It was a good set, but I hated having the money amount for the Money Cards superimposed. Should've had a podium a la the NBC version.
I completely agree, very weird just leaving a contestant out in free space without the host there. Off the top of my head, I can't think of another show that doesn't have some physical set/prop or the host to keep the contestant in place. Even on Body Language, where a contestant is allowed to roam in the acting area, it was still a sunken floor to put a boundary area up.
The other quibble I had with the CBS Card Sharks set is with all of the rolling parts, they still could not obscure the backside of the 3-card draw prop in the wide shots of the front game.