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Gambit
Format	Game Show
Created by	Merril Heatter and Bob Quigley
Starring	Wink Martindale Announcer: Kenny Williams
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS (1972-1976) NBC (1980-1981)
Original run	September 4, 1972 – November 27, 1981

Gambit was a television game show, created by Wayne Cruseturner and produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions, that aired on CBS from September 4, 1972 to December 10, 1976. Quiz show redirects here. ... Kenny Williams (1913 - 1984) was a trumpet voiced American television announcer from the late 1940s to 1980s. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Heatter-Quigley Productions is an American television production company that was launched in 1960 by two former television writers, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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. This article is about the television network. ... is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... For further information, see Las Vegas metropolitan area and Las Vegas Strip. ... Wink Martindale entering on Tic Tac Dough Wink Martindale (born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933 in Jackson, Tennessee, USA) is a disc jockey and television game show host. ... Kenny Williams (1913 - 1984) was a trumpet voiced American television announcer from the late 1940s to 1980s. ... Elaine Stewart (May 30, 1929, New Jersey) is an American actress and model. ... Lee Menning is an American actress. ...

Main game

Wink Martindale asked a series of questions, usually multiple-choice or true-false, to two married couples. The couple who buzzed in and answered the question correctly got to control the next card off of an oversize regulation deck (whose style and size would later be used in The Price is Right pricing game "Hit Me") 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 had "frozen," or were standing; see following). The objective of the game was quite similar to that of Blackjack: for either couple to get their hand as close to 21 without going over(getting "too much"), or obtaining blackjack with an ace and a face card or a ten. As in blackjack, the value of cards 2 through 10 were as shown; face cards (Kings, Queens and Jacks) counted as 10s and an Ace could count as either 1 or 11. A pricing game is game that is featured on The Price is Right where a contestant tries to win a prize by identifying it price is some way. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of retired pricing games from The Price Is Right. ... This article is about the gambling game. ...

After a couple received any card, if they had the lead (a tie was not good enough), they could elect to freeze their board, which was the same as standing on a hand in blackjack, after which no more cards were permitted to be added to their hand. Once this happened, the other couple answered questions until one of the following conditions occurred:

Conditions for winning

There were four ways to win:

• Getting 21, which not only won the game, but the Gambit Jackpot, which started at $500 and went up $500 at the start of each day (at the start of each match on Las Vegas Gambit), except that if it was won with the last card of the day, it started the next day at $500;
• Having the opponents go over 21 ("bust"), even if the winners had no cards;
• Freezing, and then having the opponents miss a question before getting a higher score without going over 21;
• Having the opponents freeze, and then getting a higher score without going over 21.

Each game won was worth $100 ($250 on Las Vegas Gambit). The first team to win two games won the match and advanced to the bonus round.

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 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) as well as the Gambit Jackpot.

During the CBS run, returning champions could continue until winning a grand total of $25,000, and would be required to relinquish any winnings over that amount.

Also during the CBS run, in the show's first three years, they ran an annual promotion where the first couple to get a two-card 21 in the bonus round won either $200 a week for a year or $10,000, depending on the year.

There were a number of recurring prizes on the CBS version, including:

• "Anniversary Dinner" - the couple would be flown to a city on their next anniversary and be treated to dinner; there were three of these on the board when this was played, each with a different city - usually two in Europe, but the third was always Burbank.
• "Suit" Cards - one card of each of the four suits of cards; each was worth $500, plus $500 for each card the couple got in that bonus round of that suit as long as they did not go over 21.
• During December, trips to various football bowl games, including the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Cotton Bowl, were offered. A couple winning more than one of these trips would not be able to take all of them as they all occur around New Year's Day, and like most trips given away on game shows, had to be taken within a year of winning them and could not be transferred.
• "Beat The House" - Contestants winning this prize would then have the opportunity to play one hand of blackjack "against the house" for a cash prize under standard single-deck rules, with the possible exception being that there did not appear to be any cases in which contestants could split a pair or double down.

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. During the early episodes of the actual series, a couple could elect to stop only when their hand totaled 17 or more. Burbank is a common place name in English speaking countries. ... The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Years Day) at the stadium of the same name in Pasadena, California. ... The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... The Orange Bowl is an annual college football game that is usually played on January 1 in the Miami, Florida metro area, in the United States. ... For the Cotton Bowl stadium, see Cotton Bowl (stadium). ...

