Taken from a press release:

GSN announced today that it’s going on the road with a seven-city tour in search of the nation’s best undiscovered game show hosts with the “GSN LIVE Play Every Day Tour,”... From March 7 to April 4, the tour will bring the look and feel of GSN LIVE to cities across the country... Mall shoppers can play games for a chance to win.

The “GSN LIVE Play Every Day Tour” will also create an opportunity for each market to showcase its hometown talent. Locals who think they have what it takes to be a game show host are invited to audition for their chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles to co-host a segment of GSN LIVE.

Each stop on the tour will include a variety of games for mall shoppers to play, including Cash Grab, Spin-to-Win, Trivia Challenge and GSN.com’s most popular online casual games: Catch 21, Bejeweled, Solitaire and Scrabble Cubes. Players have a chance to win cash and prizes, with thousands of dollars worth of prizing being awarded in each market.

GSN’s game show host search will feature two semi-final rounds and one final round of auditions in front of a live mall audience at each destination, on a replica of the GSN LIVE set. Six participants per semi-final round will each be given seven minutes to demonstrate their best game show hosting skills, while being scored on their game show potential, stage presence, contestant interaction, energy level and ability to command the audience. The semi-final round winners from each market will then face off in a final round to determine their city’s best game show host. The final winner from each market will win an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles where they will experience a day in the life of a game show host and co-host a segment of GSN LIVE.

They'll be at the following:

Saturday, March 7, Cleveland, Westfield Great Northern
Sunday, March 8, Philadelphia, Franklin Mills
Saturday, March 14, Detroit, Laurel Park Place
Sunday, March 15, St. Louis, Chesterfield Mall
Sunday, March 22. Phoenix, Tempe Marketplace
Saturday, March 28, Houston, Willowbrook Mall
Saturday, April 4, Sacramento, Westfield Galleria at Roseville

Uh, yeah. You can bet your bippy that, if possible, I'll be trying out at Detroit.

/With hip phrases like that, I'm sure to win.

They friggin announced this today for this weekend in Philly? Crap.

I tried out for the GSN host search back in, oh, '96 or '97, I'd guess. I actually traveled from Pittsburgh to Chicago just for that purpose. Obviously, I was rejected, but then I could have performed better and the guy they did select very much fit the stereotype. Given the success of GSN originals at that time, it's probably just as well that I wasn't picked.

I was briefly interviewed by someone from a Chicago paper as I exited the audition; I don't know whether anything I said was printed.

You're lookin' kinda pale, Matt. I know how fast and hard a stomach flu can come on... maybe you ought to call in sick before it gets too bad. ;)

Yay! Canadians aren't allowed to play!!

Ryan

/who apparently only will have a staycation for his March break

This would be fun... if I didn't have to go to friggin Philly to do it.

Considering I'm in Philly, I'll be skipping church that morning to do this thing.

Any tips? Should I wear a suit?

Eh, I plan on wearing a button down collared shirt and some khakis. (I'm still undecided as to whether I'm going to wear my dress shoes or green Converse) I don't want to look like a slob and I don't want to look richer or higher-class than I am, but I still want to be semi-formal.

Good luck, detail the experience on return so others will know what to expect and try to take lots and lots of pictures. :)

I echo that about today's stop in Clevleland. I'll be too busy packing for my visit to Jersey. Also makes me wish I had planned to go out there earlier, I could've made the Philly one.

I went to the Philadelphia stop on Sunday. I won $50 as a contestant while the hosts auditioned. The winner was Adam Wurtzel. There were various drawings for prizes, as well as being a contestant while the hosts auditioned (just find the person who is in charge of the contestants in order to play). It was fun, but I would not suggest driving too far unless you want to audition.

Choice words aside, I was not selected to be a semi-finalist. I did, however, win $250 in a Grab-The-Cash-Box-Floating thing, so that was nice.

Damnit, Wurtzel. Karma, you're a bitch.

