MDS Trip Report Part 1 – Feb. 11 taping airing Feb. 22
After my last trip to Price, I left a bit unsatisfied with Drew’s progress as the new star of Price, even after being his biggest fan since his very first taping. When he announced in studio that three weeks after the last taping I went to that they would be taping Prime Time Specials, I wanted in on them. Thanks to my buddy Josh, I was able to take this trip on a quick turnaround from the last time. We ended up on the same flight out, but arriving at 4pm the day before the taping, we were a bit worried for two reasons: first – they cancelled tapings for most of the last week because Drew was sick – and we thought they may cancel the prime time tapings, and second – we were worried about the size of the line, as they were announced as $1,000,000 spectaculars a few days before we left.
However, once we landed, Josh received a call from Chuck Dukas who said they were expecting paid audience members for the week, so this quelled our fears. We picked up our rental car and drove to CBS Television City only to find nobody in line at 6 PM! After picking up some chairs from K-Mart and dinner, we checked into the Bevonshire hotel and decided it was probably best to get some rest and come back to line around midnight and still get a decent seat.
However, FPGWillyT gave us a call and visited us in the hotel, giving us a pep talk for about an hour that convinced us to try to be #1 in line for the MDS. So we set up camp outside of the CBS gates at about 8:30 PM to find there’s 2 people there – Adam and Diane, coworkers at a daycare from Los Osos and Pismo Beach, CA, who had arrived about an hour and a half before we did. Willy, Josh, and I basically talked with Adam and Diane on a wide range of topics – everything from pricing game strategy (Willy, Josh, and I were shocked when we learned Adam’s favorite game is Pass the Buck because there’s good odds you’ll win something decent since getting 3 products is almost a gimme), Adam’s appearance on the game show Russian Roulette (It’s only about a 6 foot drop), to this site, and even some CSS strategies such as shaving bids so you don’t go over. It was their first time going to the show, and it seemed like they were true fans of the show, as they knew much more about The Price is Right than most audience members that go to Television City to see the show. Both of them were quite impressed with how much we knew, and we were certainly more than happy to help them out should either of them get on stage to play a pricing game. A few hours later, Willy left us to get some rest in his hotel room, while we stayed there to keep our spots in line.
We were all alone in line for about three hours before Dolores came up to us at about 11 PM, asking about when they should get in line. I told them that based on the line that they’d easily get in at 6 AM if they wanted to get some rest, and they ended up getting a fairly decent seat for the time their group got in line. The next person in line didn’t join us until about 12 midnight, but for the most part they were the people that complained so much about waiting in line for most of the day. It seemed like they were only fixated on being contestants, so there was almost no chance at all they were getting picked, especially given the enormous amount of stuff they had brought with them to camp outside with (including almost poking me in the eye with a tent cable that must have been at least 10 feet long, and not taking down their tent until security guard Ed made them after telling them more than once).
Josh and I would be the official “welcome wagon” for those that arrived in line for the next few hours, including PriceFanArmadillo and his mother who arrived at around 2:30 AM (with a box of raisin bran crunch). Willy arrived about an hour later, but left after about five minutes in line because he was feeling a bit under the weather. The one trend I noticed with the line was that people fell into two categories: people who we already met three weeks ago at the taping Drew announced there would be Prime Time Specials, or people who hadn’t been to the show before. A frequent comment by those in line was that they didn’t even know that the show they were going to was a $1,000,000 spectacular until about a few days before the taping. I hyped up the people who hadn’t been to the show before explaining that they picked a GREAT day to be there – as someone in the audience was going to have a chance to win $1,000,000. Of course, going around the line for several hours without sitting down was taxing, as I was getting sore around 5 AM and went to go take a catnap and warm up in the car, which just left me even more tired than before.
