List of contestants

[RCPlanes59]

Does CBS keep a list of contestants from past shows? I'm trying to figure out how to spell a contestant's last name.

Just in case one of you knows it, it's Rebecca from the Season 39 premiere (she played Pay the Rent).

[Cyclone]

"Rebecca Valdevisio" is what I got, if that helps any.

Cyclone

[vadernader]

Out of curiosity, why is her last name important?

[TPIRighteous]

The last name "Valdivieso" is frequently mispronounced as "Valdevisio". I'd guess J.D. Roberto just flubbed that one.

[Cyclone]

The last name "Valdivieso" is frequently mispronounced as "Valdevisio". I'd guess J.D. Roberto just flubbed that one.

That would be a difference.  Where did you get that, BTW?

val-dee-vee-zo is my pronounciation take of that if it means anything.

Cyclone

[TPIRighteous]

That would be a difference.  Where did you get that, BTW?

val-dee-vee-zo is my pronounciation take of that if it means anything.

Cyclone

I know a guy whose last name is Valdivieso. It's a name of Spanish origin, so pronounced in Spanish, it's "Val-dee-vee-AY-so". However, he told me that "Val-de-VEE-zee-oh" is a common mispronunciation of his name. I'm I'm not sure how that pronunciation comes from the spelling "Valdivieso", but I'd guess that that's her actual last name, since it seems like it's a name that several people actually have.

[Wayoshi]

... So RCPlanes, why is the first Rent player of all things the focus here?

[RCPlanes59]

She's hot. I want to call her

Trolling aside, I'm using Pay the Rent in an upcoming book I'm writing. Yes, I'm writing a book. I didn't want to announce it so soon but it's better than thinking I'm a stalker, I guess.

[sideshowPA]

I'm not sure that helps, Planes.....

[RCPlanes59]

I'm using Valdivieso. These guys seem to know what they're talking about.

(Unless you're talking about the book, which, well, is staying hush for now.)

[Cyclone]

I'm using Valdivieso. These guys seem to know what they're talking about.

(Unless you're talking about the book, which, well, is staying hush for now.)

Are we talking about a book in here?

Cyclone

[RCPlanes59]

That's why I needed her last name - for a book I'm writing.

Have an excerpt:

On September 20, 2010, Rebecca Valdivieso made history without even knowing it.
 
Like many Los Angeles tourists, Rebecca woke up in the early hours of the morning and made her pilgrimage to CBS Studios and joined the line that forms outside of Studio 33 every morning. At what we consider breakfast time, she received a number in line, got interviewed, and finally took her seat in the center section of what has become known as the Bob Barker Studio.

For some, this is a right of passage. For others, this has become a force of habit. Some people have tried to get on The Price is Right nearly 100 times. We will never know how many times Rebecca had been to the show before, but she certainly picked a good day. This was the premiere episode of Price's 39th season. She didn't know it, but the producers were pulling out all the stops.
 
Finally, the music started playing. J.D. Roberto got the audience excited and reminded the home audience that this was the beginning of the 39th season. In accordance with tradition, he read a list of four names. Monique Benjamin. Nora Morales. Bradley Kelley. Not to take anything away from these three; between them, $8,000 of miscellaneous tchotchke, a luxury trip to Paris, and a new car. Rebecca Valdivieso, come on down! Thus, Rebecca bolted down to the green podium donning her "Come on Down" shirt. The theme music began playing and Drew Carey walked out of door number two. Out came the first item up for bids, some random Apple stuff. As you can imagine, Rebecca won and ran up on stage.
 
This is where the important part begins. Drew hinted that a new game would be played, and it was - for a whopping $100,000. The game? Pay the Rent. The game looked simple enough. There were four levels to the "house". On the first level (the “mailbox”), one grocery item would be placed, the second and third levels had two each, and the fourth level had one. If Rebecca could arrange the grocery items in such a way that each level's total was more than the previous level, she would win the grand prize.
 
Thus, Rebecca did what made the most sense. She placed what she thought was the least expensive item (a can of corn - no, really, the first grocery item was literally canned corn) on the first level, the second and third least expensive items (cinnamon and frozen pizza) on the second level, the second and third most expensive items (shampoo and cook-top cleaner) on the third level, and the most expensive item (cat food) on the top. She succeeded. She had managed to price these items in perfect order.
 
She lost.

See, the first level was only $1.49. She had the opportunity to bail out at $1,000 without even having to do anything, but she continued. The second level was $6.47. She was then offered $5,000, but she carried on. The third level added up to a whopping $11.48. For completing the third level, she was offered $10,000. Alas, the top prize was all too appealing, but the cat food was only $7.30. Rebecca lost everything (except, of course, more iStuff than anyone could ever wish for).
 
It ended okay for Rebecca, though. She advanced to the showcase, where she heavily underpriced a Porsche Boxster. At least she was the talk of game theory professors for the next few weeks.
 
So if Rebecca priced these items perfectly, what went wrong?
 
The producers weren't going to give away $100,000 so easily (in fact, as of this publication, the game has been played over 20 times and hasn't been won once). Therefore, they set up a game that would trick contestants into placing the least expensive item on the bottom level and working their way up. In reailty, that's a death sentence. The fourth and fifth items will never be more than the sixth item. Thus, replacing the fourth item with the first item would set up the optimal strategy. Therefore, 4 > 2+3 > 1+5 > 6. Congratulations, you’ve won $100,000. In fact, even that isn’t the correct strategy sometimes. Sometimes you have to put the fifth item in the mailbox. Sometimes it’s the third. But no matter what, there’s only one combination, and as a result, putting the least expensive item (as so many people have done) is a guaranteed loss.

[vadernader]

Are we talking about a book in here?

Cyclone

She's hot. I want to call her

Trolling aside, I'm using Pay the Rent in an upcoming book I'm writing. Yes, I'm writing a book. I didn't want to announce it so soon but it's better than thinking I'm a stalker, I guess.

[Wayoshi]

...I certainly wasn't expecting that answer. :|

[JohnHolder]

Minor copy edit - it's "rite" of passage, not "right." Very interesting work!