to see the TV show in person…and I got to wondering why that seemed so unreachable to them. Granted, all I'd have to do to get to a taping is walk about nine blocks and wait in line a few hours…and of course, since it's right there, I never have. But it was humanly possible for these people to get to Las Vegas and buy tickets. Why did it seem so inconceivable to them that they could go the extra miles to Los Angeles and get tickets to the real thing?
The excitement along the line was quite real and maybe even a bit contagious — this, even though they all knew they weren't about to see The Price is Right the way they really wanted to see it, which was with Bob Barker. It has been said that everyone loves Bob Barker except every single person who ever worked with him. A book is rumored for later this year that will itemize some of the reasons for the latter sentiment. I doubt it will make any difference to these folks. They all love Bob, they cheered him in clips that were shown throughout the proceedings and applauded when Todd or Randy invoked his name, always with great reverence. My sense is that they aren't particularly fond of the new host, Drew Carey, but only because he has committed the unpardonable sin of not being Bob Barker. That seemed to be the one complaint about Todd Newton, as well. Not much he can do about that at this stage of his life.
That aside, they loved Todd and Randy and also two stunning young ladies who ably filled the shoes and bikinis of Janice, Holly, Dian and other Barker's Beauties. They even accepted the reality of smaller prizes and necessary modifications in their favorite game show. To maximize the number of folks who get to play, each round starts with four players, chosen by a random draw, being called down to Contestants Row to bid on an item. One wins and comes up on stage to play a bigger pricing game. The others get Price is Right t-shirts and get to slink back to their seats, rather than stick around and bid in the next round. Other prizes are given out for no apparent reason…and it seemed like about a seventh of the showroom left with something, even if it was only points for Bally's slot card club.
All the games are exact facsimiles of popular ones from the TV show. The first lady up on stage played The Race Game and won it, first time out. Someone else played Hole-In-One and hit the ball right into the cup. An older man who'd barely seen the TV show did a spectacular wipeout on the Mountain Climber game. Apparently in Iowa, toasters cost $120.
The two most exciting rounds — exciting in that the audience was thrilled just to see these games live and in person — were The Big Wheel and Plinko. The ovation when the Plinko Board was revealed was about the same as when Jerry Lewis was doing his telethon in 1976 and Dean Martin walked out on stage. Maybe a little bigger.
On TV, contestants spin the wheel to determine which of them gets to be in the Showcase Game at the end. Here, it's a standalone game played for money. The audience was ecstatic as one of their own not only earned himself $250 by winning the Big Wheel game but got a bonus hundred for making the wheel stop on One Dollar. Then he got a bonus spin which offered a thousand dollars more if the wheel landed on the One Dollar, $500 if it landed on either of the two adjoining spaces. He won the $500. The gent who got to play Plinko took home $900. They were the two big winners of the night.
The way the Showcase Game works here is that, first of all, there's only one showcase. It consisted of five items, two of which were a trip to Mexico and a new car. Two ladies chosen at random from the audience got to compete and each wrote down their estimate of the total price of the showcase. The one who bid closer to the actual retail price without going over would win just the trip to Mexico…but if she was within $100, she'd win the whole showcase, car included. Randy told me that had happened a day or two earlier but at the performance I attended, both contestants way overbid and limped back to their seats with Price is Right t-shirts.
Despite the disappointing ending, the audience seemed to have a very good time…even those who won zip. Right after, just outside the showroom, Todd, Randy and the two prize models posed for photos with audience members who wanted a memento. One lady who'd won nothing inside was telling Todd that she watches him every day on Whammy!, and that the snapshot with him was better than if she'd won the car. Todd didn't seem to believe her but he told her thanks.
Like I said, this is not something I would have gone to see on my own, especially if it meant purchasing a ticket. (I'm not going to see the afternoon Game Show Spectacular over at the Vegas Hilton, which brings audience members up to play various rounds from defunct TV shows. Bob Eubanks, Chuck Woolery and Jamie Farr rotate as its host.) Still, I was impressed with how well the Price is Right folks replicated and modified that program, and I enjoyed seeing people enjoy it so. If I were running Las Vegas, I think I'd get rid of all those roulette wheels and craps tables, and just put in a lot of Plinko games. That's what the public seems to want.