GAMBIT
air dates: 9/4/72-12/10/76 on CBS daytime, 10/27/80-11/27/81 as Las Vegas Gambit on NBC daytime
host: Wink Martindale
announcer: Kenny Williams
hostesses: Elaine Stewart ('72-'76), Beverly Malden ('80-'81), Lee Menning ('81)
Two couples competed in this "game of skill, fate, and fortune" which was based on blackjack. To kick it off, the card dealer broke the seal on a new deck of jumbo playing cards and one player cut the deck. The first card was turned up and the Winkster popped a question to the players. The first couple to buzz in with the right answer either kept that card or passed it to the other couple. Failure to answer right gave the other couple that option. Starting with the second card, a card wasn't revealed until after the couple decided to keep it or pass it. Once a couple's total was 12+, they were given the option to freeze. If they froze, the other couple must keep answering questions and earning cards in the hopes of coming closer to 21 than the other couple w/out going over ("busting"). The game ended when a couple hit 21 or busted. If one couple busted, the other couple won the game and $100. The same scenario applied when one couple froze and the other couple missed a question. Hitting 21 also won that couple the Gambit Jackpot which started at $500 and went up $500 a day ($500 per match on LVG) until won. Winning two games won the match and a chance to win a fortune in prizes from the Gambit Board.
The Gambit Board hid a different prize behind each of 21 spaces (18 on LVG). The couple selected a space and was given that prize along with a card. When their total was 12+, they could stop at any time and keep those prizes. If they busted, those prizes went out the window. Hitting 21 not only won those prizes, but also a BRAND NEW CAR ($5,000 in cash on LVG) plus the GJ! On the '70s run, couples could stay on the show until defeated or until winning $25,000 in loot.
In 6/81 on LVG, the Gambit Board was replaced by the same bonus game as High Rollers, also created by Merrill and Bob. The couple rolled a pair of dice and removed any combination of the number rolled from a board of numbers 1-9. If a number was rolled so that no such move was possible, the game ended and the couple earned $100 for each number cleared. However, insurance markers were earned for rolling doubles and could be turned in for another roll in the event of a bad roll. Clearing the board won the couple a growing prize package called the Gambit Galaxy.
OTHER TIDBITS:
The hostess from the CBS run, Elaine Stewart, is exec producer Merrill Heatter's better half.
Las Vegas Gambit, "the most exciting game in town", was taped at the Fountain Theatre of the Tropicana Hotel in Vegas.
A pilot for a revival was shot for ABC in 1990 with host Bob Eubanks. The pilot pitted two players, not couples, against each other. In the bonus round, the champ played against the house. Unfortunately, the pilot didn't sell.
Wink Martindale acheived his biggest success with the '78-'86 run of Tic Tac Dough. Today, he can be seen hosting "Take on Orbitz" in commercials for Orbitz online travel bookers.
LVG's Lee Menning later became a hostess on $ale of the Century and Your Number's Up!