The Gambit Galaxy (Las Vegas version)

The second half of the Las Vegas run 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, starting at $10,000 and increasing until won. In the event a double was rolled (e.g. a pair of ones, twos, threes, fours, fives or sixes), then an insurance marker was awarded; it could then be used in the event a bad number was rolled. High Rollers was an American television game show which aired on the NBC network from July 1, 1974 to June 11, 1976 and again from April 24, 1978 to June 20, 1980. ...

This version's last week of shows consisted of reruns from an earlier "Singles Week" (in which teams of two complete strangers were paired up to play the game, and at the end of the week all couples who won a match rolled the dice for the "Gambit Galaxy"); during the close of the Friday show, a taped picture-in-picture announcement was shown of Martindale stating it was the last episode and that the program would be replaced by the Regis Philbin Show the following Monday. Picture in Picture (PIP) allows you to watch more than one TV program(channel) at the same time on television sets or other devices. ... Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (born August 25, 1931) is an Emmy Award-winning American television personality and occasional actor known for his roles as a talk show host, game show host, and presenter at various events. ...

Theme music

Mort Garson composed the theme for the CBS version, while Stan Worth composed the theme for the NBC revival. Mort Garson (born 20 July 1924 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada) is an electronic musician best known for his albums that predomenantly feature Moog synthesizers. ...

Scheduling history

CBS, 1972-76

CBS put Gambit in originally at 11 a.m/10 Central, where it defeated NBC's Sale of the Century. It also easily beat Alex Trebek's American debut program, The Wizard of Odds, which NBC began in July 1973. On April 1, 1974, CBS moved the show ahead a half-hour to 10:30/9:30, where it faced NBC's struggling quiz Jeopardy!. NBC moved Jeopardy! to the afternoons on July 1 and placed one of the many Bill Cullen-Bob Stewart collaborations, Winning Streak, in the slot. That show's weakness made late 1974 the high point of Gambit's original daytime run, at least in the Nielsen ratings. Countries which have their own version Sale of the Century is an international television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. ... George Alexander Alex Trebek (born July 22, 1940) is an Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American television personality and game show host. ... The Wizard of Odds (July 17, 1973-June 28, 1974) was a daytime television game show hosted by Alex Trebek of Jeopardy!. Aired on NBC, people from the studio audience vied in a number of rounds. ... Jeopardy redirects here. ... William Bill Lawrence Frances Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990), was an Emmy Award-winning American radio and television personality. ... Bob Stewart (1920 - ) is a former American television game show producer. ... Winning Streak is an Irish game show, shown live on Saturday nights on RTÉ One, and funded by the An Post National Lottery Company. ...

However, Wheel of Fortune would later on debut on January 6, 1975. Not only did Wheel impact Gambit's audience, but NBC's expansion of Another World in the afternoons forced CBS to return The Price is Right to the morning after a two-year run at 3/2 Central. In order to make room for Price, the network decided to return Gambit to its original slot on August 18, where it remained for the rest of its run. At that slot, Gambit had to go against its sister Heatter-Quigley show High Rollers. The network cancelled the four-year-old game two weeks before Christmas 1976, replacing it with Goodson-Todman's Double Dare. This article is about the now-defunct daytime edition of the U.S. game show . ... Another World was an NBC soap opera that ran from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. ... The Price Is Rights US 36th season logo. ... High Rollers was an American television game show which aired on the NBC network from July 1, 1974 to June 11, 1976 and again from April 24, 1978 to June 20, 1980. ... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... Mark Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer born in Sacramento, California. ...

NBC (Las Vegas), 1980-81

In June 1980, NBC cancelled Heatter-Quigley's flagship show The Hollywood Squares and the revival of High Rollers in favor of a 90-minute (later 60) talk-variety show hosted by future late night icon David Letterman. When Letterman's effort failed miserably after a four-month run, the network obviously decided to make amends to the packager by reviving Gambit. Hollywood Squares is a American television comedy and game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes. ... David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an Emmy Award-winning American television host and comedian. ...

Plugging the show in at 10 a.m./9 Central, NBC found out, however, that many affiliates would not give the show a chance, due to the increasing popularity of syndicated talk shows like Donahue and Hour Magazine, which station managers thought would draw larger audiences (and, more importantly, larger local advertising revenues) than NBC offerings. Further, even though CBS ran sitcom reruns against Las Vegas Gambit, many of their stations carried those aforementioned syndicated offerings and often won their markets with those, instead of the network feed. The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, was the first tabloid talk show. ... The Hour Magazine is a Montreal English-language urban news magazine published by Communications Voir. ...

