The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Plinko and Powerbombs: Tracy Clayton on Price Is Right & Memphis Wrestling

Episode Date: August 22, 2020

Matt visits with his friend and Houston sports statistician Tracy Clayton about his experiences as a contestant on The Price Is Right. All the behind scenes stuff you’d want to know if you ever would like to go on the show. Also a brief rundown of Tracy’s Memphis Wrestling memories. Finally, Matt and Tracy list their 3 favorite Price is Right games.

So everybody's got a podcast, right? You win the car. It's yours. But does everybody do a game show and wrestling podcast? No! Of course not. Only a strange being from the far reaches of the Houston suburbs, born on Doritos and Coke, and raised by the 70s and 80s,

could dream up such an audio extravaganza. And there is no one that does it better. Welcome to Plinco. and power bombs. Oh! Now the guy who always bids one dollar. So when you live by the fuck, brother, you'll die by the fuck. Routy, Roddy, Matt Thomas.

Hey, everybody, this is Matt, and welcome to the second edition of Plinko and Powerbombs. This is the podcast that I was guilty into doing, and I'm kind of glad I got guilty into doing it because it's something fun and different that I would normally not do on my noon to three show. Now, what I love to do a radio show, 15 hours a week talking about game shows and pro wrestling? Well, of course, but that's probably 4% of my audience. Now, I have my own podcast. We'll do it weekly, a couple times a month, whatever the case may be, with my buddies that have the same affinity towards two of my favorite things, game shows and professional wrestling.

And we do that today with my good friend, Tracy Clayton. Tracy is someone I've gotten to know over the last 10 years. He has been with me at a lot of the sporting events that I've gone to. You are a scorer at Astros games, correct? I was until the championship year. Would they kick to the curb? I kicked myself to the curb. Oh, okay.

You have been with me on Rockets on the scoring table as kind of a backup to the shot clock operator, a scoreboard. You're kind of a jack-of-all-trades backup. That's correct. But you've been involved with the NBA scoring for a long time, right? I've been involved in the NBA since the Orlando Magic's inaugural year, and I originally worked for the Orlando Magic as their IT manager for five years. Wow. So I was there during the shack and penny days. Yeah.

And then we also get to. The sweep, as you guys know it. It was a great sweep. So you were in the building in 95? I was in the building for games one and two. I was there for Nick the brick. Me too. It's such a great experience.

A good friend of mine. And it's sad for Nick, but he has overcome that. And he's a great person. If you knew him the way I did, you'd feel. a little sorry for him. Well, I don't disagree with you on that, and I've had a chance of meet and visit with Dennis Scott over the year. So really a good Orlando basketball

team just ran into a Rockets Buzz saw, and Nick's free throw certainly made a big difference. And then sometimes you and I hang out at Cougar football games because you're working the stat crew there. And the Texans. And the, well, I do. You may not. Yeah, it's kind of pain in the ass to get over there.

NFL football is good to be watching on television. Well, so one of the things that Tracy and I have had such a good time over the years is arguing about one of our favorite game shows, and that's the price is right. Bob Barker's the goat, correct? Without question. No arguments whatsoever.

No. And I'm sure, and I've said this five million times on my radio show, I'm sure Drew Carey is a splendid human being. I actually met him working an event opening a Disney park when they opened Animal Kingdom. Yeah. And got to work with him a little bit on the side, very, very nice guy. but he's horrible as a host of the Price is Right, my opinion. It's like every day he goes out there, it's like he's hosting the show for the very first time. Yes, and he wants to be anywhere except on that stage.

And he loves doing the show, too. Any time you hear him interviewed about the prices, right, he adores being on there. And I would too. He's probably being paid gazillion dollars. It's a fun show where he give away millions and millions of dollars in prizes and cash. Yes. And when the cameras are off, when they're setting up, up between games and he's interacting with the audience, you can tell he loves it. But when that

light goes on, I don't know if it's overwhelming, if he feels like he can't fill the shoes of Bob Barker. But it's just, it's a totally different experience for those of us who grew up watching Bob Barker guide that show with his magic. And the thing that's so sad about it is, and again, I wish I could say better things about Drew because, again, he comes across as a very affable person. Like when I watch Alec Ball. one do the match game, Baldwin comes across as an A-hole, and I think he is an A-hole. I don't think Drew Carey is. No, I agree.

But there's just, it's for the most mundane, regular games, and they have about 100 games, give or take, and he's done them all over and over and over and over again. It's like he's introducing the money game for the very first time. Well, the part of the reason why, and the main reason why Tracy's here is because Tracy was a contestant on the prices right. Come on down! or something like that. Oh, by the way, that's another thing.

Rich Fields was fantastic. Yes. I loved, Johnny Olson's the greatest of all time. Yes. I wasn't a huge fan of Rod Roddy. Although the one time I went to the prices right and sat in the audience, Rod Rod Roddy was the announcer. I didn't get on stage like you did, Lucky Duck.

Loved Rich Fields. And this one, the guy that's been doing it, George, whatever his name is. George Gray. It's just okay. It is. It's different. And I think that's the way the production team changed the show when Bob left. It, to me, nothing needed to be fixed.

I agree. There was nothing that made the show stale. There was nothing that from a format procedure needed to be shifted or moved around. I think, frankly, the Price is Right has done too much gimmicky stuff. The kids' week, the newlyweds week, the pregnant. of future parents, newlyweds, college. When they go to a special format, I delete it off my DVR. It just doesn't do the same thing for me.

Give me the four contestants on contestants' role, playing the regular games, not muddying up the set. It was just the best game period and it didn't need to be changed. Yes, absolutely right. No argument. But I think you and I are the minority on this. Yes. You may be right.

But you and I both grew up with this show. I'm a little older than you are. The show was, I was nine years old when the show went on the air. And so I've been watching it since 1972. Yeah. That's absolutely incredible. And I watched all the different versions. There was a nighttime version with Dennis James.

There was a Tom Kennedy nighttime version. There was a Doug Davidson syndicated nighttime version, which, by the way, Bob Barker hated and wanted no part of it. So if you ever go see on YouTube clips, the Doug Davidson version of the Price is Right, It looks nothing like the daytime version. They had even different rules for the bonus game at the very end, which that was just a mess. You could do a half-hour price is right, keeping the essence of what was happening during the daytime. And I think it had been a lot more successful.

They, again, don't over. They just added so many other pieces that just made zero sense to it. You know, and you mentioned half hour. People forget it started off as a 30-minute show. Right. And it was when they went to an hour that it really achieved its super stardom and the legacy that it has today. The big showcases, the Star Wheel, which I think is still a great part of the game. All right.

