~The Amazing Race~

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Interesting article from Today's Boston Herald:
‘Amazing’ but true: Bettors knew who’d win the ‘Race’
By Sean L. McCarthy
Thursday, May 12, 2005 - Updated: 03:42 AM EST

Uchenna and Joyce Agu's Tuesday night victory on ``The Amazing Race'' shouldn't surprise anyone.

After all, offshore gambling site Sportsbook.com suspended online wagering for the CBS ``reality'' hit back in March when unidentified Boston and Los Angeles bettors flooded the site with $500 maximum bets overnight on the Houston couple.

``We know precisely who placed those bets,'' said Sportsbook.com's marketing director, Alex Czajkowski, by phone yesterday. ``But when a customer makes a bet with us, it's entirely confidential.''

The site honored the wagers - including those made in the 12-hour period of March 3-4. Czajkowski said CBS never contacted him to investigate the bets.

``CBS would barely acknowledge we exist,'' he said.

The network had no comment.

The seventh installment of the Emmy-winning ``Race'' was also its most-watched, with more than 16 million viewers tuning into Tuesday's finale.

It's not the first time insider information has skewed betting on a ``reality'' show: Because the show wraps months before it airs, there are some people out there who know the outcome. BetWWTS.com received suspiciously accurate bets for``The Apprentice,'' ``The Bachelor,'' ``Survivor: Amazon'' and ``Survivor: Pearl Islands.''

``You always run a risk with this `reality TV,' '' Czajkowski said. ``But they do garner a lot of attention, so we're happy to have that stuff on the site.''

Sportsbook.com also offers betting on other conversation starters.

Yesterday's line on ``American Idol'' pegged Carrie Underwood as the 5-7 favorite, with Bo Bice running second at 3-2 odds.

A new line opened this week on the final ``Star Wars'' movie, ``Revenge of the Sith,'' with over/under betting on whether the film grosses $85.5 million in its opening weekend May 19-22.

And Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) is the early favorite to become president in 2008, at 6-1 odds, followed by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 10-1. Gov. Mitt Romney's odds of becoming president are 30-1, while Sen. John Kerry [related, bio] is running far off the pace at 50-1 - the same odds as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For all you Rob and Ambah haters, be sure that CBS loved them, their presence is the reason this was th highest rated "Amazing Race" to date.
 
I was thinking the Boston connection was obviously Rob and the LA connection probably the brothers.
I'm sure they didn't place the bets themselves, but tipped off family members or friends.

And yes I'm sure that a lot of the finale viewers were watching in hopes of seeing Rob lose, a villain is always better for ratings than a hero.
 
Does anyone else think that the outcome of this showed was rigged? What pilot would allow passengers to board a plane after the gate has pulled away. I'm pretty sure that the FAA doesn't want this happening. Some CBS producer realized that there would be no drama in the show if Rob and Amber had a 3 hour lead, so a phone call was made and strings were pulled. There is no way this would ever happen in ordinary circumstances. I'm not a Rob and Amber fan, but they clearly got screwed in this deal.
 
randhail said:
Does anyone else think that the outcome of this showed was rigged? What pilot would allow passengers to board a plane after the gate has pulled away. I'm pretty sure that the FAA doesn't want this happening. Some CBS producer realized that there would be no drama in the show if Rob and Amber had a 3 hour lead, so a phone call was made and strings were pulled. There is no way this would ever happen in ordinary circumstances. I'm not a Rob and Amber fan, but they clearly got screwed in this deal.

I agree completely. :yes: I think the producers were all over that. Oh well :shrug: , I am sure they do this kind of thing on all the 'reality' shows.
 
The Amazing Race producers are always changing the times of the challenges on the fly and screwing with airplanes departures. Last season, the wrestlers were way behind at one point but they arranged for an clue box to be in an internet bar which was only open between 3am and 8am ( what kind of ridiculous hour is that, not ridiculous if you need to create a speed bump to allow the teams to catch up)

There have been previous instances where people have been allowed or not allowed to enter a plane. Of course, the reason is to keep the competitors close together. Otherwise, why watch if one team gets a 24 hour lead over another team. Last season, one team had over 10 hours lead on the other teams but they arranged a roadblock which could only be visited at a certain time to erase the huge lead.

Regarding Romber, not producers fault they could not find the King of Cuba place in Miami. They both had an equal opportunity to win after they landed. Also, don't forget, Romber made it on to a flight earlier in the series after it appeared they had no chance to make it. This manipulating by the producers makes it more competitive and more entertaining for us, the viewers. I'm sure somewhere in the contract the players sign is an clause regarding producers discretion or something along those lines.
 
Airline tickets are one of the things that contestants are not required to pay for and I think the producers buy up blocks of airline tickets that may be required for the game.

I'm not surprised the pilot let them on the plane, I was surprised by the lack of security that they went through to get on the plane.
 
I agree fah and I think every now and then a team legitmately finds an alternative flight but the producers monitor their actions to ensure they don't leave teams days behind. Plus I'm sure the Airlines don't mind the free advertising they get when they display the airline during the show. Everyone is rubbing each other's back.

BTW, I don't think it was the pilot who let them on the plane, he/she probably got a message from the PR executive of the airline to wait. Besides, planes are delayed all the time, no biggie and airlines are greedy bastards, they will sell a seat to a dead guy to have it filled.:wink:
 
It's odd though: I mean, Uchenna and Joyce were at the gate and they were saying "There's no way you can get on this flight." All of a sudden, 3 seconds later, they ask another stewardess who says, "Well, I'll check with the pilot. He says it's okay." No way. Not once the boarding gate has been removed. Calls were made. This was rigged.
 
Yep, we all agree. The producers control the flights to some extent otherwise some teams would end up with leads of 24 hours or more which would insurmountable and there would be no show called the Amazing Race.

This is the 7th incarnation of this show and I'm pretty sure all the world's airlines and tourism ministers are aware of the free promotion if they can be broadcast to millions of Americans week after week. So they would probably have a flight return to the terminal after takeoff if they were asked to by the producers.:wink:
 
I know it's too early for a new thread regarding the next Amazing Race but today a friend told me that Rupert (from Survivor fame) and his family are going to be on the next Amazing Race :ohmy:

The next series will involve a group of 4 family members racing instead of two.

:hmm:
 
fah said:
I know it's too early for a new thread regarding the next Amazing Race but today a friend told me that Rupert (from Survivor fame) and his family are going to be on the next Amazing Race :ohmy:

The next series will involve a group of 4 family members racing instead of two.

:hmm:

I like Rupert but :rolleyes:
 
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