Cory, can you detail how exactly you go about trying to become a host?

Any details on when the Livonia shindig starts/ends?

Wow. Cool. There's a name I hadn't heard in a while.

I plan on calling this week. I was checking out some of the other mall websites and one of them listed the time as being from 11:30 - 4, but I don't know if that's universal.

They were done by 2:30 in Philadelphia. I got there late so I don't know when they started, but earlier the better. I saw on one Web site 10:00?

I just noticed that there is a website where pretty much all of the information you need to know is posted: http://tour.gsn.com/

All events are from 11:30 - 4:00 local time. However, pre-screening for hosting auditions start at 10.

The "MC" of the tour is Danny Seckel, who some of you may remember from the short-lived PlayMania competitor on TBS, Midnight Money Madness.

I was at the Philly event today as well. I'd recommend getting there about the time they open but no later than an hour afterward. They need from the looks of it 9 people to fill in the spots and once they do, those interviewed before become alternates and everybody after is out of luck.

If you make it up on stage to host, you're given about 20 questions to ask. You have to introduce yourself, the contestants and the game. Three contestants play the game and you have about seven minutes to yourself on stage. They want a nice split between being personable with the contestants and getting the questions asked (at least that's what the woman coordinating said).

Make sure to have a good deal of energy and dress well, but don't overdo it. My friend said that Adam reminded him of the hosts they have on the phone-in shows like Playmania. Have that energy since that looks to be what they're looking for, not so much a relatively traditional host. Keep that in mind.

I was surprised by the choices they made for the finalists (nothing against the two), but I think they were definitely casting for a specific type of person. Adam did a great job and he looked/acted exactly like the guy hosting the event (If anyone knows the name of the host, not Alfonso, could someone tell me; I need to name him for a photo). Put them in a room together and you'd think they were brothers. IMO I thought the first guy (Matt from MA) did a good job from the few minutes I saw and my friend said Cory did a good job as well.

So that's pretty much it. Congrats to Adam and good luck to those of you looking to audition. I can answer questions if you have them. And if anyone can give me the name of the host, I'd be very appreciative.


Thanks Chad.

Um...did somebody call in sick after all?

I would say that the hosts need to have energy, but not come off as a used car salesman. I think some of the auditioners, not Cory though, were either not at ease, or came off as phony. Adam seemed very natural and at ease to me. Also, I thought he best interacted with the contestants. (I was Adam's second contestant in the middle podium with the blue shirt).

If one gets booted for being too much of a sucktastic host, is he free to enter to play a game?

Out of curiosity, did anyone travel a really long distance (say, more than 4 hours) to audition? I'm really considering going to the one in St. Louis, but it's about a 6.5 hour drive from Lincoln, and that just seems like too much hassle and too much expense.

Is anyone else here going to the St. Louis one this Sunday?

Anthony

coughcoughcough - huh? :)

everything said above by pds was right - they want a certain look, and i'm pretty sure 'traditional' wasn't it. Adam did a fine job and fit the look - so i wasn't surprised he was the chosen one... That said, when you personally have more hosting/television exp than Alfonso Ribero himself, it's 'kinda' disheartening.

MY OPINION : Don't travel far for this - i really think they want people to win from the cities they have chosen for this.

They're interviewing for a max of 12 hosts to go up there...so get there early is right - but I don't really think they had more than 15 people prescreen with them for what became 8 spots yesterday.

it's a fun time - not a lot of people so a reasonable chance that if you get there early, you'll win a prize or two, maybe even some cash.

I was considering it, but I believe I'll heed Matt S's advice.

You can enter to play the games at anytime, whether or not you host. In fact Matt (Sorry I thought it was MA) did host and spun the prize wheel before he hosted. You just fill out a card, it's put in a cage and blindly drawn. There seem to be no restrictions, so anyone can play.

I'll be attending the St. Louis one this weekend, and I'll post the details on Sunday night.

