Casino Crazy? Not
Really...
Gordon Pepper
This past Friday was the start of the traveling Price is
Right shows in Atlantic City. When I first heard about
this when they first tried this, I thought it was a
great idea. A great idea was also when they had the
traveling Wheel of Fortune auditions in the New Jersey
coastline. I was also thinking about all of the casinos
getting coverage with the World Series of Poker, the
World Poker Tour, and the list goes on.
Then I was thinking a bit. This whole casino tied into
game shows has been nothing new. Some of the most
classic game shows (Card Sharks, High Rollers, Gambit,
The Big Showdown) have been tied to the basic gambling
games. Then there's The Price is Right - Hit Me, Poker
Game, the Dice Game, and Let 'Em Roll (among others) all
owe their creation to gambling havens.
What about the game shows that have been filmed for TV
at the casinos? Let's Make A Deal (which featured many
unique gambling games of their own) has been in Las
Vegas (The Hilton), and has had a traveling version of
their own and Gambit has also has a Las Vegas version.
Caesar's Challenge and Ruckus have taken place in the
casinos. Even The Donald (with his short-lived Trump
Card) has graced the TV set.
Is the casino craze that surprising? To some people,
maybe it is, but if we really look at it, we've actually
been in the casino craze for the past 30 years - and
there's no sight of it remotely slowing down.
As much as Anthony
wanted Scott Savol to stay on, the round mound of sound
has finally left the building. Happy birthday, Anthony!
Will this be a very short celebration? As usual we start
with the person who isn't celebrating, and that is...
The
second that Simon started to praise you, I knew your
number was up. Without the fear of you being eliminated,
the people didn't vote for you, and bingo - you're gone.
My grandma was also right - your really lousy attitude
didn't help you at all and I hope that when you do
record your first album that you treat the staff better
than you treat the judges.
So who does this help?
Why
you are safe Well, Scott's departure doesn't do much
for you - but you singing lights out over Carrie does.
You have taken the 'favorite' label from Carrie
and stuck it to yourself. Congratulations!
Why you are in trouble - Why is the Final Four scary?
Because people think that the match is over and
it's going to be a Carrie/Bo Final 2. That will get
people to vote for Anthony and Vonzell, who are clearly
in trouble...unless you give your fans a reason to not
vote for you.
Why you are out A flat effort convinces people to not
vote for you - and convinces another shocking exit.
Why
you are safe It just doesn't matter how bad you screw
up the words, does it?
Why you are in trouble It could matter here. If it's a
Bo/Carrie Final 2, that means that the R & B population
will be completely shut out of the voting. I am still
not convinced that they are going to be shut out, and of
the 2 people to sing emotionless and flat, you, Ms.
Robot Mangler, would be more likely to do it.
Why you are out I could repeat what I said last week -
so I will - You come out flat, mangle the lyrics, Bo
outsings you hands down and everyone else gets more
votes because the audience knows that they are in danger
but they think that you dont need their vote and you
didnt earn it you earned a spot to leave, instead.
This week, though, it could certainly by more
realistic...
Why
you are safe Scott's departure. You will be getting an
overwhelming (if not all) of his votes. That should keep
you very safe.
Why you are in trouble It's going to be real
interesting to see what happens this week. I think that
you could have enough votes to get into the Top 2, and a
great performance can seal it.
Why you are out You sing horrifically and it's enough
for Anthony (who's fans know they have to vote for
him - or else) to edge you out for that final
spot.
Why
you are safe Uhhh...well....last week was your
birthday?
Why you are in trouble Ironically, it's last week that
got you into trouble. You were so awful that almost all
of the votes that you really needed to get went to Bo -
leaving you back in the bottom 2 (which you probably
wouldn't have been in if you sang like you have been
doing for the past few weeks). You DESPERATELY need to
sing lights out and then have someone else royally sing
as bad...as you did, last week.
Why you are out Bo, Carrie and Vonzell performs as
expected, leaving you out - as expected.
So my choice is that Anthony follows Scott right out the
door. We'll see if he does - or if the Final Four once
again does in a front-runner - next week.
Gordon Pepper can be reached at gordon@gameshownewsnet.com. |