So let me quickly go through my experience. I was 18 years old and just graduated from high school. My mom took me on a trip to California where we sat in the dog pound of the Arsenio Hall show. We sat in the audience of a show called the Marshall Warfield Show. And Marsha was a black actress who was one of the, bailiffs, not bailiffs, but like, well, what would be in a judge? She was on night court, and she was one of the officers. What do they call those people that are?

Bayliff. So I was right, Bayliff. Okay, so bailiff. She was a bailiff with Richard Mall, and she was very funny. She was a stand-up comedian, and she was trying to be an actress, and she had her own daytime syndicated show for a while. So they were looking for people to go sit in the audience, and so we said, sure, why not? So when we took a tour of NBC that day, we got to see the days of our live set and then went to go sit in the audience for the Marshall Warfield show. On that same trip, we got up early in the morning and probably were.

Was it Beverly Boulevard at CBS Television City, 7800 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, 9-036. That's right. You got the address down perfectly. And here's the thing. It's no longer CBS Television City. It's just, I think it's just a television. I don't know what they call it, but CBS doesn't own it anymore. I did not know that.

It still said CBS when I was there. Yeah. But the show is still recorded there. Yes. I also know that James Corton show is still there, but anybody can record a show there. It's not CBS exclusive shows. Let's make a deal. Is that really?

Yes. That's a bad show. It is a bad show. I hate that show. I hate, and no disrespect to the late Great Monty Hall, but I hated it. You don't like the new version, don't like the old version. Just one of those shows I didn't like. So we got to 7,800 Beverly Boulevard, 9-0-3-6 at about 5 o'clock in the morning,

something in that range, some 515-ish. Okay. Waited in line, got the clearance at about 1030 that, yes, you'll have a ticket, come back at 215, 230. Did that. Went through the audience contestant. Was this Bob or Drew? This is Bob. This has got to be 1990.

91 somewhere in that range. Yep, still Bob. He's white hair, but definitely still spry, probably having sex with Diane Parkinson, Bob Barker. Got up there. They asked who you are, where you live, what you do, and so it was just my mom and I. And so there was just two of us and they found a spot for two. And we just waited and waited and waited and we never got called.

Watch the whole show. Love the experience left going. This was a 13 or 14. hour day to see one of my all-time favorite shows, and it was worth it. You, my friend, had a much more successful run, and I'll let you tell the story from there. Okay, so like you, now I had been in the audience once before when I, probably around 2000, 2001, Bob was still the host, and the person, I thought I had a really good shot at getting chosen, and I'll go through how that works, but the lady sitting next to me, young lady ended up getting chosen. She said she and her

mom had skipped work and had driven all night from Phoenix, I think, to be in the audience. She got on stage, won a Mustang, went to the showcase and lost the showcase. She finished second in the showcase. But because I was sitting next to them, they thought I was part of her family. So every time they'd show her, they would show her mom and me. So that was pretty cool. So go back to 2017. It was the day after Labor Day. My wife and daughter and I were going to make a trip to Stanford to watch my UCF nights lose to the Stanford Cardinal. That was the O and 12 year. I believe that was that year. But I know it was the O in 12 year because they lost. And I arranged it so that we would go through Los Angeles so I could be in the audience on the

price is right. And I wasn't sure my wife would go for it. And as I mentioned this, she's like, oh, yeah, that's, yes, definitely. My daughter, who had just turned 20. Yes, yes, definitely, let's do this. So we went online in pre-reserved tickets. So we were guaranteed a seat. And I had done all of the reading. I knew from my previous experience, sort of what it took, what they were looking for in a contestant. So we got to our hotel. And the morning of the show, there were two tapings. And we were told, if you have a ticket, you really should be on that sidewalk outside the studio around 7 a.m. because the closer you are to the front, the more likely you are to get chosen because those of you that are fans of the show know that they only

choose nine contestants and only six get on stage and there are three that get left behind that never make it up. So you arrive. They have a security guy that walks back and forth and then people just sort of stand in line. And as it gets closer to the time to physically enter the property, and this is all done outdoors, they start lining you up by whether or not you have a ticket. And so the people that had tickets are lined up in order of arrival. Then they go the people that had been given standby tickets and then the people that are walk-ups. And then they bring you all in. And at some point, this security person said, yeah, we're short today. Everybody in line's going to get in. And I think the studio at this point holds 315 people.

So we walk in, you go through a queue, you sit down, and you fill out. your paperwork. And while you're filling out your paperwork, your name, your address, got to make sure you're legal to win a gift. Somebody comes by and fills out your name card. And then below your name card, they put the little placard with a number on it. And that's how they identify you until you get on stage or called up as a contestant. And you're numbered in the order. So the very first person in line is number one all the way through the very last person is 315. So you fill out all of that paperwork. and then they bring you up, they tell you sort of what's going to happen, and then you go through a line where pictures are taken. And the first picture is like when you get on a cruise ship and you've got a green screen behind you,

and it's so they can sell you the photo package when you go through the line a little bit later. And so our photo package has us standing in front of the wheel, yelling and screaming. So that's pretty cool. And then they take your picture with a digital camera. And I thought, why would they do that? And then I thought, that must be what they use so the producers can look at the people they're considering and say, yeah, we want this person. Oh, yeah, he was really animated because, as you know, the visual will register typically more quickly, right? So then you have a little break.

Then they come back and you go through farther in the line and then they start doing interviews. And you're interviewed by one of the executive producers, which at the time, and I think he's retired now, with Stan Blitz, gets. he's, you know, famous producer for Price is Right. And they bring you through and you can hear what's going on. So pro tip, pay attention to what he's asking the other people in line while you're waiting your turn. And by the way, it sounds like you shouldn't be first either. Like being 10th or 15th wouldn't be the worst thing. Yeah, not the worst thing.

But if you can sell yourself, you will get chosen. One other thing to remember, and they do tell you this, they reserve big blocks of groups, blocks of seats for groups, like if there's a Navy group coming in or a college group. group, they almost always will pick somebody from that group. And they will tell you that. We are, you know, we've got a group coming in today. That's going to take one or two seats. So make sure you sell yourself. Okay, great. So the key would be to go with a bunch of people that you knew and wear shirts that identified yourself as a group. Yes. And in fact, we had several groups in our line of six to eight people. And every one of those groups had someone picked from it, as I recall.

So we're waiting in line, and I'm listening to the questions they're asking, and they get to me, and Stan says, so what's your name? I said Tracy. He says, where are you from? I said Houston. He says, what do you do? I said, I work for an evil oil company because they want you to be funny. He goes, oh, we can't have you. I said, I said, okay, fine. So I turn around. I start to, you know, walk away. No, no, I'm just kidding. And so I walked back, and he started to ask me something else. I said, I'm also involved in sports. And he said, I'm also involved in sports. And he said, said, well, tell me about that. I said, well, I'm a statistician, and I mentioned the rockets and all of the things that I do. Oh, wow, that's really cool. And so he said, and this is what I found out, there's a question that they ask that lets another producer behind him who's taking notes know this is a person we're interested in. And the question that day was, what's your favorite game? And so they asked me, and I'm not going to tell you what it was, because that question is coming later in the show, I understand. So he asked me, I told him there was other things involved as a result of that. But one of the things he said was, okay, you're just a ham.