Las Vegas Gambit lasted 13 months. Over the next several months, NBC would rid itself of all the other games on its daytime schedule except for Wheel, which became NBC's sole daytime game show until January 1983.

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 most likely that the series was not wiped (CBS had mostly abandoned the practice of erasing old tapes by the early 1970s), but rather misplaced. In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City. ... KCAL-TV (Channel 9) is an independent station in Los Angeles, California owned by CBS Corporation. ... Wiping or junking is an economic move by radio and television companies in which old audiotapes, videotapes and telerecordings (kinescopes), which were extremely expensive in the 1960s and 1970s, are erased and reused, or destroyed after several uses. ...

Pilots

Three pilots were made in an attempt to revive the series, none of them sold (and none using married couples like the original and Las Vegas versions).

1985 Pilot

This pilot featured former Camouflage host and Los Angeles DJ Tom Campbell as emcee. This article is about protective camouflage used to disguise people, animals, or military targets. ...

This version featured three contestants to start the round, each dealt a "free card" to start off. Campbell asked a series of multiple choice jump-in questions. Answering a question correctly won the right to either take the next card or pass it off to an opponent. This process continued until either a player reached 21 or a player went over. At that point, the player in the lead won a bonus prize, and the player in second place was allowed to continue on. The player who either bust or had the least amount of points was eliminated.

Round two was called "Beat the House". This time, a free card was dealt to both players, and to a rack next to Campbell. Again, players would be asked multiple choice questions, correct answers winning control. However, in this round, a player not only had to top their opponent, but also the "house" (the hand managed by Campbell). The house would take a card if it had 17 points or fewer, but would never pass a card to a player. If a player reached 21 or beat both the house and the opponent, s/he moved on to the bonus. If the house beat both players, Campbell asked a sudden death question to determine the winner.

The bonus round was named "Double Blackjack". The player would play two separate hands of blackjack, starting with a free card in each. One at a time, the player would draw cards off of the deck and place them into either of the two hands. The player won $25 a point per card on the board. Getting a single 21 won a special prize (a trip to Holland on the pilot). Getting a double 21 won an additional prize of a Car.

1990 Pilot

A pilot for another revival was shot for ABC in 1990 with Bob Eubanks as host and Susie Fawcett as dealer. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American television network. ... Robert Leland Bob Eubanks (born January 8, 1938, Flint, Michigan, raised in California) is a well-known American radio, game show host and television personality best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off from 1966 to 2000, where he was known for using the catch...

After the first card is shown, two answers are put on the board and Bob reads a statement. The first to buzz-in either guesses the statement applies to both of them, one (naming that one in the process) or neither. If they’re right they get control of the first card, if not their opponent does. They can keep it or pass it to their opponent. The rest of the cards in the game are not shown. Now after getting control, the contestant decides where an unknown card goes. If they go over 21 at any time, they lose. A player is allowed to freeze their hand after two cards if they feel they have enough to win. That forces the other into solo play where they must keep answering questions to receive cards. They must beat their opponent without busting to win. If they bust or fail to answer a question, their opponent wins $100 and one game. If they beat the score they get the game. If anybody scores 21 on the nose, they win the game and the Gambit Jackpot, this time starting at $1,000 and still growing by $500 per match. First to win two games goes to the bonus.

The third game in a match, if needed, is played differently. The champion decides where the first unknown card goes. Then they receive the next card by default. Following this, questions are brought back into play as above.

In the bonus round, the winner tries to beat the dealer. They get five chances for cards. Three answers are now revealed, and they have to decide whether statements apply to none, one, two or all three items. If they get a question right, they earn a card. They can continue up to five cards or when they want to freeze. After their hand is set, the dealer begins drawing cards. They draw as long as their total is 16 and below and stay at 17 and above. If the dealer busts or does not beat the player, the contestant wins $5,000. If the player gets 21, they win $10,000.

Orion (which had acquired the rights to the Heatter-Quigley library) was going through financial problems at the time, and the pilot did not sell. Orion Pictures Corporation was an American movie production company, formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. ...

