I’ve begun to work out my strategy for the eventual day when I get on that show.
I’ve been practicing on the home game, and I pretty much got it down. I figure though that you only get one shot at the real deal. So you’ve got to make it count, and “go for broke” so to speak.
Though “broke” is a relative term, since all players are guaranteed to make at least a penny.
Which is not really true anymore, because on the daytime rules, only 5 out of 26 get to play. The rest get to be on TV and “open the case.” They start with 22, and they each have five chances in five days to get picked. One of them does come up to play on Monday. Then they bring somebody else in on Tuesday to fill that spot. That guy has at least four chances to have his number spun. And again on Wednesday, but this replacement has only three opportunities for random luck to come his way. Thursday again. Pitty the guy on Friday, who has one shot at the wheel spinning his number.
I’ve also figured that I have a better shot at getting on in the daytime version. They don’t have the time in a half-hour to socialize, and so I don’t have to have (so much of) a strange personality quirk to attract attention and get on the show. I’d just have to be engaging enough for the 20 minutes of air time. The trade-off is that I start with only a half-million as the top jackpot, and the top amounts drop down much more rapidly. It would leave me with a very thin safety-net. If I uncover those amounts first, the deal will drop significantly.
I have not completely worked out yet if I will keep my number, or trade it for another case. After all, it was lucky enough to be spun by the giant roulette wheel, so it must be a lucky number. Or, was all the luck used up to get me up on stage, then should I trade it for another case. One that has a track record of being unlucky already during that same episode?
Then, I pretty much will go for the gusto. After I leave the stage, they won’t ever let me come back. So I might as well play it out and have fun and go for it all!
Plus, if I take an offer of $13,000 and leave, after California state and US federal taxes, I will take home about $6.50. It won’t really change my life in any significant way. So I figure to get any good out of the appearance, I’ve got to maximize my time and profit potential.
Which brings me to my other strategy. If I’m feeling uncomfortable, and ready to take a deal and bail out on the game, that is the time that I should take a deep breath, and go one more time. Push lady luck to her limit. That’s ‘Howie’ would do it!
Now, I’ve just got to apply. Now where did I set that online application?