Let's make a deal is down the street. And so I laughed and said, okay, fine. And so then he called me back. And we talked a little bit more. And then we got to my wife. He interviewed my wife. And my wife said, nope, I'm here for my husband. Got to my daughter.

And my daughter had actually chosen not to be considered for a contestant. So they put an X through your number. My shirt said, pick me, pick me, my price is right. And I covered the second me with my name tag Tracy. So it said, pick me, pick Tracy. My wife said, pick Tracy and you had a picture of she and I. And my daughter said, pick my dad and had a picture of my daughter. Brilliantly done, by the way.

Yes. Surprised. My wife did that. Didn't know until I got up the morning of the show. So we finish and they say, okay, now you've got a break. And then they show and they tell you it's coming. They have TVs you're still outside under an awning. They start showing a show.

And they say, hey, we want to see how you interact. You know, tell us what you would do. And clearly, there are cameras watching you to see how you interact when you don't know you're being looked at. And they want to see who screams out and who's interactive and who's having fun. But how could you avoid, I mean, if you're trying to get on stage and you've watched the show before, you would have to know that this is the strategy that this should be no surprise to anybody they're not going to take square boring people up there that's right that's right so unless you're square and boring in a fun way but what if you do too much of that what if you just overshoot it so to

speak i think in that case you would probably be that this guy's just a ham he knows what he thinks what we think he wants you know that sort of thing well this is way more complex than what i was when i was going to 1990 for sure i think it is the thing is now Everything's on the internet. If you go out and search how to get on the prices right, you'll see a hundred stories just like mine that will tell you basically the same thing. And it's clear. They want people that are fun. They want people that are energetic.

They want people that either understand the show and can be knowledgeable in the pricing games or maybe somebody that's so clueless that it's hilarious. For instance, blank check has been around for a very long period of time. When Bob was doing it, and I think drew to the same, people still don't understand the blank check. No, they don't. And 10 chances is another game where they get thoroughly confused on. Okay, so let's go back a little bit. You are now still on the awning.

You are watching an episode of a show. Continue. So we're screaming, talking. I know what they're, and I'm sort of looking around watching other people that I thought had given pretty good answers during the interview period, and they're just knots on a log. And they're just sitting there.

Now, by this time, we've been there five hours. It's probably pushing 1 o'clock, 1.30. We've had a little lunch or whatever. People are starting to get tired. So, you know, they want energy, right? So at some point, probably about 2 o'clock or so, really close to 2 o'clock, maybe 1.30. They said, okay, it's time to go in the studio. So they start marching you in.

You walk up a set of stairs. And as you're walking up, there's a blackboard that has your show number. the air date. We taped on the Tuesday after Labor Day and our show aired on December 18th. Wow. But the shows don't necessarily air in the order that they're taped. So they may tape a special in the middle and they may air it anywhere. So you, that's the- Fourth of July, military heroes kind of thing, yeah. Yeah. So the only way you know is by looking at that board and then they will tell you when you're in. The other thing is, because of the scandal with the guy that got the price of the case exactly right to the dollar. You cannot take any electronics in the building at all. So you take

your cell phone, a pager, smart watch. It all gets dumped in a bin wrapped with a rubber band with a claim ticket and you're given a claim ticket and you pick it up when you leave. Okay. So that was pretty unique and sort of a little scary dumping $1,000 cell phones into and trusting CBS. And trusting whoever it was, right? But we thought they do this every day. If this was an issue, people would be screaming about it. So we get in, and where you actually walk in the studio, if you will envision Drew's view of the audience, where the cameras are looking out over the audience, and then in the upper right-hand corner of that view, there's like a booth. And that's basically the studio DJ, and there's a door, and that's where you come in. And as you walk in, they take the people and they start moving them in the seats. Now, for my previous experience, they just marched you in in a row, and they filled you up as you went.

maybe held a group for a set of seats for a group. So as we come in, I think my number was 60. So we come in, I'm, yeah, we're going to have a really good seat, really good seat. We're going to be on the fourth or fifth row. And an usher comes up to us, and she says, how many? I said three. She says, okay, we're taking you over here. And she's taking us over to the far corner.

And I'm going, no, no, no, no, that's not right. No, we're supposed to be down low when this other usher comes up. And she says, no, no, no, I've got them. I've got them. It's three, right? And I said, yes. And she says, no, no, no, I've got you. You're with me. And I'm going, damn, straight, I'm with you. Because she's the one that's taking people down front. Yeah. No, we don't go to down front.

We go in the last three seats in front of that DJ booth. I am crushed. I'm going, what the hell? No one's going to see you. No one's going to see you. No one's going to see me. We are not getting picked. I'm not getting picked. Nothing. And I'm just, I'm going, I don't get it. And then I got to thinking, they want the contestants spread out in the audience. They don't want all nine of them coming from the first 60 seats in the audience. So they intentionally spread you out. And so I'm thinking and I'm watching and out of the corner of my eye, the set is open. There's no curtain or anything out front, no grand like you'd see in a theater. And I see Stan the producer sitting over for the insiders on the stage right side, right at the corner.

And he's got those digital photographs and he's flipping through them. And as he would pull up a photograph, he's looking around. the audience, spotting that person, going to the next photograph. And so I start intently eyeing him. He apparently gets to my photo, looks, finds me, sees me staring a hole through him and immediately turns away. And I went, that's it. I'm in. I know I'm in. So there was going to be no drama. You knew you were going to get called. Just a question of when. I was almost certain at that point. And I told my wife, she's like, oh, you're crazy. There's music blaring. You're supposed to be, you know, pumping and having fun. So I said, watch, watch stand. So my wife, she starts looking and he's

doing the same thing, going all the way through. He gets back to us again. And sure enough, immediately turns away, she went, oh, my God, you're right. You're getting in. About that time, the Usher walks back up, walking around. And she has a seating chart. She has nine circles on the seating chart, and our three seats are circled. That's when I knew I was going to be on the show. See, that's awesome because you were going to be scared, excited to hear your name, but at least you knew a little bit ahead of time that you were going to get called. That all this hard work and those shirts were going to pay off. Before we go to the announcement, I want to go back to the show date because I do remember the same thing. They said, you are episode this.

