[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Nov 11 2003, 01:11 PM\']As a professional broadcaster, he can make a win sound just as exciting even if he already knows it's coming.[/quote]
I don't know... as a regular viewer, I figured out a while ago that Tom is told whether the key is a winner before the reveal, and I've noticed that when the key is the correct one, he tends to say something while the contestant is inserting the key that will lead to a proclamation of victory (made-up example: "He says it's absolutely gotta be the middle key... [open] ...and he's absolutely right!" Pretty much any time Tom says something that ends with an ellipsis, I know that the contestant is about to win. Okay, so I only figure it out two seconds before the win actually happens, but still, it kind of takes the fun out of it.
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Scott Robinson
On the other hand, being told in advance whether the chosen key is a winner can come in handy... I remember an episode where the contestant turned the key but didn't push on the trunk, so Tom gently pulled the trunk open from where he was standing to move things along.