It's that time again. Wheel of Fortune is having tryouts in Sacramento -- well, not really Sacramento, but Jackson Rancheria Indian casino, which is about 50 miles from here.
So the setup is this: A few million people show up, almost all of them hoping to get on the show. We all line up outside. Each one fills out a slip of paper with the usual information plus something about what your hobbies are. These papers are all put in a big drum. All the would-be contestants are then ushered into a room with a stage setup that's a tackier version of the real Wheel of Fortune set.
Excruciatingly loud music is playing in this room, so the relief of getting out of the hot sun is mixed with the pain of this music that must be about 70 decibels.
There is a warmup on stage where they tell you all the rules and remind you about a gazillion times that nothing you do there today guarantees you a slot on the show. This warning is interspersed with messages telling you that even if you aren't chosen today, there is a second chance. Talk about random reinforcement.
Then they have the section where they tell people that what they want is to see enthusiasm. And of course there is a lot of making the audience wave their arms, jump up and down, and of course yell at the top of their lungs. Then we find out that our names will be drawn out of the drum five at a time, and those chosen will go on the stage and chat with the host and play an abbreviated version of the game.
After sitting through this, I started counting how many people they interviewed. About 50 per hour, but fewer in the afternoon shows.
The hall held about 900 people, they do three shows a day, so out of 900 people, 150 or so get up on the stage per day.
After each show you have to leave the building and go back outside and wait in line again.
Yesterday Carol went with me, and we had a fun day, except for the fact that we didn't hurry out to get our entry tickets for the second show and we didn't get in. That was a dumb move.
On the good side, the casino gave everybody a five dollar coupon to use in the casino. So we went into the casino with our freebies and she won $60 and I won $40. We cashed out right away and figured they made the slots loose to keep you gambling, so we were all excited to go back after the last show with our next coupon and win some more, but we just lost the money. I got six more coupons today when I went back by myself, but only ended up with $5. Oh we'll, paid for my gas.
And once again, I am not one of the chosen ones.
When I got home, John hd already eaten dinner, so this I what I had for dinner. Yum.
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