You're going to be shown on this date. I remember to myself, thinking to myself, what if there's a press conference? What if there is a impeachment, like with President Trump, a car crash, an airplane crash, something, and you lose the episode. Now, they do tend to repeat the same episodes. Did they ever tell you about what would happen if your episode got preempted because of a news event? So there were a couple of things. The first thing they said was there is no guarantee that your show will air because they don't know what might happen on your air date. They may, they said they always try to re-air the show if it's.

does get preempted, but they have no way of letting you know that, hey, by the way, Tracy, your show date got moved to January 27th or whatever. Okay. The other possibility is we could have a technical issue. Something could happen where legally we can't air the show, like maybe one of the contestants gets charged with murder or something, or if there is a security breach in the show, like the big showcase winner were to spill the beans that they won something before the show aired. They could pull the show for that reason as well because they want the suspense. They don't want you to know before you see it on CBS at 10 o'clock on a weekday, right? So then the next thing they tell you, they start warming up. George Gray

comes out and he gives the audience just the spiel for what's going on. And at the very front of the show, you will notice that everybody is up and cheering, everybody's standing up yelling and screaming. And they want that. And he says, it's going to be so loud, you are not going to hear your name called. He said, so we're going to have a stage hand holding up the cards with the first names of the first four contestants. And when you see your name, come on down. So, and we will do that throughout the show. So if there's ever any question, so they get to the first four. And the second name they call was Terry. And I hear, and I, oh, not me. So the first four, and there's other things that they do ahead of time. And then finally, all this is happening on stage,

George Gray starts making his way over to his booth, which is over on the audience's right side of the studio. By the way, real quick, the studio is way smaller than you think it is. It looks, the camera pans make it look at this big expansive studio. It's very tight. The distance between the announcer's booth and the host is just a handful of feet. It is just a handful of feet. And the distance between the announcer's booth and that row of seats is inches because you've actually seen George Gray reach down and like shake hands. with people in the audience.

The stage was actually bigger than I thought it would be. It's not enormous, but it is larger than you would. It's still smaller than it looks on television, but it was bigger than what I thought. So George goes over into his booth and he goes, this is the price is right, number 2417B, air date December 18th, 2017, whatever it is. And then he goes, from the bob, immediately, after a one or two second beat, immediately goes into the cold open that you hear. at the top of every single show, and then he starts calling down the four names.

And now here's our host, which bothers me that they don't say here's the star, although I guess maybe it's better. Well, the thing of it is the star sounds a lot better, but the star of the price is right is Bob Barker. So it's an ode to him. I agree with that. I think that's why they do it. Bob Barker, so Bob comes out. Drew comes out, yeah. I'm sorry, Drew comes out.

whoever the model of the day is that standing in the corner hands him the microphone. My particular day, it was Rachel Reynolds. Oh, my God. She is a hundred times more beautiful in person than she is on television. I completely believe that. And you know who her husband is. David DeLucci, right? That's correct.

Yes. Former Major League Baseball player. And they live in Louisiana, if I'm not mistaken. So do we have any idea how often they tape? It depends. from what I recall when we were booking our tickets is they will book two shows a day for two or three weeks at a time, and then they'll go dark for a couple of days. And then they might have one or two days a week where they only tape one show. But as I recall, it was this, we had a labor day. So you skipped Monday. But typically I want to say it was like Monday through Thursday, two shows a day. And then maybe one day they might do three or one day they might do one. So they could basically in two weeks could get through. the 20 shows you would have in a month, give or take, something like that. All right.

So the first four are called, you are not called. First four are called. I'm not called. Everybody sits down. And then they tell you from that point forward, do not stand up unless your name is called because we want the cameras to be able to spot the next person that's called up. So we get through the first four. They get to the next name and I'm looking.

It's not me. So now that's game number two. You get to game number three. and I'm not called, and so there's the first showcase showdown. Now, one of the things that's very unique that people wouldn't realize is it takes about an hour and a half to tape a one-hour episode, which actually is a 42-minute episode when you factor in commercials, because of the reset time between games. Some of the resets are very elaborate.

They have to worry about safety with cabling and all the electronics for some of the electronic games, resetting the cameras, with the exception of the first two. The first two games are pre-stage because, as you know, in the new format, they don't go to a commercial until after the second game. Yeah, which I thought would be great for a half-hour version because you could do that twice and do basically four games in 30 minutes if they ever did a half-hour version. They don't do that, but that's why I always think it would be fun to have like a syndicated version to play at night to get four games in. So before we get to your name being called, I hate that it's the nine contestants you were talking about, that they just, just don't go into a hat and pull them because, Tracy, you are lucky enough to get called and then get up there. But if you are the fourth, fifth, or six, you only have three chances, two chances,

or one chances. And that's a purely subjective decision by the producers. I don't find that to be very fair. They may do that. They may have taken the non-contestants that they've chosen to pick, and they may randomize those nine. That I don't know. We don't know that. We don't know that. They know that. They're never going to tell us that. Right. But, you know, if I ever am able to mull my way in, I will let you know. Well, next time you come on the podcast, you have to have answer to that. All right. So we're going to game four now.

So we get to game four, and I've turned to my wife, and I said, I'm not going to look anymore. I'm just not going to look. So they go, he says, George, we need a new contestant. Tracy, and I jump out of my seat. You're going to howl at this. Clanton, as in Adam. Oh, no. Yes.

Clanton, come on down. And I go, in my head. Oh, expletive deleted, and I go, oh, to myself, yes, because I'm still in my seat. I got you. And then I go, oh, and then I go, F it, they're going to have to haul my ass back to my seat. So I run out, my wife and daughter, you can see, hear my daughter screaming on the tape. I run down. I'm in spot number three.

So Tracy, hey, welcome to the show. Thanks, Drew. Okay, here's our next item up for bids. And it was an electric smoker. and I'm looking at this electric smoker and it looked like when it before he said what it was I thought it was a wine cooler it was so far away it had to be 30 feet away from where from where we were you and with all the lights and everything was really hard to tell what it was but they gave the you know this is a Bradley electric meat smoker it's got this that and

the other you listen to him say it or yes no no I'm listening I can hear that at that point so he goes Tracy what's your bid and I've been watching the show for weeks ahead of time getting pricing ideas. And that's another big problem I have with the show now that we can talk about if you allow the time, Mr. Judge. So anyway, Tracy, what's your bid? And I said, $6.50. And everybody else went higher than I did. Mamp, me, me, me, me, maize the bids, please, go lower than $6.50. Wow, you actually got a gift on the show, a prize that was less than $650. Yes. That is so rare right now. It is now. Yes, for sure.

Most of them are 1,500 at least to sometimes as much as 3, 3, 3,500. Yep, I agree. So they said, I had been watching. I knew what these things were going for. So I said, 599, and everybody else went under me and the last person said a dollar. In fact, the person next to me said, like, 500, Bob, and I tapped her on the shoulder and said, it's Drew. I don't know that made the show or not. Was it on the camera?

It's on tape. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, it's on tape. In fact, I have it on my phone. I'll play it for you later. Anyway, so they get to the end, and he goes, the actual retail price is, and he said 600, and I immediately knew I had won because I had the highest bid. Everybody was under me.

