What kind of questions do they ask on the written test to see if you are qualified?
Fascinating thread. Be sure to update us when you know when the show will air.
Nifty! We’re all proud o’ ya and happy for ya, Steverino. Please, let us know when the show airs.
Congrats! You make the third Doper to make it onto Win Ben Stein’s Money that I am aware of. The others were:
EJsGirl in July of 2000. Made it to the second round, but not the Best of 10.
djbdjb2 won the 5000 dollars back in April of this year (or at least that’s when the show aired).
I can’t discuss specific questions from the audition, but I can say that all of the questions had been used on the show in the past.
You mean I wasn’t the first? Aw, shucks. Here I was thinking I was a pioneer 
An other thing that fascinates me is that Ben always reads those same few tidbits (‘I will become a common contestant’, ‘it’s going to be brutal’, ‘you might learn something’, etc.) on the cue cards show after show after show. You would think that he would have memorized those few lines by now.
Congrats, Steverino, and I’ll be watching for you too! I hope to put up a similar post someday.
Thanks for the buzzer info - sounds just like Jeopardy’s setup.
BTW, the more popular shows in the ratings (Jeopardy, Wheel, Millionaire) do not pay audience members. They don’t have to.
Some pay expenses (Millionaire, Weakest Link) and some don’t (Jeopardy, Wheel).
This fact distresses me as I watch the show every night and she is one of the main reasons! I love her . .she is bright, talented, and beautiful (OK - maybe she needs to add a few pounds, but whatever).
Any thoughts (I’m new here BTW)
How are you able to tell us anything about the show, don’t they swear you to secrecy? And if you would have won the $5000, Ben really get’s paid NOTHING for that episode? Where does Nancy’s money as well as the crew’s money come from?
No, they didn’t swear me to secrecy. I asked about that while I was in the Green Room, and the producers told me I could tell everyone about my experiences on the show. The only thing they asked not be divulged is specific questions on the audition.
Yes, Ben really gets paid nothing for the episode if someone beats him in the final round. But he wins more than 90% of the time, and he’s got other sources of income, so I doubt he’s hurting for cash. Also, they tape 3 or 4 shows each day. So even if he loses on one show, he’s likely to be making money on the others for that day.
AFAIK, the money paid to the host and the crew comes from the production company. The production company gets its money from the network, who get money from the advertizers. I suppose a production company must run a lot of red ink between the taping of the show and the network paying them.
This is pure speculation, but I’d be surprised if Stein doesn’t own a piece of the production company. As such, the earnings from the show may be a small part of his compensation.
I always had thought I’d go second as well - both for the speed of the reading and my curiosity regarding what was playing on the headphones.
We watch WBSM every day here. But, I’m going to have to start taping it for later, now that my daughter is getting old enough to understand the double entendres…
I am bummed about Nancy Pimental leaving, although I thought the flirtation thing with Ben was pretty lame early in the season. She’s completely nuts, dirtier than Ben, and easy on the eyes. Too bad.
Classical music. That was one of the questions which came up in the Green Room. The producers didn’t tell us which piece, though.
It is a shame to see Nancy go, indeed. But the producers expect the show to get even more ribald with Sal.