Gambit (game show)

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Gambit was a game show, created by Wayne Cruseturner, produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions, and aired on CBS from September 4, 1972 to December 10, 1976. A slightly retooled version, Las Vegas Gambit, aired on NBC from October 27, 1980 to November 27, 1981, originating from the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Both versions of the show were hosted by Wink Martindale, and announced by Kenny Williams. Elaine Stewart was the card dealer for the CBS version. On the Las Vegas Gambit version, the card dealer was Beverly Malden; she left half-way through the series' run and was replaced by Lee Menning.

A British version of the show was produced by Anglia Television for ITV. It ran from 1975 (It started as a programme shown in the Anglia region only, it became a networked show in 1978) to 1985, it was originally hosted by Fred Dinenage and then it was hosted by comedian Tom O'Connor, the card dealer on the British version was Michelle Lambourne, The programme returned briefly in the early 1990s but only in the Anglia region and was hosted by Gary Thompson.

Contents

[edit] Rules of the game

[edit] Main game

2 married couples competed. Host Martindale asked a series of questions, either multiple-choice or true-false, to both couples. The couple who buzzed in and answered the question correctly got to control the next card off of an oversize regulation deck of 52 playing cards. (The first would be shown before the question, the rest would be presented face-down.) Once a couple got control of a card, they had the choice to either add the card to their own hand or force their opponents to take it (unless they're frozen; see below). The objective of the game is quite similar to Blackjack, to get your hand as close to 21 without going over as possible or of course, obtaining blackjack with an ace and a face card or a ten. As in blackjack, the value of cards 2 through 10 are as shown; face cards (Kings, Queens and Jacks) count as 10s and an Ace counts either as a 1 or 11.

After a couple received any card, they could elect to freeze their board, disallowing any more cards to be added to their hand. Once this happened, the other couple answered questions until one of the following conditions occurred:

[edit] Conditions for winning

  • Once an opposing couple "froze" (stood before reaching 21), the unfrozen couple does one of the following:
    • Misses a question, giving the game to the other couple.
    • Busts (went over 21), giving the game to the other couple.
    • Passes the score of the frozen couple (ties didn't count) winning the game.
  • Either couple reaches 21 exactly at any time, winning a jackpot that started at $500 and went up $500 per game that it wasn't won.

$100 ($250 on Las Vegas Gambit) plus $50 for each tie game was awarded for each game won. Two wins earns the match and the right to head to the Bonus Round.

[edit] Bonus round

[edit] The Gambit Board

The winning couple played the Gambit Bonus Board. They faced a large game board with 21 cards, numbered 1 through 21 (18 screens on Las Vegas Gambit). Each card concealed a prize; along with each prize the couple won, they received a card added to their hand from the deck.

The game ended in one of three ways:

  • The couple elected to stop before reaching 21 (especially if they feared the next card would push them over 21 or in some instances, if they got a desirable prize they wanted to keep).
  • Going "BUST" (over 21), at which point they lost everything they found on the board.
  • Reaching 21 exactly, wherein they won a new car ($5,000 on Las Vegas Gambit) plus the Gambit Jackpot.

One prize occasionally offered during the bonus round was "Beat the House": contestants winning this prize would then have the opportunity to play one hand of blackjack (standard single-deck rules, with the possible exception that there did not appear to be any cases in which contestants "split a pair" or "doubled down") against the house (as personified by Martindale) for a cash prize.

The bonus round for the Las Vegas Gambit pilot featured a "Living Deck", a group of 52 audience members, each holding a different card. Every time the couple earned a prize, the audience member with the selected card would win the same prize.

[edit] The Big Numbers (Las Vegas version)

The second half of this version featured "The Big Numbers", a game borrowed from another Heatter-Quigley game, High Rollers. The couple was presented with a pair of dice, and was asked to "knock off" the numbers 1 through 9 from a board in front of them. To do this, the couple eliminated numbers that added up to the total they rolled (for instance, if the couple rolled a 10, they could eliminated 4 and 6; 3 and 7; 1, 2, 3 and 4 or any other combination that added to 10.) Each number the couple knocked off won $100 per number, and if all nine were knocked off, an accumulating "Gambit Galaxy" prize package was awarded. In the event a double was rolled (e.g. a pair of ones, twos, threes, fours, fives or sixes), then an insurance marker is awarded and can be used in the event a bad number is rolled.

[edit] Episode status

It is believed very few episodes exist except for one episode of the original series and a few episodes of the Las Vegas version. In the fall of 1977, reruns of the original CBS version of Gambit aired in syndication (primarily on WPIX New York and KHJ-TV Los Angeles), so it is possible that the episodes from the original version may exist.

[edit] Miscellanea

The British version of "Gambit" had an opening title sequence featuring various casino equipment including playing cards, casino chips, a roulette wheel and a fruit machine.

Two other shows besides "Gambit" premiered on the same airdate on CBS, September 4, 1972: "The Price is Right" and "The Joker's Wild" (1972-1975). In total, the three game shows have aired on television for a combined 53 years (including 35 years on Price, four years on Gambit and 14 years on Joker).

The style and size of cards used in Gambit would later be used in The Price is Right pricing game "Hit Me".

[edit] The Casino Pilots

Originally, Las Vegas Gambit was to have been replaced by a new Heatter-Quigley game show, titled Casino, hosted by Jim Perry. It is believed that nine episodes of Casino were produced, but the series was never picked up on NBC; instead, Regis Philbin hosted a talk show in that timeslot. Another attempt to get Casino on television occurred in 1983, this time hosted by Peter Tomarken, which also did not make it to TV. A third attempt was made for GSN; this was hosted by Ron Pearson, and co-host Tanya Memme.

[edit] External links

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