After reading the comments about the Philly event, I'm feeling a bit insecure though.

I'm definitely a more "traditional" emcee, and it might be a mistake for me to try to be something I'm not. But, they MUST pick a winner from STL, and if no one in attendance fits the Alfonzo/"Playmania" mold, I might stand a chance!

I think this is why I will not be making even the 90-minute trip to Livonia, except perhaps to root Chad on. For one thing, I'm certain I'm not the "look" they're looking for, and yeah, the last thing my ego needs is to have twentysomething PAs tell me I'm not good enough.

Just a point of order, Adam lives about three hours away from Philadelphia, so he was not a local. But yes, I agree with the comments posted. They are not looking for traditional, and they are going for a certain look. The judges were young as Matt O. imagined they would be.

The two judges other than Alfonso (make your own jokes there) were producers from GSN Live, the headguy was Gary Green, who upon further review, was one of the producers for the GSN remake of "Ive Got a Secret"...he seemed like a decent guy.



Anyone who thinks that the key to success here is wearing a suit and emulating Gene Rayburn, Bob Barker, or anyone from the old reruns, is kidding themself. That's not what they're looking for. For pete sake, half of the host contenders were wearing suits, which was more than [Alfonso was wearing.

Of the 8 contestants (including myself), all were capable at reading questions, identifying who rang in, dispersing points, and working the crowd. Some had a better voice than others, some had more excitement than others, and some fit 'the look' better than others. Again, Adam did a fine job, and I know he'll do very well on the air in LA. He was certainly deserving of the win. Was he the best who fit the mold the producers wanted? Most definitely. But...without sounding like it's sour grapes, was he the best? Up for discussion.

That's fine that he traveled just as far as I did, but saying you live in Pennsylvania and was found at the Philly search sounds a heckuva lot more promotable than "He traveled all the way from CT just to audition", which, sounds every bit as dorky as it was, just to drive down there for this....But I certainly don't regret it , and I certainly had a good time.

Thank you. That's nice of you to say.

You're a good man, Mr. Ottinger. :)

Adam lives in New York as far as I know. I don't know what he told the producers though. I agree, they are not going for emulation of the classic hosts you mentioned. GSN Live is a talk show first before it is a game show as far as I know (I have seen it for like ten minutes). They are looking for more of a talk show host, so the talk show host qualities have to come out even though you are hosting a game show, in my opinion. I believe ultimately if they find a good enough candidate, one of the city winners may get a permanent job on GSN Live, in my opinion. Matt, your performance was very good, I could tell you were not a stranger to being an on camera personality.

Given what I've heard and know, without getting into private details, this isn't the case. The small on-air segment is fine, but the big prize here is a 4 day $5,000 trip to LA. I'd be extremely interested in that part.

I asked as well : they said this is not an on-air tryout for a permanent gig.

My mistake. I didn't think they would go through the trouble of having people host live on-air without the possibility of hiring one of then.

To everyone who went this past weekend, thank you very much for sharing your experiences and advice, not only with me, but with anyone else who's thinking of going.

Although I think the one in St. Louis would be an interesting day road-trip and sounds like it's a lot of fun, I'll save my money and stick around here. I'd have to leave around 3:30 AM just to get there by 10!

So, to all of you who will be trying out in St. Louis or elsewhere, good luck to you, and I look forward to hopefully seeing you on GSN live in the future!

Anthony

I really thought you would be up there. Very personable and you knew how to work the crowd from the couple minutes I saw.

