The Price Was Not Right

July 2016

The Idea…

Brian and I had plans to take a road trip from Los Angeles to Seattle in July 2016. Brian had mentioned that he had always wanted to go to a live taping of The Price Is Right! We both used to love watching the show with our grandparents when we were kids. So I thought, “hmmmm… sounds fun,” but didn’t really think much more about it!

Until one day sitting at my computer, I jumped onto the website http://on-camera-audiences.com/shows/The_Price_is_Right to see if by chance I could score us a couple seats. Ironically, the very last date of available priority tickets was the date we planned to tour Hollywood.

The research…

I started researching online how we might increase the odds of one of us ending up on the stage with Drew Carey! I created lists, cheat sheets, ideas and even a couple shirts!

We practiced all the games and knew the odds of which games would come up on the show. We knew there would be an interview and how to interact with others while we were in line for the show understanding it was all part of the audition.

The interview…

As we entered the line, we were assigned a number in numerical order-29 and 30. About a third of the way through the line there was an interview process which was relatively quick and easy. We were basically line with 20-30 other possible contestants when the producers asked everyone to turn to their right and face them. They started with the first person and asked everyone the same questions “What is your name? Where are you from? What do you do?” They also watched to see how the interactions were with others while in line. They looked for someone who was friendly and excited to be there yet not obviously trying to make it to contestant row!

When Brian and I were finally seated in our seats for the show the excitement was building for everyone. The producers came out to discuss the audience rules and how to read the cue cards. Drew came out to mingle with the audience and told a few jokes to get to know everyone. Brian noticed some of the producers were looking our way and he thought they had written down one of our numbers. I thought he’s crazy! Then we hear it…

Tabitha Roach come on down…YOU are the next contestant on THE PRICE IS RIGHT!

The items that were up for bid was an Xbox and 3 video games. Everyone placed their bids and then it was my turn “$1 Drew” and just like that I was on national tv standing next to Drew Carey playing Half-Off for the possibility of winning $10,000 and my 10 minutes of fame!

I was able to successfully guess the Half Off items and had 3 chances to remove all the boxes except for the one holding the $10,000 and the OTHER ONE! Only two boxes 10 and 15… I chose box 10 and the cash was in BOX 15. GO FIGURE!!! They didn’t put the $10K in Box 10!!

We didn’t walk away that day with a $10,000 check in the mail but we did walk away with an Xbox, $1,000 and a monumental moment worth more than a million and $10,000.

However…we couldn’t share ANYTHING until the show aired

So, we waited…and waited for October 13th to roll around before we could tell ANYONE ANYTHING that had happened that July day in L.A. Our family and friends knew we had attended the taping of an episode but that was it! We signed a waiver, so we really didn’t discuss with anyone other than each other. Everyone knew something bad happen because we were hosting a “viewing party” on a Wednesday in the middle of the day to watch the show! We went LIVE on Facebook and had tons of family and friends tune in.

Things we learned:

• You do NOT know you have been chosen to “come on down” until your name is called.
• You CAN keep all the items you successfully bid on.
• However, you have to pay taxes on anything over $1,500 (my total was exactly $1,499 for the cash and Xbox).
• If you win a big item (car, boat, etc) they ship you the item and it usually takes a LONG time.
• During the commercial breaks, the producers and Drew come out on stage & work the crowd to get everyone excited and engaged with the show.
• The spinning wheel really is HEAVY and awkward.
• After the show, the contestants have to sign a waiver ensuring you will not disclose anything about the show until the airing date.
• Any prizes you accept, won’t arrive until a few days before or after the airing date.
• The experience is SURREAL. We still can’t believe we were on The Price Is Right on national television. Our grandparents would have been so proud!