Woolery's come back to Wheel!

[Steve McClellan]

I was just checking over the posts here, when the commercial on in the background caused a major double-take:

http://www.chumashcasino.com/promos.htm

Thought #1 - Maybe some good does come from those untaxed Indian casinos Schwarzenegger kept bashing.

Thought #2 - Damn, I wish I were eight months older.

[Card Shark]

[quote name=\'gameshowsteve\' date=\'Dec 1 2003, 08:28 PM\'] I was just checking over the posts here, when the commercial on in the background caused a major double-take:

http://www.chumashcasino.com/promos.htm

Thought #1 - Maybe some good does come from those untaxed Indian casinos Schwarzenegger kept bashing.

Thought #2 - Damn, I wish I were eight months older. [/quote]
 My double take comes from the name of the casino. The word 'chumash' is a Hebrew word. A Chumash is a bound, printed book that contains the Torah, which is the Hebrew name for the teaching of God.

ObGameshows (or however you're supposed to write the damned thing), if this is a real thing, why on earth would they associate Chuck Woolery with Wheel, when Pat Sajack has been more closely associated with the show, but less so than Vanna White for the past 20-some years?

[inturnaround]

It's possible that the game he'll be hosting is Wheel of Fortune. Sure Pat Sajak is more well known for hosting it, he's also unavailable. Chuck is known, but more for Love Connection than anything else. And with Bob Eubanks already doing Newlywed, well, there's a possible explanation.

Still, this might be the first time to see him host WoF in any form in a generation.

Someone go and let us know.

[Skynet74]

[quote name=\'Card Shark\' date=\'Dec 1 2003, 11:10 PM\']
 why on earth would they associate Chuck Woolery with Wheel, when Pat Sajack has been more closely associated with the show [/quote]
 
  To answer your question....... I'm sure they picked Chuck to do the promotion because of Availability Number 1, and because Pat has proven to be unwilling to do outside Promotion Number 2. Pat won't do the CD Rom Games and He won't lend his likeness to any Wheel Merchandise. It seems that Pat has decided that the only association he wants to have with Wheel is to host the actual TV Show.



John

[Steve McClellan]

[quote name=\'Card Shark\' date=\'Dec 1 2003, 08:10 PM\']My double take comes from the name of the casino. The word 'chumash' is a Hebrew word. A Chumash is a bound, printed book that contains the Torah, which is the Hebrew name for the teaching of God.[/quote]
Looks like sheer coincidence. According to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (http://www.sbnature.org/research/anthro/chumash/daily.htm):

"The Indians who lived on the Channel Islands specialized in making the bead money, or 'anchum. They were the mint for the Chumash Indians who lived on the mainland. The name Chumash comes from the name that the mainland Indians gave to the island Indians. Chumash and 'anchum are related words, so apparently the name Chumash originally meant something like bead money makers."

if this is a real thing

If it isn't, they're wasting an awful lot of money on advertising.

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Dec 1 2003, 08:24 PM\']Someone go and let us know. [/quote]
I just might - I'll post a summary if I do.

[bwood]

I find it interesting that the logo beside Chuck says "Wheel O' Fortune". There's either copyright involved or the contestants will be all-Irish.

(Eubanks' also says "The NOT SO Newlywed Game")

[Steve McClellan]

I'm sure it's a copyright thing. Then again, with a name like McClellan, I guess an all-Irish contestan pool wouldn't be so bad. I'll be sure to wear my green shirt.

[Card Shark]

[quote name=\'gameshowsteve\' date=\'Dec 1 2003, 11:33 PM\'] [quote name=\'Card Shark\' date=\'Dec 1 2003, 08:10 PM\']My double take comes from the name of the casino. The word 'chumash' is a Hebrew word. A Chumash is a bound, printed book that contains the Torah, which is the Hebrew name for the teaching of God.[/quote]
Looks like sheer coincidence. According to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (http://www.sbnature.org/research/anthro/chumash/daily.htm):

"The Indians who lived on the Channel Islands specialized in making the bead money, or 'anchum. They were the mint for the Chumash Indians who lived on the mainland. The name Chumash comes from the name that the mainland Indians gave to the island Indians. Chumash and 'anchum are related words, so apparently the name Chumash originally meant something like bead money makers."

 [/quote]
 Wow! You learn something new every day. Thank you for that bit of info.

[chuckwooleryfan]

To quote the great Sam & Max on this kind of story:

"Weird. Creepy."

Okay, maybe it's not that scary, but it does sound interesting nevertheless. Even if it were real, I wouldn't be able to make it since I live too far away from that place.

[Steve McClellan]

Well, I decided to make a day of it yesterday: morning J! tapings, then Wheel o' Fortune in the evening. (J! is going to have a couple of great episodes during Feb. sweeps; my jaw literally dropped at one point.)

Anyway, about 650 people attended the event. Before the game, they showed about half a dozen Lingo promos (and the Naturally Stoned rap), much to the crowd's amusement. After a brief introduction, Woolery came out (with "Big Wheels" blaring, no less!), and introduced his scantily-clad lovely assistant, who would spin the wheel for the contestants. I don't remember her name, but he said they'd been working together for six months, and it definitely wasn't Stacey. Any ideas, anyone?

About seven groups of three people were called out of the audience, and got up on stage to play two puzzles. The wheel, a vertical one like the real show uses at tryouts across the country (IIRC), had 24 spaces, with a bankrupt, a lose a turn, a free spin, two $1,000 spaces, a $500, a $300, and assorted values from $25 to $200 (vowels cost $25).

The game worked just like the show---at least, when Woolery could remember the rules. (He started by asking the first contestant for a letter before spinning.) It looked pretty much like what you'd expect---Wheel, being played by mostly-awful contestants. One guy got it, though. With a free spin in hand, only one consonant left, and a $25 spin, he threw it so he could use the free spin to get a better number. It made him an extra $125. (Woolery said that never happened the entire time he did the show.)

Strange note: After two of the puzzles (AIN'T MISBEHAVIN and I'M FOOLIN MYSELF---each of which seems to be missing an apostrophe), Chuck walked over to a guitar and sang the song in question. After the latter, he said that was the last song and drew cheers.

A couple of people won over $4,000, with most of the wins being in the $600-2,000 range. At the end, those who didn't get called had a chance to win $250 by finding a star under their chairs, at which about a dozen people looked to succeed. (A lack of specificity in instruction resulted in the tearing apart of several dozen chairs, though.) After the show, Woolery stayed around to sign autographs and discuss everything from Knudsen's cottage cheese to how badly he'd do at Lingo.

All in all, 'twas quite a bit of fun. Barring a scheduling conflict, I'll probably do the whole thing again next week (with Monty Hall doing LMaD at the casino).