It was a June morning when I got the news that The Price Is Right Live™️ – the traveling version of the legendary TV game show – was coming to Arkansas. I knew I had to go. I just knew they would call my name and I’d run down the aisle and bid my way through contestants row. Then next I’d breeze through one of the classic games like Plinko™️ with it’s allure of big cash, or Cliffhanger™️ with it’s yodeling climber. And finally, I’d spin The Big Wheel™️ and go to the showcase and win a new car and a fancy trip!
Pictured (l. to r.) are Benton residents Shelli Poole and Tonya Horton, obvious winners!
Well a friend and I (pictured above) got our tickets and drove into Little Rock on Monday night to Robinson Center where the show would be. We circled around downtown to find a parking spot and walked a couple of very chilly blocks back to our destination. So far not exciting, but once we got inside, it started to build. Everyone was wearing those yellow contestant name tags. (The name tags are yellow, not the contestants.) There was a kiosk showing a QR code so attendees could sign up to be able to have their name called. There were people in the drink line and people in the bathroom line, and then…
We walked into the auditorium to find our seats. People were already cheering as they watched TPIR trivia questions roll across the screen up front. The minutes ticked by and it was finally time. A man dressed in a bowling shirt with jack-o-lanterns printed all over it came onto the stage wearing a headset and microphone. He gave instructions for the game and introduced our game show host for the evening, Todd Newton.
KEEP READING TO FIND OUT WHO WON! ???
If that name sounds familiar to you, it might be because he also hosted Whammy! The New Press Your Luck, the fun game show with trivia questions that allow contestants to take a chance at winning trips, electronics, vehicles or big money… or getting a Whammy and losing all your prizes. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures during the show, so I don’t have one of Newton. However, I do have pictures of some Benton residents that made it to the stage!
Pictured (l. to r.) Benton residents Lori and Jeremy Lemons. He was excited and out of his chair, cheering for his wife and for going to Dublin!
Meet Lori Lemons. She came on down and ended up on stage. They told her she could win a trip to Dublin in the Cliffhanger game if she could just get some prices close enough. And she did pretty great at guessing two prices. The little yodeling hiker only went a little way up the mountain. But it was the last item that was Lori’s downfall. She guessed too low and the yodeler hiked right over the edge. She did go home with $100 for playing though.
Benton resident Lori Lemons with her consolation prize. $100 isn’t nothing – congrats!
And guess who won a car! Nope, not me or my friend Tonya. She didn’t even make it through the form to register to be called to the stage. But Ted Marlatt of Benton did. He got in the showcase showdown and won an SUV, a scooter, a trip to Las Vegas and another trip to Venice, Italy. Congrats to both of these locals.
Pictured is Benton resident Ted Marlatt, who won the most out of everyone who played – a car, a scooter, a trip to Las Vegas and a trip to Venice, Italy.
It was a fun night even for those of us who didn’t win. Even for those of us who didn’t get to say our rehearsed shout-out speech while spinning the big wheel. If the show comes around again, I’ll… probably get a ticket again.
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