Why don't you bid $600? Because I knew $599 was going to be more likely than $600. Okay. So it's rarely, if ever, is an even $0 amount. All right. So you win the bid. I win the bid. Did you turn left or did you turn right?

I did what you're supposed to do, which is turn left and go up the left side of the stage. Because they told us when I was on there, if you turn right, America's going to see your ass first. Well, they told us to turn left because you missed the cameras that way. There's also in front of your seat a sign in front of every seat that says contestants row and it points to the left. Okay, good. So unlike probably a third of the people that don't pay attention, I went left. I go up on the stage. Drew says, hey, Tracy, that was really quick.

And so I happened to say, yeah, Drew, you and I have met before, blah, blah. He says, really, where'd we meet? So I go into my Disney story. And then I realize as soon as I'm telling it, this show is on CBS. Disney owns ABC. This will never make air. And so he sort of stopped and said, yeah, you know, I used to do another show on another network. And I said, that's what post-production is for, isn't it, Drew?

And so he laughed. Did he get on there? No, no, no, no. All of that got cut off. It said, hey, welcome up on the stage. And the next thing you know, there, he says, is that happening. a lot, did it happen to anybody else that day? Not that I recall.

So, no to those of you only promote CBS shows. That's correct. That's correct. All right. And more importantly, unless you're lavishing praise on them, which is, you know, they want the show to sound good. Stick to answering the questions that Drew asked you. Hey, that was quick, you know, welcome up on stage. Thank you, Drew, man, lifetime dream, that sort of thing.

Okay, George. You hug him or shake his hand. I shook his hand. Okay. I shook his hand with a, you know, pat on the shoulder kind of a thing. You know, the manly, good to meet you kind of shit. Good, perfect, all right. So George, he says, George, tell him what he's won.

And he goes, it's a hot tub and a tiki bar. And so I'm, you know, playing the game. Well, I have a pool with a spa in the backyard. And I'm going, what in the hell am I going to do with a hot tub? And he leaned over, Drew leaned over and told me, he said, they're holding up a card so you can see the manufacturers. Because people are yelling, it's hard to see. And I could see the hot tub was made by XYZ. and the Tiki Bar was made by ABC,

and then they had a little like margarita drink mixer that went with it. So I had been pricing hot tubs that week, and I knew hot tubs were going for $7,000 plus. This is just purely coincidental. Did you have any idea what prize could be? How many cars were given away prior to you going up there? Well, they hadn't done one. You remember there's a car in each half of the show,

and I was the first person's second half. So I was hopeful it would be a car. Was there any cash given away? Like a Plinko type of the game? I don't think so. I think all of mine that day were merchandise prizes. Trips and kind of thing. Yeah, trips, that kind of thing.

So he's explaining what the prizes are and everything. And then I turn around and I see the game that we're going to play is freeze frame. And being the production junkie that I am, so I can see that – and so now I'm going to give away a great secret. And for those of you that don't know freeze frame, you've got a circle. of double-digit numbers that go around in pairs, and every time you hear the shutter, it moves to a new four-digit combination. So shutter, two more digits move up. And so I look and standing behind the freeze frame game is an intern, wearing a pair of

headphones with a crank. And every time the shutter would go, he'd turn the crank to move it to the next set of numbers. So as low tech as it could possibly be, but it was so cool to see that and not give it away because I'm going, they don't really want me to, you know, like, lean around and show that I know this. So I had three sets of prize numbers in mind. The first one was like 9,000 and something. The second one was 8,000 and something. And the third one was 7,000 and something. And I was going to go with the middle number because I just felt like that was right. And so what I did was rather than I pointed to what I thought the first two numbers should be

to get the audience's reaction. So I pointed to my 86 or whatever it was, and they go, no, no, no. So then I pointed to the 94. And they go, yes, yes, yes. And I said, okay, well, of course, it had just gone through. So now I have to wait for it to go all the way around. So my four numbers come up. I pull the lever, which stops the game.

And he says, you pick this number. And I said, yeah, I wanted this number down here instead. I thought it would be this. And well, why did you pick that number? And so I turned around to the audience and I threw my arms up in there. I said, we've been here all day. It's a family. And the place just goes nuts.

The crowd's just like, yes, exactly, because you really do get this camaraderie with the people that you've been around the whole day. It's a 16-hour commitment, honestly. Mine was not that long. We were out of there because I won. I got out of there probably 5 o'clock. So my day was about 10 hours. Okay. That's actually good.

That was much better. If you don't get on the stage, you're out of there by maybe 3.30 or so. And so it's an even shorter commitment. So maybe it's a lot shorter than that. Yeah. So good. Yeah. Plan for 10 hours if you're going to win. It's a whole day experience, but it will be the fastest day of your life if you're a fan of the show.

So he says, okay, so we go one, two, three, which is the other problem I have. There's no suspense to announcing whether or not you've won or lost. Okay, one, two, three, did he win, you know? And you remember what Bob would used to say if you were one number away from the car and everybody knew you had won the car? He'd say, well, let's see if that last number. Well, Matt, tell me again what it is that you do for a living. you know, on. He would just drag it on and on. Because he could tell that you were beside yourself.

Exactly. And Drew does not. And that's the problem I have with Drew. He does not build suspense ever. And I think he's missing a huge opportunity there. Anyway. So they pull the lever and it was like $6,000 and something. And it's like, oh, no. And so it dawned on me that, okay, that was a cheaper hot tub than ones I had been looking for. And I found out later. when I get to the post-show production, I'll tell you that part of the story. So you finish, there's a card they hold up that says stay with Drew because if you win the prize, you run to the prize. And they tell you, run to the prize, hug the model, hug the car, whatever it is. If you lose, stay with Drew because Drew is going to talk. He's going to introduce the next game, whatever it is happens to be.

So next time you watch the price is right, watch the people that will start to walk away if they lose and then we'll come back. Watch the people that will actually mouth the words, stay with Drew, and you'll laugh your rear end off, because it happens at least once a week. So I finish, and then at that point, they take you down and they sit you on the first row in the far corner. So basically all the way down in the front of the section that I was with the other contestants that have been on stage. And of course, during all the breaks, we're talking to each other and, oh, how was it? And oh, how it's great. Great. Congrats to get on stage. Before I went on stage, they, I guess it was actually after I'd finished that, and I don't know why, but they actually come over and they put a microphone on you.

So every contestant is individually miced, and they can't do it until either a commercial break if you're in contestants row, or if you're like me and you immediately get up on stage, then they do it the next commercial break. So you'll notice that next time. Every contestant has a Lavalier microphone on. So I'm sitting in the corner, the last two end, and they say, okay, it's time to do the showcase showdown. So they come out and they set that up. And Drew chit chats with us while we're there. And in addition to while he's chit chatting with the audience, they give away a couple of door prizes, a couple of hundred dollar cards to random name and a hat kind of a thing. And because I was the low winner, my $627 gift, I went first. So spin the wheel, ask the question.

