WWTBAM Bored

Brian Foley
Worcester, MA
Firefighter and has been so for 30 years

Topic tree (unrandomized):
How the U.S. Rolls
Ode to Europe
Celebrity Moms
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Food History
Christmas Critters
Product Line
Abbreviations
Familiar Phrases

Topic Tree (randomized):
How the U.S. Rolls
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Ode to Europe
Food History
Familiar Phrases
Product Line
Celebrity Moms
Christmas Critters
Abbreviations


Question 1 - Abbreviations
Which of these U.S. states has a two-letter postal abbreviation that is a valid word in a game of Scrabble?
A. Maine B. New Hampshire
C. Wyoming D. Georgia

Spoiler

A. Maine ($7000) $7000

Brian says he almost talked himself out of it.

Brian will return tomorrow

This was the guy who started the game I saw today. So KSFY is only one day off. I hope they get things worked out.

-M

themanwho wrote:This was the guy who started the game I saw today. So KSFY is only one day off. I hope they get things worked out.

-M

Had this been known in advance, you could have given drew scheeler a head start with tomorrow's transcript.

Two days of riveting television in the books and contestants have broken the bank so far for a whopping $7800. Actually, they would have won $3000 just for showing up, so their grand total of actual winnings over the two days is only $4800. During that time Jeopardy has given away considerably more.

It seems to me that the random factor on the show only serves to take away any momentum a particular contestant's appearance might have.

We've seen an average of 11 questions per day. That's the same number of questions as "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader." The pace needs to pick up a bit. I almost wished they still had a clock. The music seemed pretty bland and weak. But I'll still watch, in the hope of eventually seeing a few good contestants.

Anyone have the pre-randomized topic tree for Brian? My recording of today's show was damaged.

Thanks - 15qa

silverscreenselect wrote:Two days of riveting television in the books and contestants have broken the bank so far for a whopping $7800. Actually, they would have won $3000 just for showing up, so their grand total of actual winnings over the two days is only $4800.

Ellen's $5800 winnings were entirely "actual." She earned every penny. The fact that there is a $1000 consolation prize had she blown a question does not make $1000 of her $5800 winnings not "actual."

15QuestionsAway wrote:Anyone have the pre-randomized topic tree for Brian? My recording of today's show was damaged.

Thanks - 15qa

Pre-randomized:

Spoiler

How the U.S. Rolls
Ode to Europe
Celebrity Moms
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Food History
Christmas Critters
Product Line
Abbreviations
Familiar Phrases

Randomized:

Spoiler

How the U.S. Rolls
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Ode to Europe
Food History
Familiar Phrases
Product Line
Celebrity Moms
Christmas Critters
Abbreviations

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Brian Foley
Worcester, MA
Firefighter and has been so for 30 years

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Question 1 - Abbreviations
Which of these U.S. states has a two-letter postal abbreviation that is a valid word in a game of Scrabble?
A. Maine B. New Hampshire
C. Wyoming D. Georgia

Spoiler

A. Maine ($7000) $7000

This probably would have been the $500 question in the old days.

So far, so good.

earendel wrote:

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Brian Foley
Worcester, MA
Firefighter and has been so for 30 years

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Question 1 - Abbreviations
Which of these U.S. states has a two-letter postal abbreviation that is a valid word in a game of Scrabble?
A. Maine B. New Hampshire
C. Wyoming D. Georgia

Spoiler

A. Maine ($7000) $7000

This probably would have been the $500 question in the old days.

So far, so good.

If you look at the pre-randomized list, it was the second which was $200.

Estonut wrote:

silverscreenselect wrote:Two days of riveting television in the books and contestants have broken the bank so far for a whopping $7800. Actually, they would have won $3000 just for showing up, so their grand total of actual winnings over the two days is only $4800.

Ellen's $5800 winnings were entirely "actual." She earned every penny. The fact that there is a $1000 consolation prize had she blown a question does not make $1000 of her $5800 winnings not "actual."

It's earnings, not winnings, that are actual. Essentially, just by showing up on stage, she earned $1,000. She won whatever she was able to walk away with in excess of that amount. Just as if you bet on a horse that pays $10 and win, you haven't won $10. You've only won $8 (assuming the ticket cost you $2).

