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As mentioned a couple months ago, The Price is Right Live! came to Foxwoods last night. Performing a pilgrimage that served two purposes (three if you count the buffet), we took the ninety minute drive to Ledyard to partake in some poker and some Big Wheel spinnin’.

While the poker was spectacularly uneventful (after a roller-coaster day, ended up being down only $25 after 6 hours of play– in large part to some ridiculousness that involved an ace hitting the flop on three separate occasions after I had raised preflop with KK, and managed to get called by everyone and everything every time) we did manage to hit up the buffet (fan-fucking-tastic– even if it costs $18) and got down to registration for the 7 PM showing of TPiR Live (the last showing of the Foxwoods run). We moved into the registration room pretty quickly. Had to fill out some slips, and then were given name tags and sent to the line for seating for the show. Now, keep in mind, we got there at like 5:15, got out of registration at 5:30, and the line still wrapped all the way around to some of the shops (from the doors to the Fox Theater), still ninety minutes before we start. Lucky for us, we managed to get reasonable seats (we were way on the right, but only 5 rows back from the stage). Roger Lodge (of Blind Date fame) hosted the show, and it actually was much closer to the TV show than I thought. Music, cues, games, etc. were all the same, all the way down to the flashing light border when contestants were called down to Contestant’s Row.

Couple nuances. One, they called down four new people before EVERY pricing game (as opposed to four at the beginning and one every game after that). Two, the prizes were much smaller than on the the TV show (expected). Bidding prizes were anywhere from $60-$220, with stage prizes generally totaling $250-$1000, I’d say. Contestants did have a chance to win up to $2,400 playing It’s In The Bag and $2,500 playing Plinko, although they only won $600 (guy stopped even though he would have won $2,400 had he risked it and kept going) and $750 respectively. Only five pricing games were played (as opposed to six on TV) and the Big Wheel was only spun once (after the third game) and involved three people being called randomly to spin it– the person who “won” got $250, and if they got a dollar, would have had a chance to spin for $1000. The Showcase also was different– two people were called down to the stage and shown one showcase (that had a watch, a refrigerator, a massage chair, and trip, and a Honda Fit). Both contestants had to bid separately on the same showcase. The person who came closest without going over won the trip– if someone came within $100 without going over they won the whole kitten caboodle. Of course, both people double overbid in spectacular fashion (ARP was $20,000 and change, one guy bid $21,000+ and some woman bid $26,000+).

Yours truly did not get called down, which is unfortunate, since other than a guffaw with the last two prizes of “It’s In The Bag,” I would have won every game. All in all, it was entertaining, and a passable substitute for being in the TV audience. For now.

The first game, The Race Game. Was a little worried, since it was a pretty hefty woman playing a game that involved running, but she managed to prove doubters wrong by merely walking to the prizes but matching up all four price tags on the first try.

The Big Wheel. Complete with “beep-beep-beep” and everything. No $1.00’s, won by a guy with $.85.

Plinko! I reiterate, my life will not be complete until I am standing atop that board. Played by a big dude whose actual name was “King,” the slots were $500, $0, $250, $100, $50 as opposed to $10,000, $0, $1,000, $500, $100 like on the show. The King pulled down $750, landing in the $250 slot 3 times, $0 once, and failing to get one Plinko chip beforehand.

More awful camera-phone pics in the gallery here.