What was the first spin? No, no, no, no, no. That's not the question. Oh, who do you want to say hi to? Well, that, do you want to say hi to? So I said hi to, I'd like to say hi to my wife, my future Broadway daughter star Olivia in the audience, and my son Wyatt, who is at home and all my friends and family. So, but the question that I always get asked is how heavy. Is it heavy? It's not hard to spin it, but it is heavy. When you spin it, you can realize there is some weight behind this thing. And the people that you see that almost fall under, they could get hurt. It is a heavy wheel. What is it like being watching? Because I don't remember, that's one of the things. It's, it's been 30 years since I've been. So it's, there's a lot of things that are sketchy. Quite a production just to bring the wheel out, correct? Everything is on, is on a dolly, you know, so it's, but it's so meticulous. Everything is, is, is, is spiked. You know, they have tape on the floor to spike where everything goes. Safety is clearly a huge concern for them. The carpet, they make sure it's down. There aren't any

loose edges. Every cable is in a position where it is taped or it's in some sort of a safety cover like you're familiar with that you would see in arenas and stadiums. And they also make sure that you can't see the man behind the curtain when you're on, you know, they don't want the audience to see all of those things. We see them sitting in the audience, but at home, they don't want those things on camera. So they do a very good job at their stagecraft, I guess, is what I'm getting at. So I spin the wheel. And you get 65 cents. Oh, Okay. And what would go through your mind with 65 cents? This sucks. Okay. That's not enough. Right. But it's too ballsy to spin a second time.

Okay. So that's almost what went through my mind. I went, it won't be enough to win. But if I stand on 65, I know I'm going to be on stage for at least one more spin. maximizing camera time. This is a lifetime, once in a lifetime experience, more than likely, because you can only be on the show once every 10 years as a contestant. So I thought, I'm going to stay. So the next lady comes up and I think she had won a car. And, or no, she had won the second prize. She ended up winning a car in the showcase.

So I got ahead of myself. But she spends. And her first number was, let's call it 25 cents. So she has to spend. You're feeling great. I'm going, I've got a shot. So the next one comes up and the number that is getting ready to come up is 80. And it's going to give her a dollar and a nickel.

And I'm going to be up for one more person. It slows down. The arrow bends. You hear the beep in the studio because it has closed the contact that makes the electronic beep noise. But it didn't trip over the peg. So she got the number below, which she. gave her 70 or 75 cents and she knocks me out. And then you're in the awkward position of where the hell do I go.

They're going to tell you where to go, but it still looks very awkward. It is. You're just like, and I knew. So I waited for her to come over and gave her a hug. And then you basically, you go backwards from where you were over to where what would look like door number three if you were on the stage. And then you wait there until they finish the showcase and then the producer comes over and gets you.

And most of them, they were just, and I'm like, I'm not leaving until they come get me. You know, I know where I'm supposed to go. I'm going, no, you know, this is my chance to be on the stage of the price is right. So now they take you backstage. All of the contestants are now backstage where they do the showcase and you've got the two little showcase podiums and then there's a wall. You're sitting behind that wall. So the eight of us that have, or seven of us that have been on. So you're not seeing the showcases or the prices or the awarding of the.

the prize because you're behind them. You're behind them. So I guess it's the four of us that got on stage that didn't win the showcase. We're all back behind there, listening, wondering, and then they have the showcase win, and then they finish up and they roll the credits, and then George Gray comes on and says, okay, we're not going to let everybody leave. And he says, now those of you who have an audience member backstage, you're going to exit with everyone else, and you're going to wait at the end of the sidewalk outside of the studio. So literally they wait on the street corner, basically where we had come in at 9 o'clock that morning. We have, we don't have our cell phones, no way to communicate with each other. I have no clue how long I'm going to be going through winter processing.

So they say, okay, come with us. You go backstage. And so now you're in the bowels of this Bob Barker studio, and you can see all of the games arranged in their storage locations. We saw cars that had been used in that show, ones that were going to be used in the taping that was after us. So that was pretty cool to see some of the, you know, just how, I think I saw the Plinko game sitting over in the corner. Did you see a car come out on stage? Yes. Like, you like the lucky seven game. Yeah. Is the car turned on? No. It just glides in neutral? I think they, I don't know how they do it. I don't know if they give it a push. If they had some sort of a, they put an electric motor on the wheel. It's something I, I, I guess.

Again, because we're dorks, but I'm always thinking about that. My two cars were both behind doors, so they didn't come out. So I do have to qualify that. So they might. They might do that. But the girl that beat me ended up winning the showcase, whatever it was. And she won a car. I think she won a Dodge Charger or something on the showcase.

It was like $33,000, whatever, whatever. So you go back and they take the paperwork that you filled out earlier, and they verify that's all accurate. And then they have a list of what you've won, along with the retail. value of what you've won, and depending upon how much that prize is worth, determines whether or not you have to pay California taxes up front before your prize can be awarded, and you know you're going to have to pay federal income tax because you're going to get a 1099 regardless. California only cares once you get above a certain prize amount. I wasn't above that amount.

I don't know if it's $1,000 or $10,000 or whatever it is. And then they process you from lowest winner so that the showcase winner is. last. And my guess is the reason for that is they get to the showcase winner and say, you want a $33,000 car. You're going to owe $7,000 in federal and state income taxes. And you're going to have to pay at least the California income tax before we can deliver the price to you. The prizes are not delivered until after the show airs. So I knew I wouldn't see my prize until Christmas time, January of the following year. Going back to what I asked you earlier, that's the thing that I was confused.

about if if president trump wants a press conference and your show doesn't air that means you're getting everything is getting pushed back correct i want to say that that they said that if your show never aired but you won we would still award your prize okay i do remember that uh but they also that was again they warned us about the social media and in fact for the winners they make you list your social media accounts facebook twitter instagram whatever you might have And then they track them. They wouldn't care about my $600 prize. But they're certainly going to care someone who won $50,000 on Plinko or that sort of thing.

So we finished that up. And then I walk outside to give you my cell phone. And as I had asked, I said, can I have my card that had my name on it? So they gave us our cards that had our come on down name on it. I also asked for the price tag of the price that I got to get up on stage, my $627. And they're like, wow, nobody's ever asked us for that before. Let me go check. The one that Drew calls out.

The one that Drew calls out. I thought that would be one of the coolest souvenirs ever. Right. And they came back and said, no, for legal reasons, we're not allowed to do that. And I thought, oh, okay, fine. But they were going to do it until they found out they couldn't. So I walk out and the next group to go in for the next taping is standing in line. And they go, oh, these must be the people that got up on stage.