As 6 AM came around, I knew an hour and half break was looming to freshen up, get some breakfast and get ready to go to studio, but Mateo is running late and starts handing us OAP’s at 6:30… and also telling us we were to directly into studio at that time with no break. This was because the taping times had changed – the 1pm taping was to start at 12 noon, and the 4 pm taping was to start at 4:45. Being #3 in line, this left us about 15 minutes to rush back to the hotel, freshen up and get ready to go in studio right away. We returned at 6:30 only to find that we weren’t actually going to get started processing until 7 AM. That time could have been used for a break because we were actually processed much earlier than usual.
The seemingly endless process of getting nametags, filling out contestant cards, checking ID’s and taking pictures seemed a bit chaotic, especially with new pages on the job. Since there was no break in between OAP distribution and processing, many people were getting restless – as they wanted coffee at the CBS café or the restrooms, but it was tough for the pages to keep us in order as processing took a bit longer with pages who didn’t exactly know what they were doing. In fact, they actually forgot to separate the ineligible people from the rest of the line like the usually do for the interviews. Thankfully, they get more than half of the audience processed by the time Stan and Vanessa come out for interviews at around 9:15.
As #3 in line, I’m in the first group of interviews. Adam is up first and says he’s been out in line for 18 hours, and then Diane is next but she has declared herself ineligible - Stan made a remark: “So you don’t want a free car today?” to which she replied that she was here to support Adam. Stan asks me how I found out that these were $1,000,000 spectaculars and I told him about how I was in studio 3 weeks ago and once I heard about it, that I knew I wanted to come back for them.
The last set of benches was by far the longest wait of the day, as we were in the first interview group. I was told by one of the pages that we’ll probably go in at 11:30, so that meant about 2 hours on the last set of benches. However, due to some lighting problems and rehearsals, this wait was extended much further than that. In addition, I recall overhearing that Drew didn’t know that the show was going to tape at 12 noon instead of the normal 1 PM show – so he arrived later than everyone else. I had used this time to meet with people I’d met in line all night to answer any other questions about the show. Dolores asked me the most questions out of anyone else – including about my past experiences at the show and how I got on stage on Drew’s first taped show with the showcase winner.
So finally, after a three hour wait, we go into studio at 12:45 – running over an hour late for the 12 noon taping. We get to see the MDS set for the first time – and it’s clear that we liked some aspects of the set, and some we’re not too fond of. Unfortunately, the producer’s table and the slate are hidden behind a curtain so we were unable to see the lineup of games that were going to be played, but it made sense since there were confetti cannons in that area, as well as spotlights which someone was going to be hanging from the rafters on. I end up in the front row in the 4th seat – I’m in the Maryland shirt, right behind the Green podium.
Rich comes out and does his warm-up, which is pretty much the same as he does for a regular show - the Price is Right Dancers (Dolores was one of them). He also mentioned that someone in the audience can win $1,000,000, and also that confetti cannons are going off during the intro and to be prepared for that. The lights come on, the music starts, and we’re off – the first four contestants come on down, and Drew comes out to another great ovation, welcomes us all to The Price is Right, and then drops the bombshell about how the $1,000,000 can be given away – in one game we don’t know of yet, or in the showcases.
Lucky $even: Erika gets on stage and out comes a Chevy Corvette Convertible. I definitely didn’t expect this Corvette to be as expensive as it was, but I guess it must have slipped my mind that the all 5 strategy should have worked here. When she got down to $1 on the last number, I thought she was done for, but she picked 4 and won the car!
Adam would later tell me after the show that during the showcases that she told him that her brother really needed a handicapped van so she plans on selling off the Corvette to buy one of those – which I thought was very noble of her.
2nd segment: This was the first time I was completely unable to hear the name being called – I have no clue how anyone could hear over the audience applause, but thankfully the producers realized this and made cue cards for everyone just like they do with the first four contestants.
Plinko: It’s pretty obvious that they wanted Plinko for at least the first MDS – unfortunately the chips didn’t bounce his way and he didn’t win too much.
