From the Tropicana Hotel, the most exciting game in town...
And now here's your host...
Wink Martindale!
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Broadcast History:
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Las Vegas Gambit was the second incarnation of Gambit, the original version of which aired on CBS from 1972-1976. In September 1980, struggling NBC cancelled a failed daytime experiment called The David Letterman Show, and announced that on October 27, his show would be replaced by two game shows offering "money and fabulous prizes" - Las Vegas Gambit and Blockbusters. They debuted at 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. EST, respectively.
The main game for Las Vegas Gambit was identical to the original version, with two married couples competing against each other. Each game began with hostess revealing top card of an oversized 52-card deck. Host Wink Martindale would then ask a question which would nearly always be of the multiple choice, true-or-false, or yes-or-no variety. Whichever couple rang in first with a correct answer would then earn the right to either take the top card on the deck or pass it to their opponents.
After the first card had been dealt to one of the two couples, Martindale would continue asking jump-in questions, but no other cards in the deck would be revealed until the couple with control decided whether or not they wanted to pass or keep the next card. Couples could freeze at any time; if they did so, the opposing couple would then have to continue answering questions correctly to earn another card. If they answered a question incorrectly or went over 21, the couple that had chosen to freeze would win; if they managed to beat the total of their opponents without going over 21, the couple that had chosen to freeze would lose. If a couple hit 21 on the nose, they would win the game and the "Gambit Jackpot", which started at $500 and went up by $500 after each game in which it was not won. Couples had to win two games to win a match and have a chance at the bonus round. Each game was worth $100 in cash.
Initially, Las Vegas Gambit's bonus round was nearly identical to the original version's. Couples that won the main game took their turn on the Gambit Board, though it now consisted of 18 television monitors rather than 21 flip-cards, and a new car was no longer offered to couples hitting 21 in the bonus game. Early in the show's run, couples could only stand on 17 or higher, and hitting 21 meant the couple would win all the prizes on the board and the regular game's Gambit Jackpot. The rule that couples could only stand on 17 or higher was quickly eliminated, and a $5,000 bonus was added to supplement the regular game's Gambit Jackpot for couples who hit 21 on the Gambit Board.
As in the 1972-76 Gambit, couples at the Gambit Board would choose a number (from 1 to 18 in the Las Vegas version), which would conceal a prize. Couples would win the prize contained on the number they had chosen, then be dealt a card, and then pick another number until they chose to freeze or until they hit 21 or busted by going over 21.
The Gambit Board contained prizes such as trips, appliances, furniture, and various other goodies that were daytime game show staples. Some of the more unique prizes included 1,000 gallons of gasoline, two tickets to anywhere in the United States that the couple wanted to go, and a pinball machine.
In addition to prizes, there were also special features on the board, among them, "Take Two", which allowed couples to pick 2 numbers on one turn, and special games such as "Stop or Go" and "Beat the House" in which couples who didn't bust would play a special game after the bonus round for cash. In "Stop or Go", the dealer would reveal a card, the point value of which would be multiplied by $100. The couple could then choose to attempt winning more cash by selecting another card, but would bust if the next card was the same suit they as the first card dealt (i.e., if the first card was a club, another club would end the game), and thus lose all the cash accumulated up to that point. In "Beat the House", the couple would play a simple game of blackjack against Wink Martindale, and if they beat him they would win $1,000 cash.
Unfortunately, the ratings for Las Vegas Gambit were weak, as it struggled with affiliate clearance in a 10 a.m. time slot. Four months after being added to NBC's schedule, the show and its companion Blockbusters had slightly increased NBC's percentage of daytime viewers, but the network still came in behind ABC and CBS. The changes didn't help the show's ratings, and Las Vegas Gambit was cancelled in the fall of 1981. At some point prior to going off the air, the series went into reruns, though it is not known exactly when the last first-run episode aired. The last episode aired on NBC was a repeat of an earlier "Singles Week", and Wink Martindale's farewell was placed in a picture-in-picture box during the last moments of the episode.
In 1990, a pilot for another revival, hosted by Bob Eubanks, was pitched to ABC but did not become a series.
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