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. Both pilots featured contestants playing various casino-style games (similar in format to The Price Is Right) such as blackjack, poker, roulette, craps, and slots. James Edward Jim Perry (born James Edward Dooley on November 11, 1934 in Camden, New Jersey) is a former television game show host, singer and performer in the 1970s and 1980s. ... Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (born August 25, 1931) is an Emmy Award-winning American television personality and occasional actor known for his roles as a talk show host, game show host, and presenter at various events. ... Peter David Tomarken (December 7, 1942 – March 13, 2006) was an American television personality known primarily as host of Press Your Luck. ...

2000 Casino Pilot

A third attempt was made for GSN; this was hosted by Ron Pearson and co-host Tanya Memme. This pilot was made for GSN and distributed by KingWorld, owners of the format rights to the Merrill Heatter library. GSN redirects here. ... Tanya Memme (born on June 8, 1971 in Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian actress and host of A&Es Sell This House. ...

In this pilot, three players competed.

At the start of the game, each player was given one card. Then host Pearson asked a series of questions for control of the next card. The first player to buzz-in with a correct answer wins $100 and control of the next card. After the card was revealed, the player in control can choose to either take that card or pass it to one of their two opponents. At any point in the game, the player in control can ask for a "Freezer Question" in which a correct answer freezes their score. As in regular Blackjack, the object of the game is to get to 21 or as close to 21 as they can without going over. In this game, a player can bust another player if a card puts that player over the top. In addition, if there's one player left standing, no questions were asked and cards were revealed immediately. The winner of the round wins $1,000; the first player to reach 21 not only wins the round but also wins a bonus of $2,100. Question & game values double in Round 2. At the end of the second round, the player with the lowest score is eliminated from the game.

In Round 3 correct answers were worth $300. The first player to come closest to or reach 21, or have their opponent bust wins the game, $3,000 more, and goes on to play the bonus game.

In the Bonus Round, the winning player was shown three prizes they could potentially win, randomly assigned to three lines, each staked with an up card. Three down cards were then dealt, marked 1, 2 and 3. Pearson asked four questions, each of which earned an additional down card with a correct answer (for a maximum total of seven). After the questions were asked, the player used the total number of down cards to make hands for the three prizes. The player selected a down card, and after it was revealed, placed it in any one of the prize hands. Each time a hand reaches 18 or more, the player wins the prize behind the hand. Each time a hand hits 21, the player wins a bonus of $2,100 in addition to the prize. If all three hands hit 21, in addition to three prizes, the player also won $100,000. If at anytime the player busted on any one hand, the game is over and they lose the prizes. If a player was worried about busting they can choose to stop and take the prize(s) won after each placement of a card.

Catch-21

Years after the Casino pilot was scrapped, GSN announced that they will go through with the revival this time around, under the name Catch 21. The show is scheduled to premiere on July 21, 2008. Alfonso Ribeiro is the host and Mikki Padilla is the dealer. ^[1] is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971 in New York City) is an American actor, singer, and dancer of Dominican descent. ...

International Versions

A British version of the show was produced by Anglia Television for ITV, notable for its opening title sequence featuring various casino equipment including playing cards, casino chips, a roulette wheel and a fruit machine. It started in 1975 as a programme shown in the Anglia region only, but became a networked show in 1978 and ran until 1985, The original host was Fred Dinenage later succeeded by comedian Tom O'Connor, and Michelle Lambourne was the card dealer. The programme returned briefly in the early 1990s, but only in the Anglia region and was hosted by Gary Thompson. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Fred Edgar Dinenage is a television host and newsreader, based in the south of England. ... Tom OConnor (born October 31, 1939 in Bootle, Merseyside) is a British comedian. ...

In the ITV version, each game was worth £20, the Gambit Jackpot started at £200, and increased by £50 until won or until it hit £500. Also, no cars were offered in the endgame (from 1981 onwards they did offer a car as one of the star prizes). The cards used on this version had the same design as the U.S. version. AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ...

In Australia, a version produced for the Nine Network briefly aired in 1974. The host was Peter Hitchener and the dealer was Ros Wood. It was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation. The Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. ... Peter Hitchener (born February, 1946) is an Australian television presenter. ... Reg Grundy Organisation was an Australian television production company founded by Reg Grundy (born Reg Grundle) in 1959. ...

External links

• The Unofficial Gambit Page
• Curt Alliaume's Game Shows '75: Gambit
• Gambit at UKGameshows.com