3rd segment: I see Dolores’ name on the cue card and I instantly know that’s her and I’m glad she was able to get her chance.
One Away: After the one-bid, as the car is revealed, I see confetti cannons are being brought back on stage, which means this is probably the $1,000,000 game. Sure enough, it is, and Drew explains that the contestant must get all 5 numbers right on the first try to win the money. Drew tries to explain that each number is one away, and tries to push the “3” to show the 4, but all five of the numbers turn. He tries to fix it by hitting the “3” again, and the 4 falls off. Once the 4 falls off he tries to push it back to the “3” and it gets stuck. At this point they stop tape and have to repair it. It took about 20 minutes and 2 rolls of duct tape for Adam Sandler to finally get it fixed, while Bronson is sitting on the turntable waiting to play – I can’t imagine what’s going through his mind when he knows he’s going to play a game for $1,000,000.
So finally the game is fixed, and obviously Bronson does not get all 5 numbers right, and ends up losing the car. The wheel should be next – so by the time the Race game curtain comes up again, I expect the wheel to be there, but instead it’s still One Away – apparently they had to re-tape the segment when Drew says “Sorry, Bronson” or something like that.
1st SCSD: Drew explains the bonuses for the wheel and they’re a bit different than what he said in studio a few weeks ago when he said it would be $25,000 for $1.00 for one spin (NOT the bonus spin), but it made sense given the $1,000,000 bonus would not be on the wheel and that inflated wheel bonuses were going to be used for the prime time specials.
4th Segment: Adam’s name is called, but he can barely hear it and can’t find the cue card. I know it’s him so I get him to the podium, and I notice where the cue card was – all the way over by Rich’s podium, in the last place I’d look for it if I was in the #1 seat.
Clock Game: Dolores gets on stage – and after talking with her outside on the last set of benches, I think she was an absolute lock to win both prizes and $5000, and sure enough, despite a minor hiccup she wins.
5th Segment – Tanya comes on down – Adam and I had spoken to her on the last set of benches, and we all agreed that if we’re both in contestant’s row that they’re not going to bid $1 more than the other. While I ended up giving Adam a not so good bid on this item, at least I know he’s going to be last for the 6th segment.
Push Over: I probably would’ve lost this game – but I’m glad it was won.
6th Segment – As soon as I see the treadmill I have 2 prices in mind for it - $2999 and $4399 (from whinbaby’s recaps I recall the T460X one is that price), but I can’t hear the prize descriptions. I tell Adam $2999 and hope that’s right, and thankfully nobody bid too high so that it would’ve covered the $4399 one too.
Grand Game: As soon as they pull up the curtain and I can see the products – I know this is an easy $20,000 for Adam – I signal for the products in order - 1(sauce), 3(antacid), 4(salsa), and 5(ointment) in that order. He goes in a different order but it ended the same way with $20,000 as Adam does cartwheels and spins on the floor.
2nd SCSD: For those of you curious, the total value of those loaded credit cards was $1100. Adam gets 70 cents on the wheel and advances and all of a sudden I realize I’m going to have a chance to cost the show another showcase – and I have to be on my A-game knowing a spin for $1,000,000 would be on the line if he won... or so I thought until…
The Showcases: Both Josh and I were surprised with the rules change. We expected a $1,000,000 spin for the showcase winner, but instead we get the new DSW rule – within $1000 of your showcase wins both and $1,000,000. Knowing the range for the showcases – would $1000 seem too easy when it came to the showcases? I knew that if they kept it at $250 there would have to be some really good bidding to even have a chance at the $1,000,000, but at $1000 there’s at least some leeway, especially given the inflated value of the showcases.
Showcase 1: That’s A LOT of iPods and computers that I saw, but I was a bit surprised when I saw the big prize was only a Ford Escape Hybrid – I could’ve sworn this was the el-cheapo showcase. I’m ready to finger up a bid of $49,000 to Adam on stage expecting Erika to pass this showcase, but she keeps it and bids $42,700. I think that’s a good bid, but quite a bit under because the Escape had a bunch of options.
