Dusty Bowers of Keizer did not make it to the Showcase Showdown on CBS-TV’s The Price is Right, but he came home with prizes when he was called to ‘come on down’ on the popular game show filmed in Los Angeles.
Once he got to bidder’s row with three other contestants, his guess on prizes was the winner. He won a dishwasher valued at more than $2,000. Once on stage with host Drew Carrey he played Pick-a-Pair which he won, garnering the prize of a closet organizer and an assortment of Michael Kors designer clothes and accessories.
The game got more exciting as he and two other contestants spun the big money wheel for the chance to be one of two finalists in the Showcase Showdown. The contestant that lands on the most money (up to $1) is a finalist.
Spinners are asked to say hello to friends and family. Bowers said hello to his nieces and to his friends, Jeremy and Ginnie Green, as well as Reggie Miller, a former NBA basketball star with the Indiana Pacers. Miller reached out to Bowers with a single word Facebook post: “Baller.”
Dusty and the two other contestants tied with the same amount — 95¢. In the tie-breaking spin, Dusty was eliminated.
Dusty said his experience on The Price is Right has changed his views of competition. “I like to win,” he said. But on the television show he realized that everyone was rooting for everyone else. “George Gray (the show’s announcer) said, The Price is Right is where you root for your opponent as much as yourself,” Dusty said. “It changed my views on games.”
The prizes won on the show are shipped to the winners, they cannot be exchanged for cash. Soon, a brand new dishwasher, a closet organizer and a variety of designer clothes and accessories will find their way to their new Keizer home. Bowers plans to share the wealth and gift some of his winnings to family and friends. For the show’s 50th anniversary season all the contestants and audience members received an added prize of a two-night stay at a Palm Springs casino resort.