Gambit & Card Sharks

[wdm1219inpenna]

On both CBS's "Gambit" and NBC's "Las Vegas Gambit", whenever a game was interrupted, the next program Wink would always say "The remaining cards in the deck have been reshuffled and resealed." and then the challenger would cut the remaining cards.  Was this done for Standards & Practices reasons? 

Also, did Card Sharks do the same thing for an interrupted game?

[Neumms]

And would they cut them again? I think they did on Gambit.

[ActualRetailMike]

While on the subject, on Gambit, Wink would begin every game with a version of

Elaine, let's break the seal on a new deck of 52 cards, and (insert newer male contestant's name) cut 'em for us.

Did they really use a whole new deck each time?  A bit wasteful, considering the size of the cards.
I doubt they actually went through 3+ decks each show, though as a kid I thought they really did.

[JasonA1]

While on the subject, on Gambit, Wink would begin every game with a version of

Elaine, let's break the seal on a new deck of 52 cards, and (insert newer male contestant's name) cut 'em for us.

Did they really use a whole new deck each time?  A bit wasteful, considering the size of the cards.
I doubt they actually went through 3+ decks each show, though as a kid I thought they really did.

Apologies if you were being sarcastic, but it's "new" in the sense that it's different from the last deck the audience saw, so all 52 cards are back in play. Wink has said before that they had "at least 2 dozen" decks, which would make sense against a 5-show tape day. If you figure 3 or 4 decks per show at minimum, plus extras for any problem that should arise, you never have to stop a tape day to shuffle. You do it all beforehand.

-Jason

[parliboy]

Apologies if you were being sarcastic, but it's "new" in the sense that it's different from the last deck the audience saw, so all 52 cards are back in play. Wink has said before that they had "at least 2 dozen" decks, which would make sense against a 5-show tape day. If you figure 3 or 4 decks per show at minimum, plus extras for any problem that should arise, you never have to stop a tape day to shuffle. You do it all beforehand.

Possibly silly question: would S&P require that the 52 cards of each deck in the taping day have their order recorded before being sealed?  Seems a bit silly at first, but it would make it possible to detect tampering after-the-fact.

[JasonA1]

Possibly silly question: would S&P require that the 52 cards of each deck in the taping day have their order recorded before being sealed?  Seems a bit silly at first, but it would make it possible to detect tampering after-the-fact.

My hunch is no. If you go to YouTube and watch the video of the modern Card Sharks shuffling, for instance, S&P was present for the shuffling and sealing of the cards. And not just the sealing band we see on camera, but an additional large bag/manila envelope over the entire thing. S&P was also present for that envelope and seal being broken. Any tampering would have to involve some very detail-oriented re-creation of the original writing on the seal and envelope.

Even if something similar wasn't done on Gambit with regards to security, the stakes were so comparatively lower, I don't think anyone would have been concerned. And you'd have to engineer a fix that isn't broken by the on-camera cut. If a contestant chose NOT to cut, that would likely raise some eyebrows.

-Jason

[TLEberle]

While on the subject, on Gambit, Wink would begin every game with a version of

Elaine, let's break the seal on a new deck of 52 cards, and (insert newer male contestant's name) cut 'em for us.

Did they really use a whole new deck each time?  A bit wasteful, considering the size of the cards.
I doubt they actually went through 3+ decks each show, though as a kid I thought they really did.

Even if a deck of cards was $100 from the budget that is such a tiny amount against prizes and stagehands and the technical/production crew I would have two dozen decks made because the worst thing for a show like that is for a single card to get a stain or tear and everything skids to a halt because there isn’t a spare handy.

[Dbacksfan12]

I would have two dozen decks made because the worst thing for a show like that is for a single card to get a stain or tear and everything skids to a halt because there isn’t a spare handy.

As someone who has had to change a card out because it gets stained or torn, I can tell you people get impatient very quickly.