Showcase 2: If anything caused the PG rating – I think it had to be the 3 swimsuits during this showcase. Didn’t really have a clue how much those cost, but I did know how much the next prize, the catamaran cost. As soon as the Cadillac is revealed I’m thinking $86,000, which I finger up to Adam once the showcase is over. However, the audience started moaning and immediately I have a flashback to a previous MDS with the biggest primetime winner with the Cadillac Convertible in Lucky $even was only around $78,000, so I shave about $2,500 off my bid and finger up $83,500 instead. It’s a good think we taught Adam about shaving showcase bids out in line, because he changed his bid to $83,475.
Immediately after his bid, I notice that they bring back confetti cannons, which I didn’t think much of since I expected them to do that for every MDS anyway – thinking back to Bob’s last MDS, they dropped balloons on stage when Felecity won the showcase. The next thing I see is Adam point to Production Assistant Tiffany where Diane, Josh, and I are so she knows where the people he wants to go on stage with if he wins the showcase, and at this point I know he’s going to win, and I’m telling Diane to get ready to go up. Even Adam Sandler asked Josh if he was ready to go up too. By this point I know it’s going to be Adam winning the showcase at least… but there was no way I could have expected this:
Drew reveals the actual retail price of Erika’s showcase as about $45,554, a difference of only about $2854(!) which was very impressive. Drew slows down a bit as he reveals Adam’s ARP… Eighty-Four Thousand, Three Hundred, Fifty Five Dollars, a difference of Eight Hundred Eighty Dollars, you win Both Showcases and a MILLION BUCKS!!! Drew says the total amount he won, but Diane, Josh, and I are already running on stage to hug him as we’re doused in confetti by the turntable. We all run to the convertible, but Josh trips on the stage after getting caught in some camera cables. I look back and see Roger and a couple of models help him up, while Adam and I head right for the car. I can’t figure out how to open the car, and I hear one of the models – I think it was Brandi or Lanisha shouting out instructions on how to open it just us as I open the car, and get Adam in the seat and start waving. The press floods the stage with cameras and I get to talk with Rich who I just said hi to, Drew who I told that I was the one who told him to bid $83,500, and is in complete disbelief, and Brandi who I said the same thing to. The next thing I know the music stops, and Adam gets his $1,153,908 card and gets his picture taken by Inside Edition with Roger, the models, Josh, and I. As I’m leaving the stage, I try to pick up some confetti as some of the stagehands are already picking it up to get set for the next show.
Rich and one of the models (I think Lanisha) did the usual door prize, and we’re told by Karen Winchell that there are no more seats in the later show. Unfortunately that means no later show for us, but Josh and I make it a point to wait up for Adam so we can get pictures take and trade e-mail information. It’s a good hour before he finally leaves the studio after being interviewed by Inside Edition, consulting with lawyers, and filling out a ton of paperwork while we fill in FPGWillyT with the details of what happened as he’s waiting for the second show (BTW, nice suit Willy!). Once Adam comes out, word has already spread to the line, but he can’t say anything because of a non-disclosure agreement – he couldn’t even tell his daughter. Josh and I drive him back to his car (we’ve got handicapped parking on the CBS lot, while Adam and Diane parked at the Grove Shopping Center), and he tells us a few plans for his winnings. After he told us about how his job only schedule him one day a week before and he made almost no money, I’m so glad he won. I take a peek at the paperwork and notice that the showcase contents had the Carabella Swimwear at $560, the Catamaran at $3,195, and the Cadillac XLR at $80,600 – for a total of $84,355 (as seen on the showcase price holder which he was allowed to keep). We get pictures taken to commemorate the occasion, trade information and congratulate him once again – because we’re all part of the biggest win in the history of CBS game shows - $1,153,908.