At least, on the old version of the show, everyone except the llamas actually won something. The show is engaging in a bit of verbal sleight-of-hand here to give the illusion that a lot of people are actually winning money when all they are doing is getting appearance fees. Jeopardy gives everyone at least a $1000 appearance fee and doesn't hide it, but you don't see Alex Trebek try to sugarcoat it by saying, "I'm sorry, Mr. Contestant, that you finished with -$20,000 and won't be able to play Final Jeopardy, but at least you've won third prize today of $1,000." You're going to see a bunch of $1,000 "winners" on Millionaire this year.

silverscreenselect wrote:Just as if you bet on a horse that pays $10 and win, you haven't won $10. You've only won $8 (assuming the ticket cost you $2).

You don't do much betting on horse races do you? A $10 win also gives you back your $2.

Bob Juch wrote:

silverscreenselect wrote:Just as if you bet on a horse that pays $10 and win, you haven't won $10. You've only won $8 (assuming the ticket cost you $2).

You don't do much betting on horse races do you? A $10 win also gives you back your $2.

No it doesn't. If a horse pays $10 to win, that means $8 plus your $2 investment. It does not mean $10 plus your $2 investment.

TheConfessor wrote:

Bob Juch wrote:

silverscreenselect wrote:Just as if you bet on a horse that pays $10 and win, you haven't won $10. You've only won $8 (assuming the ticket cost you $2).

You don't do much betting on horse races do you? A $10 win also gives you back your $2.

No it doesn't. If a horse pays $10 to win, that means $8 plus your $2 investment. It does not mean $10 plus your $2 investment.

Not at the tracks I've gone to.

Isn't it great how a simple analogy can trigger a debate around here?

How about citing a reference to back up your personal testimony, guys?

Bob Juch wrote:

TheConfessor wrote:

Bob Juch wrote: You don't do much betting on horse races do you? A $10 win also gives you back your $2.

No it doesn't. If a horse pays $10 to win, that means $8 plus your $2 investment. It does not mean $10 plus your $2 investment.

Not at the tracks I've gone to.

The announced payout at a race track is profit, not net.

http://horseracing.about.com/cs/handica ... schart.htm

The most basic information there are the win odds quoted on each horse. Those don't tell you what the horse will pay, but the amount of profit you will get and the amount you have to bet to get it. 6-5 means you will get $6 profit for every $5 wagered. 20-1 means you get $20 profit for every $1 wagered (i.e. bet $2 and get $42 back)

AJ supplies the reference, and he wasn't even in the debate!

It could be argued that the $1000 is "won" or "earned" by getting through the contestant selection process: The test, impressing the AP's, etc.

If the selection process were as transparent as in the early prime-time days, then we would more easily see the $1000 as "earned." Since the process appears puzzling at best, I could understand the grand being regarded as a gift and not a won prize.

andrewjackson wrote:

Bob Juch wrote:

TheConfessor wrote: No it doesn't. If a horse pays $10 to win, that means $8 plus your $2 investment. It does not mean $10 plus your $2 investment.

Not at the tracks I've gone to.

The announced payout at a race track is profit, not net.

http://horseracing.about.com/cs/handica ... schart.htm

The most basic information there are the win odds quoted on each horse. Those don't tell you what the horse will pay, but the amount of profit you will get and the amount you have to bet to get it. 6-5 means you will get $6 profit for every $5 wagered. 20-1 means you get $20 profit for every $1 wagered (i.e. bet $2 and get $42 back)

That's correct. So if you bet $2 on a horse that's 20-1, your ticket pays $42 to win. That's $40 in winnings, plus your original $2 back, which is the point SSS was making. If you get cast on the new WWTBAM, you already "won" $1000 just for getting through the casting process. Actual game play can earn you up to $999,000 in additional winnings.

BBTranscriptTeam wrote:Brian Foley
Worcester, MA
Firefighter and has been so for 30 years


Topic Tree:
How the U.S. Rolls
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Ode to Europe
Food History
Familiar Phrases
Product Line
Celebrity Moms
Christmas Critters
Abbreviations


Question 1 - Abbreviations
Which of these U.S. states has a two-letter postal abbreviation that is a valid word in a game of Scrabble?
A. Maine B. New Hampshire
C. Wyoming D. Georgia

Spoiler

A. Maine ($7000) $7000

Brian says he almost talked himself out of it.