I snagged a few pictures from the Philly tour from a wire site that had some pics:

Alfonso with the winner
Alfonso and a staffer in front of the prize wheel (The prizes listed, in order, are: $25, GSN Shop (gift card?), Nescafe Taster's Choice, GSN Radio Game, $50, GSN Grab Bag, $200, GSN Shop game, Mystery, $100, GSN Gran Bag and "Comcast". If someone could help me with what some of the not-so-obvious represent, that would be nice.
Alfonso with some staffers at the trivia positions.
Alfonso and the mall staff in front what appears to be the host's podium

Aside from Adam, all the other people in the photos were part of the crew. I took close to 300 photos for an article and can upload some if you guys want. Here are a few:
Alfonso 1 2
Hosts & Contestants 1 2

GSN Shop is probably a DVD game that they were giving away. Nescafe Taster's choice was just $25. Radio Game was a Imagination board game of one of the GSN Radio games like Fact or Crap. Grab Bag was a bag full of very cheap things not worth anything (pair of GSN dice, buzzer that hardly makes a sound, etc.). I don't know what the others were because they were not landed on. Chad's third picture, the woman standing all the way to the left was one of the judges. Notice how Adam and Alfonso and Danny Seckel dressed. None of them wore suits. I think if you are what they are looking for in regards to the host contest, you won't be disqualified for wearing a suit, but don't feel the need to necessarily wear a suit, IMHO.

Any pics of Adam hosting? Would love to actually see him in action.


Greg

Unfortunately no. I don't have pics of anyone hosting as I was backstage prepping for my turn "auditioning." My friend may have gotten some so I'll check out his camera.

Nice shot! Too bad I missed out on the $250. I needed (literally) 2 more points. Still,
$100 and a Family Feud DVD game for hanging out for about an hour. Not bad.

Agree with the other that have posted. Good time, but not worth traveling hours and hours to get to.
They're kinda looking for someone who can be fun, but perhaps a little green. That's the idea I get.
No sour grapes, though. It was fun.

Hey folks! Thanks to everyone for the kind words. Was such an exciting day in Philly, and I got to meet some great people!

Apparently according to someone on my facebook, a segment aired about me and the GSN Live tour in Philly today on GSN Live (during Jeopardy I think, possibly more).

Did anyone DVR/TiVO/record GSN Live today? I would love to have this!

Thanks folks. If anyone has constructive criticism or suggestions for my hosting, you can watch "Eastern Expedition," the show I created/produced/hosted in college online at:

http://www.easternct.edu/depts/easterntv/e...nexpedition.htm
I suggest not watching 401 and 402...they were the first taped of the season, they're a bit rocky :-)

-Adam

Sorry folks...the link apparently has changed since...it's now:
http://nutmeg.easternct.edu/easterntelevis...nexpedition.htm

-Adam

I took in episode 405. It was, as I'm sure you well know, impressive for a college game show. With that aside, the audio issues kept me from sticking with it for the entire program (the contestants were quiet/inconsistent, and you were shouting into the red on a number of occasions).

The being obnoxious to the contestants for missing questions seemed a bit unwarranted when it was largely bygone pop culture being asked to young college kids. Being game show fans and trivia buffs, maybe we think it's normal to know who sang "Just What I Needed," but on the average at this age, it's just not the case. I enjoyed a lot of it, I just noticed the shouting, as well as the mini-mushmouth while you were asking questions quickly.

-Jason

Alright, I'm off to bed to prep for tomorrow. If I make it to the audition stage, I'll try to get a video taken of me hosting if any one is interested.

Thanks for the criticism. The episode you chose to watch happened to have 3 players who I had happened to meet the night before and was joking around with, a lot of that was all in good fun. Audio issues were one of our biggest problems.

If anyone did record GSN Live yesterday, PLEASE let me know!!!
-Adam

Welp, I didn't make it to the finals. Guess I'm not as good of a host as I thought I was, lol. The two finalists (out of 8, who were pulled from both shows, as opposed to one from each set of shows) was Jason Antoweicz (sp?) and Mark Generes (sp?). I'm taking care of photos, so I'll upload an album full of images + the video of my hosting shortly.

EDIT: Here we go! Album is here: http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y187/chad1m/GSN%20Tour/ Password is gsntour.
My video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMpqP9rq4qs

Antoniewicz, aka JasonA1. Congrats!