And so I held my card out with my name on it. pardon me and i said that might or might not be true i'm not at liberty to disclose but clearly i've got a card that says tracy clinton on it so no relation to adam no relation to adam but a good friend of mine and and quick sidebar you know he used to be my intern he told me that today as a matter of fact yes long story so we go outside i meet my wife we really we we we relive this i call every person that i know and tell them i might or might not have just one of you something on the price is right. So that was the experience. All right. So the date of air, it airs properly, right? Yes. No cancellation or no preemption. And then how much longer after that

does your grill arrive? I got notification, I think sometime in, with the taping or the air date was middle of December. I think I got notified somewhere around the middle of January that I would be contacted by the shipper. And I got it sometime in February. So it might have been too much. So it might have been too months. And so it's basically been two years, give or take? It was three years. It'll be, if I'm not mistaken, it's, it's either three or four years this coming September when we taped. Okay. So you basically have had the grill for three years. Yes. And do you still use it? The smoker. Yeah. The first time I actually used that smoker was about three months ago. It's set in my backyard because I know nothing about smoking barbecue. And I was too lazy to go figure it out. So I finally broke it

out and did it. Smoked a brisket. And it was amazing. And I've since smoked some ribs in there. They were amazing. So it was worth every penny I paid for it. I was going to say you did pay taxes on it. I paid, you know, what would be, I might have paid at the very worst, it was $120. It'd be 20% of $627. Okay. But when you factor it into all of your other taxes, I mean, you their taxes. I'm sure I didn't even pay that. Right. I got you. All right. Wow. So many different layers and we've already gone, man, 50 minutes so far. Oh my goodness. We're going to get the wrestling and really quick quick. Because it is Plinko and Powerbombs. But I do want to come back to the three favorite games of all time because you

and I argue about this all the time or debate. So ultimately, would you change anything? I mean, is there, so the number, just give it real quick before we go to the wrestling part. The one bit of advice would be to always be as energetic as humanly possible. Bring a customized shirt. Okay. And always as energetic as possible. I think they are equally as important. And I would say a group of people doesn't hurt either.

Group of people does not hurt. By yourself is difficult because they have nobody to go to in the audience. And see, that's what was my mom and I. That was it. It was just two of us. Yes. Well, there were just three of us, but still. You did well.

The energy did it. All right. You are in your mid-50s? 57. Okay. So that's mid. It's late to the mid-50s. Yes.

And you grew up where? All over, born in Sanford, Florida, suburb of Orlando, grew up in Memphis, North Mississippi through my high school years. Oh, okay. So I think we're going to go to Jerry Lawler. Yes, Jerry the King Lawler. And Memphis Wrestling. Mid-South or Mid-Southern Wrestling, part of the Continental Wrestling Association, as I recall. But the wrestlers I remember, I wasn't a Jerry Lawler fan.

And I don't remember why other than maybe it was just his persona. and I didn't really understand that bigger than life, arrogance, for lack of a better term. But he always basically kept the belt for about 15, 20 years before he moved on to the WW. Correct. And then the other wrestlers that I remember following there, my favorite solo wrestler was Tojo Yamamoto. So, name from the past. And then there was a tag team called the Samoans that wrestled in and out of there every once in a while. And I didn't watch it all the time.

It wasn't totally my cup of tea. It was fun. And then I have a quick later story. The first time that WrestleMania came to town, what, maybe 15 years ago or so, something like that. No, this was at NRG. Oh, okay. This was at NRG. There was a WrestleMania at the dome, I think, too.

This was after that. Okay. So the NRG, this was when John Cena was huge. Okay. And my son wanted tickets for his birthday or Christmas. So we bought him WrestleMania tickets and Monday night raw tickets. My wife took him to WrestleMania. We got the best tickets that we could possibly get.

And it was a miserable experience for him because they were so far away. Monday Night Raw in Toyota Center, we set in the corner above the vom where the rockets come out, some of the best seats in the house. And I'm going, yeah, okay, whatever, pro wrestling. Yeah, he's all over it. And I was just sitting there just totally incredulous until John Sina picked up and threw the first guy down. And I was out of my seat and absolutely hooked. it is the best night of fun, mindless entertainment you can possibly imagine.

And you know it's fake. Yes. And you know it's scripted. And yet you are rooting or booing particular heel or face depending on who you like to do like. That's correct. Yeah. I will take a this and I travel to Memphis to call Rockets Grizzlies games. Jerry Lawler has a barbecue restaurant right on Beale Street. Okay.

That you walk in and you sit down and have some really good barbersleys. barbecue, and he has the old tapes of his Memphis wrestling on all the television. Next time I'm there. I'm telling you to eat wrestling and barbecue in the same hour? Yeah. Oh, so good. All right. To wrap things up, Tracy and I, as we said, at the beginning of our podcast, he and I

worked together on a variety of different sports events over the last decade. We have come to an agreement that the worst game on the Price is right is the rat race. Without question. And it's not only the current worst game. but it might be top five all time horrible. Yeah. Right up there with Temptation. Temptation's a great game, except you'd be an absolute idiot not to take the

prizes because you're going to get three decent prizes. You're going to get some cash and you're essentially going to get about $6,000 worth of stuff for doing absolutely nothing. That's correct. Yeah. But so I wouldn't play Temptation ever and I don't know why people ever go for it because I have very rarely ever seen it. Well, and especially in today's game, when we were growing up when this show was, say, 15, 20 years old, the price of the prizes never changed.

The Toyota Corolla, L.E. was $8,712 every time it was on the show until the new model year came out. The can of corn was 69 cents every time it was on the show. And now that can of corn might be 69 cents tomorrow or today, and on Monday it might be. be $2.50. Let me give you two other games that I despise, and then we're going to go to the essence of my favorite three, and we'll start with yours as well. I hate the Lucky Seven game because nobody wins it. It's too hard of a game.

I actually like the Lucky Seven game because I think it is very winnable. Ooh. $7, four digits, zero to nine. It's really cruel when you're not close. Well, I don't disagree with that. And let me rephrase that. You have to be lucky on the first two or three digits, you know, get them within a dollar or so. But I think your chances of winning a car on that game are good enough that I like playing that game.

There are certainly better games. I'm going to tell you right now. I want you to watch the next 10 prices rights that have the lucky seven. I bet the winning percentage is 20%. I bet you two out of 10. And that doesn't make, like for instance, money game gives you a chance. But I win it eight out of 10 at home. When I'm playing at home.

Oh, I'm zero out of ten. Every time the money game comes on, I tell my wife, I said, Kim, come watch this. Another loss. Trust me. Just watch the next 10. Oh, I know. They never win, but I do. Yeah, but the whole point is when I see a game come out, I want to have a realistic chance.

