The Price Is Right Live Report

[Plinkoman]

I just got home from an amazing experience at TPIRLive here in Augusta, Ga! They had lots of fun trivia questions about the show (which I got them all right) and some play-along games like Range Game and Lucky $even to entertain the audience while waiting for the show to start. Todd Newton was the host, and he did an amazing job as is always expected from him. The setups were much nicer than a few years ago when I went, and the prizes are nicer and more expensive too.

I got to sit next to a young couple and started talking to them about the show. Turns out, the guy's aunt was on the show with Bob about 20 years ago and won Credit Card. I told him that the game is now retired and how awesone that she played and won a game that's not around anymore.

The first game was Punch-a-Bunch, played for $5,000! The contestant won three punches and first got $750, the third highest number on the board! She gave it back and got $500. She gave it back again and ended up with $500. Not a bad haul given it was the fourth highest amount on the board.

Next was Any Number for a trip to Hollywood and a 55" HD TV. The contestant ended up winning the tv, which was $897, so not too bad.

Third was the classic Cliff Hangers for a Weber grill, smokenater, and a supply of Omaha steaks. The first prize was a Monopoly game worth $25; Hans took 3 steps. Next was a fondue set worth $40, Hans took 5 steps. Last was an automatic pet feeder worth $66. The contestant bid $51 and Hans ended up on step 23- we got a winner!

Next, they showed some clips then revealed the Big Wheel. I don't recall much about it because they then called down the next four contestants... AND I WAS ONE OF THEM! I went nuts and ran down to wait for my turn in Contestant's Row. I was set to bid first, so I knew it would be tough. The first two contestants on the Wheel went over, so the last won $250, but no dollar spins today.

Then it was time to go up and get ready for the One Bid. Todd said hi to each of us. I told Todd I was a fan of him and that I loved watching Whammy! as a kid! The prize was a Google Nest and security system... which I have! I bid $525, next was $700, then $701, then $750. ARP: $749! Didn't win, but I got a shirt and I got to shake Todd Newton's hand, which was awesome in itself!

The winner got to play Check-Out for a trip to Hawaii. Her total was only $0.27 away from the real total; smart shopper!

Last game was the big one: Plinko! for $2,500. The lady who played started crying and Todd gave her his handkerchief and let her keep it. She had three chips total. First was only $100. Next was $500! Last one went in $500 for a total of $1,100- not bad at all!

We finally arrived at the showcases. Two players bid and if one is with $100 without going over they win everything. Otherwise, whoever is closer without going over will win a trip to New Orleans. The showcase included: 3 tabletop kitchen appliances from Kitchenaid, a 3-door stainless steel fridge/freezer from Whirlpool, a trip to New Orleans, a trip to Paris, France... and a NEW CAR! A 2019 Nissan Versa. The first player bid $40,000, second bid $51,000. Needless to saythey were both WAY over. The ARP was $21,610. So, they both received $250 for playing and a name was selected from the audience for the trip to New Orleans.

Todd ended the show by reminding everyone to help control the pet population; have your pets spayed or neutered! It was an awesome experience and I look forward to trying to come on down again in the future!

[Flerbert419]

I wanted to provide an update to this taping report since I attended the show on April 19th in Westbury, NY. Plinkoman did a good job with details so I'll provide more of a high level summary. JD Roberto hosted and did a better job than I might have imagined given how long it's been since he's done much of note.

IUFB's were surprisingly expensive - they ranged from about $600 to $1,200 - pretty typical for what you might see on the actual show.

The four pricing games played were Punch-A-Bunch (L - $500 bailout), Cliff Hangers (W), Check-Out (L - about $3.50 away), and Plinko (L - $600). I previously attended the live show in 2013 and agree that in general the setups for the SP's and GP's were nicer, so no need to second guess yourself. Stick with the 0/5 endings and if something looks expensive/cheap, it probably is.

Punch-A-Bunch was interesting because the model incorrectly revealed where the top prize was at the end. She punched out the spot above the lower left corner when it was hidden in the spot below the upper left corner. I would highly recommend sticking to locations on the sides above or below the corners if you are trying to find the big money.

Cliff Hangers featured the same SP's that Plinkoman mentioned, which is actually not that easy of a setup since 20/30/40 fails. Our contestant was also able to win. Check-Out was completely virtual but all the other games had physical props - the total was between $18 and $19. The Plinko contestant had never heard of Plinko before so we decided to boo her.

They spun the wheel twice during the show for $250 for each of the winners. JD did a poor job explaining the showcase rules to the audience even though they pulled aside the contestants and I'm assuming explained it fully. It was a set of golf clubs, a trip to Vegas, a trip to Tokyo, and that 2019 Nissan Versa. I was thinking about $23k, but the total ended up being $22,4XX. Both contesants overbid - and we also had a $50k bid, so that must be a common theme. They raffled away the Vegas trip to the audience.

Unfortunately, nobody in our group was selected for any prizes but we still had a good time. As a reminder, all contestants are chosen completely randomly but you would never know it given how amped up the crowd was and how many organized shirts there were. I had to explain to people multiple times that this would not be televised and Drew would not be there. I would still recommend it as a fan of the show as long as you don't go in expecting to win, but be prepared to have a good time!

[Briguy]

Punch-A-Bunch was interesting because the model incorrectly revealed where the top prize was at the end. She punched out the spot above the lower left corner when it was hidden in the spot below the upper left corner. I would highly recommend sticking to locations on the sides above or below the corners if you are trying to find the big money.

This is something I've always hoped the daytime show (and any nighttime show where the game was played) would do ... let viewers at home know where the top prize(s) was/were if it wasn't found, just like the old game show "Treasure Hunt." In case viewers at home are playing along and to show the audience that yes, indeed, the prize was there.

Brian

[Flerbert419]

I actually wish the show would do it too - but I understand why they wouldn't want to because it's something we can track to see how they move the big money around.

The word has been they have a couple of popular hiding spots, but why do they take the time to show where the top prize is in 1/2 Off, Pass The Buck, and The Phone Home Game and not reveal it in Punch-A-Bunch, Spelling Bee, and Master Key?

I'm not sure if the stage show is forced to do it due to the lottery aspect.

[pricefan18]

I actually wish the show would do it too - but I understand why they wouldn't want to because it's something we can track to see how they move the big money around.

The word has been they have a couple of popular hiding spots, but why do they take the time to show where the top prize is in 1/2 Off, Pass The Buck, and The Phone Home Game and not reveal it in Punch-A-Bunch, Spelling Bee, and Master Key?

I have to think it's standards and practices on the 1st set, to prove the top prize was available to be picked through normal play. The others are a bit different with how they're played, and probably don't wanna show their secrets. Why S&P isn't treating them the same idk, but I imagine that's the reasoning.

[lejusteprix]

Interesting - I saw the show in Niagara Falls NY in January and it was 3PG/SCSD/2PG/Showcases.  Wonder why they took out Any Number.

TBH - I kind of liked 10 Chances "Showcase Edition".  It was hard but I think a bit easier to do well at, although you had to get through *four* sets of combined prizes.  That happened when I saw the show in 2013.

R.