Come on down! Nelsons attend taping of The Price is Right

Rick and Nancy didn't make it
on stage, but still had
fun attending The Price is Right.

Here’s one thing Nancy Nelson can check off her bucket list -- seeing The Price is Right and Drew Carey! 
     When Nancy (accounting associate, Halverson) and husband Rick were invited to a cousin’s wedding in Los Angeles, one of the first things Nancy did was go online and request tickets to a show. The couple received two tickets for guaranteed seating for a Valentine’s Day special taped on Dec. 11 that will air Feb. 14.
     Nancy and Rick arrived at Bob Barker Studio (CBS Studios in Hollywood) at 7 a.m. along with hundreds of other eager contestants. They had no idea they would be waiting eight hours just to get inside the studio! Come to find out, host Drew Carey was late returning from an out-of- town soccer tournament (he is the owner of the Seattle Sounders).
     While waiting for hours, the crowd entertained and visited among themselves, purchased food from a vendor, had their photographs taken, were interviewed and given name tags. At 3:30 p.m., the 276 audience members were escorted inside and grouped into one of four categories -- dating, engaged, married and married for 25 years or more.
     Nancy and Rick were in the latter group. Couples were called to be contestants only if a couple in their section got on stage. “Unfortunately, the couple in the ‘married for 25 years or more’ section never made it on stage,” Nancy said. The taping didn’t get over until 5:30 p.m. Due to the long wait for the first show, audience members were invited to stay for a second taping. Nancy and Rick opted out as they were due to meet other family members.
     For viewers of The Price is Right, it may come as a surprise that the studio is very small . . . and speaking of small, “Drew is tiny, as are the models,” Nancy said, and announcer George Gray "wears a lot of jewelry!” 
     Other little known facts -- the doors that conceal the prizes that seem to open effortlessly on TV are loud and clunky. Audience members can’t see much of what’s happening on stage due to all the cameras, so they watch on monitors. Once on stage, there are plenty of signs informing contestants to stay next to Drew, which some contestants often ignore! Contestants who win a prize are taken to a separate area to fill out paperwork.
     Although Nancy and Rick didn’t get a chance to "come on down" (get on stage), it was still a dream come true! Each couple received a two-night, three-day stay at one of two resorts in Las Vegas. 
     When The Price is Right airs on Feb. 14 (CBS, 10 a.m.) look for Nancy and Rick. “You can’t miss us," she said. "We are wearing bright red shirts and seated in the fourth row on the left side as you are looking at the screen."