Yes, I agree. Five price tags, nobody ever wins. No. Temptation nobody ever wins. And Lucky 7, nobody ever wins. Okay, that's fair. One other game that I, in theory, would love if it gave the people a better chance to win the big money, is the punch a bunch.

Yes. I agree. One chance out of 50 to win $25,000. That's just not fair. No, I agree. All right. Now to the better part. Yes.

Number three on Tracy Clayton, not Clanton's, favorite all-time pricing games would be at number three. It's an unwinnable game, but because it always had the most phenomenal prizes is Golden Road. Nobody ever won it. It is the most emotionally excitable game. because first of all, you see the Golden Road when Drew and or Bob was introduced, and you know the third prize is one spectacular prize.

That's right. You know, and in today's game, it's probably a high, five, low six figure prize. You know, an $80,000 RV or sports car, that sort of thing. Even back in the day in the earlier Bob Barker days, a 76, 77 addition of the show, they'd be $30,000 or $40,000. Yes, easily. Yeah. Number two. Number two was a tough one, and I actually was going to throw Lucky 7 out there, but I'm going to throw in a genre of the old games.

I was always fond of the grocery game and the shell game. I really liked those because of the simplicity. The grocery game is very winnable, especially then when you knew what the prizes were. So it was just a simple game, and it was fun, and it's nostalgic for me. Grocer game has become more difficult to win as well. It has. I agree. It has. All right.

And the games that I love are not the ones of the most winnable. that just, I feel like the contestants got at least a 50-50 shot at it. Fair enough. All right. And the number one. My number one, and it's what got me on the show, is Cliffhanger. Cliffhanger is a game as long as you don't make the stupid mistake and not realizing that the first prize is what a certain value is.

The second's a little bit higher. And the third is the next. Yes. What frustrates me is somebody where the third prize you know is going to be at least $50 and you might have a $20 spread left on your cliffhanger and they'll say $55 instead of 70. They artificially lower themselves of having a high and low range. It is my opinion, it is the most winnable game on the prices. It is.

I've seen very few people except the complete dumbasses lose that game. My three, and I go back and forth on this, so I'm going to say in no particular order, and I apologize. guys. It's a fairly new game. I do enjoy the hot seat game. I don't think I've seen that one. It's the contestant sits in a chair and goes to four different prizes. And she's got, he or she's got 20 seconds to say if a prize, usually it'll be a coffee maker. It could be a crock pot. It's not like a can of beans. Right. Higher or lower. And they've got to make a split decision. Okay. So the 20 seconds over with, the chair shifts around. takes it to a prize.

If the prize is correctly named, higher or lower, they win the thousand. Then it gets $2,500, $5,000, and I think the $20,000 is the last one. But you don't go in any particular order, so you don't know if you're right or wrong. Good, good game.

Really enjoyable. It's called hot seat. Hot seat, okay. Number two, I'm going to go classic. The money game is a great game. That's where they give you the middle number of the car and you have to get the front end and the back end. Yes, agreed.

Yes. Classic. Yes. Classic. Yes. It was on, I think, the very first episode ever. Yes. And the third game, I got to be honest with you, and it's because I love cards.

The card game intrigues me. Yes. I agree. The card game, totally. Yeah. That's what I put in that group of the nostalgia games. The key to the card game, unfortunately, is you got to be, you got have a pretty big, wide range. Yes.

You do now. Because if you get a card where they say you must come within 1,000 or 2,000, You might as well just forget playing. Yeah. If you get four, five thousand, you got a shot. You got a shot. You really do. There are so many other ones.

Squeeze play I enjoy. I love any number. Yeah. The whole and one game, I don't do that a whole lot anymore. I do believe a little bit of the Secret X is a scam because even if you get both prizes right, you're not guaranteed. That's right. Yeah. I don't like Master Key at all.

Yeah. I don't like Pathfinder because they never get them right. I saw somebody win that last week. Did you really? I did. First one I've seen win it. a long time. Okay. Any other games that are like on your honorable mention list? You've named the ones that really stick out to me. You know, Plinko is a classic game. Danger

Price is always a good one. Yeah, danger price. Plinko was good. I like pay the rent. It's a hard game. It's a hard game. But the big payout. A big payout. I do like a half off. Yes, half off is good. Because even if you totally goof it up, you've got a one and 16 chance of winning. The one, is it plus and minus where you have to go this prize plus X number of dollars. Do the math. Do the math. That's the one. Yeah, it is. It's just, it's an easy game to understand. Some of them can get a little complex and you see the contestants going, you know. I love blank check game because nobody ever knows how to do it. Yes, I agree. So can I tell you the cliffhanger story? Why it got me on the show? Do we have time to do that? Sure, why not?

Okay. So he's coming up and I said, the question was, what is your favorite game? Oh, yeah. And I said cliffhanger and he goes, oh, the yodily guy. And so I go, yoddy-do-de-da-di-d-da-di-d-da. And apparently, and that's when he said, hey, the let's make a deal is down the street. And so I walked away, he says, no, come on back. Well, my wife told me afterwards that as soon as I started yodeling, this assistant producer in the back starts furiously scribbling on her notepad. And that's when she said she knew that I was getting on the show. So you think if I go up there, I shouldn't tell them how awful rat race is. I would not. I probably would not volunteer that information.

I would go up there and say, you're wasting your time playing the lucky seven, you're not going to win. You'd have to go with a more positive approach. Yes. Yes. Tracy, we've been meaning to do this for a long period of time. It just took a podcast on order for make that happen. There you go.

And I'm honored to be guest number two. Number two. That's right. Yeah, it's a great honor. Thank you. All right. Well, this is Tracy Clayton, not Clayton. Clanton. And what we're going to do is we're going to put this podcast up. And then I'm also on my

social media is going to put up you being on the show so people can actually see you in action. Oh, cool. All right. And we're coming to your house to enjoy some of those ribs on a Price's Right Smoker. Do you have the name tag somewhere in the house? Oh, yes. Yeah, I do. You know, about my name tag that I had? Yeah. I have the card. I have all three of our name tags taped to the card. By the way, I went to Price's Right live here in Houston about five or six years ago with Adam Clanton and his mom. It sucked. Yeah. The most you can win on Plinko was like $2,000.

Oh, and just to wrap the Clanton story, full circle, Houston Open the year after I was on the Price is Right, his credential said Adam Clayton. Maybe you are cousins at least, or older brother or uncle, whatever the case. Tracy, thank you for coming in. This was a very, very enjoyable experience. We not only attacked every facet of Price is Right, but we got in some Memphis Wrestling Yes, we did. Nice job. Tracy Clayton. Our guest, in episode two, thank you for listening to this edition of Plinko and Powerbombs. Subscribe to Plinko and Powerbombs on the IHeart radio app or wherever you get a podcast.

And catch Matt doing live Houston Sports Talk on the Matt Thomas show. Weekdays at noon on Sports Talk 790.