Brian will return tomorrow

I wonder wy he almost did that.

TheConfessor wrote:

andrewjackson wrote:

Bob Juch wrote: Not at the tracks I've gone to.

The announced payout at a race track is profit, not net.

http://horseracing.about.com/cs/handica ... schart.htm

The most basic information there are the win odds quoted on each horse. Those don't tell you what the horse will pay, but the amount of profit you will get and the amount you have to bet to get it. 6-5 means you will get $6 profit for every $5 wagered. 20-1 means you get $20 profit for every $1 wagered (i.e. bet $2 and get $42 back)

That's correct. So if you bet $2 on a horse that's 20-1, your ticket pays $42 to win. That's $40 in winnings, plus your original $2 back, which is the point SSS was making. If you get cast on the new WWTBAM, you already "won" $1000 just for getting through the casting process. Actual game play can earn you up to $999,000 in additional winnings.

Now I seem lost. The difference here seems to be between what the "horse pays" and "the announced payout".

If you say the "horse pays $10 to win" that would be on a 4-1 wager which would mean that you get $8 + your $2 bet? As opposed to saying that the "announced payout is $10" which would be a 5-1 wager in which you get $10 + your $2 bet?

Is that the difference?

andrewjackson wrote: Now I seem lost. The difference here seems to be between what the "horse pays" and "the announced payout".

If you say the "horse pays $10 to win" that would be on a 4-1 wager which would mean that you get $8 + your $2 bet? As opposed to saying that the "announced payout is $10" which would be a 5-1 wager in which you get $10 + your $2 bet?

Is that the difference?

Before each race, you will usually see current odds posted for each horse, and those odds are posted in the form of a number like 4-1 or 5-2. Those odds keep changing as the amounts bet on each horse change. If a horse shows 4-1 odds, it means that if the race were to start then and that horse won, it would pay 4 to 1 which means 8 dollars plus the 2 dollars that were bet originally.

However, once the race ends, you see the actual payouts, and those are always listed in dollars and cents (usually in multiples of 20 cents). Those payouts are the exact amount of money the track gives you if you hand them a winning ticket. So if the payout on a horse is $10, you receive $10 cash when you hand them a winning ticket. But you paid $2 for the ticket originally so you actually won $8 (4 to 1 odds).

silverscreenselect wrote:

andrewjackson wrote: Now I seem lost. The difference here seems to be between what the "horse pays" and "the announced payout".

If you say the "horse pays $10 to win" that would be on a 4-1 wager which would mean that you get $8 + your $2 bet? As opposed to saying that the "announced payout is $10" which would be a 5-1 wager in which you get $10 + your $2 bet?

Is that the difference?

Before each race, you will usually see current odds posted for each horse, and those odds are posted in the form of a number like 4-1 or 5-2. Those odds keep changing as the amounts bet on each horse change. If a horse shows 4-1 odds, it means that if the race were to start then and that horse won, it would pay 4 to 1 which means 8 dollars plus the 2 dollars that were bet originally.

However, once the race ends, you see the actual payouts, and those are always listed in dollars and cents (usually in multiples of 20 cents). Those payouts are the exact amount of money the track gives you if you hand them a winning ticket. So if the payout on a horse is $10, you receive $10 cash when you hand them a winning ticket. But you paid $2 for the ticket originally so you actually won $8 (4 to 1 odds).

Hmmm. People seem to be using "announced payout" and "the horse pays" two different ways, sometimes it's the same and sometimes it's different.

Thanks Esto!

Estonut wrote:Pre-randomized:

Spoiler

How the U.S. Rolls
Ode to Europe
Celebrity Moms
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Food History
Christmas Critters
Product Line
Abbreviations
Familiar Phrases

Randomized:

Spoiler

How the U.S. Rolls
Literary Quotes
I Know the Name
Ode to Europe
Food History
Familiar Phrases
Product Line
Celebrity Moms
Christmas Critters
Abbreviations

15QuestionsAway wrote:Thanks Esto!

Happy to help!