The Price is Right 30th Anniversary Special (#0001LV) was a primetime special that aired on January 31, 2002, celebrating its 30th year on CBS. This was the only primetime special AND episode taped outside of Los Angeles, California, as it took place at Harrah's Fabulous Rio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Because of the fact that the theater was so big, a television screen displayed people's names on it.
Premise[]
There was no light border for this primetime special, but it otherwise ran the same way as the daytime show, having six pricing games played with two Showcase Showdowns and the Showcase. Clips of moments from past episodes were played when going to commercial (although only three were played; "Kisses", "Wheelies", and "Yolanda"). The music introduction played a different tune that was carried over to The Price is Right $1,000,000 Spectacular which premiered in February 2003, with a variant created for the consolation prize presentation that preceded the second Showcase Showdown. For the first time since Season 17, the first Showcase Showdown used its customary ending cue instead of the main theme, which also continued on the subsequent $1,000,000 Spectacular.
Pricing Games[]
| Slot | Pricing game | Top prize | Actual Retail Price | Final result | Extra note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Triple Play | Chevrolet Malibu
Chevrolet Fleetside Chevrolet Camaro |
$70,875 (combined total of $18,235 of Chevy Malibu Sedan, $21,315 for Chevy Fleetside Is3, $31,325 for the Chevy Camaro z/28) | Won | |
| 2 | It's in the Bag | $16,000 | Loss | ||
| 3 | Squeeze Play | Wurlitzer Jukebox | $8,995 | Won | |
| 4 | Plinko | $50,000 | Had Triple Play NOT been won, it would've been played for $100,000. | $2,500 | |
| 5 | One Away | Chevrolet Blazer | $24,760 | Loss | |
| 6 | Double Prices | Trailer | $14,037 | Loss |
Trivia[]
- This was the first and only special to be "on the road".
- In the intro, Barker was introduced by the showgirls of Harrah's Fabulous Rio instead of the models (or in this case "Barker's Beauties").
- This was the first anniversary special to use the regular closing logo instead of being reminded about their anniversary at the end of the episode by former late announcer Rod Roddy. 19 years later, the second was for the 50th Anniversary Special taped at the famous Bob Barker Studio in Hollywood (a.k.a. Studio 33) by current announcer George Gray in 2021.
- This was the first special (and second episode) to not use the main theme song in the end credits as it was replaced with a generic party music. The December 31, 1982 episode celebrating Christmas Eve also did that but it was replaced by the classic 1980s R&B song "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang and on some Christmas Day episodes, the main theme usually gets replaced by an instrumental version of "Sleigh Ride".
- This was the first special that showed the FremantleMedia logo at the end credits.
- The set for this special would later be used for The Price Is Right Live!.
YouTube Video[]
External Links[]
Article about the special in "Showdown in Vegas"
For the full results, click here.