How to Audition for NBC's Game Show Hit Deal or No Deal

I recently had the opportunity to audition for NBC's Deal or No Deal game show when their casting bus rolled into Fort McDowell Casino. I'd never done anything of the sort before and it was quite an experience!

The local news station began airing coverage the night before auditions, showing die-hard fans camping out overnight to be the first in line for a chance to appear on the show. I was not one of them. For some reason I decided that arriving a couple hours ahead of time would be just fine.

11:10 AM
Parking at the casino was at a premium, of course. I didn't even try to get into any of the lots but chose, instead, to park along a dirt side road and hike in. With only my purse and a bottle of water, I trudged down the hill, meeting up with two other women along the way. An older man we passed directed us to the back of line - which stretched around past the adjoining hotel.

We took our place in line, the casino a mere glimpse in the distance. After shuffling along for several feet we reached a sign someone had erected that said "15 hour wait from this point". I looked at my cohorts - five other women now, all standing together and making idle chit chat - and scoffed. Fifteen hours? Surely not! The group of us made a pact - we would wait it out, no matter how long it took. We were each other's support and encouragement and we all had one thing on our mind - to get on Deal or No Deal and win a million bucks, do or die!

12:00 PM
A staff member from Deal or No Deal was making the rounds of the crowd passing out application forms. I was so totally unprepared, I hadn't even printed out the online form so I filled mine out while I was waiting in line, using the hood of parked cars as we slowly inched our way forward. I'm not sure the casting staff could even read my scribblings. The more I tried to fix it, the worse my application looked. Oh well, I thought, as long as my contact information is clear, they can always get hold of me if they so desire.

12:30 PM
About an hour and a half into waiting, as the sun beat mercilessly down on the line of eager would-be contestants, it was time for a pee break. Me and the rest of my group decided to wait at least until we were in front of the hotel to sneak inside and use the facilities as there was nowhere else to go without walking for miles. A few minutes spent in the interior of the beautiful new Radisson Fort McDowell with its air conditioning was a welcome, but brief, respite. I was able to refill my water bottle, now with only a scant inch of warm water, at their cold fountain.

1:30 PM
By this time the line had finally moved forward enough for us to be standing in front of the casino. Ahead of us was a serpentine layout of stanchions and ropes that twisted and turned about 25 times before reaching the front of the tent where the auditions were being held.

The casino took advantage of having all of us poor, hot, tired and hungry souls at their mercy and set up a vending stand. For $5 you could purchase a hot dog and potato chips. Since I'd had nothing to eat all day, I thankfully plunked down a five and ate my hot dog with relish, sharing with my newfound friends.

3:30 PM
By now our line had wound around to the front entrance of the casino where another concession stand was set up selling cold drinks. When we made it to them, however, they ran out of water. One of my more enterprising newfound friends asked them for a piece of ice, which we broke apart and shared to rub over our hot, sunburned skin.

My feet felt like they were on fire. Even though I had worn low-heeled sandals, standing on my feet for hours on the hot pavement was beginning to wear on me. I took a brief few seconds to sit down on the curb, only to be pushed along as the line started to move again.

5:00 PM
We finally made it to the entrance of the tent. We could now clearly see what was in store - about 35 switchbacks inside and hundreds, if not thousands of people still ahead of us. At least there was a big projection screen inside with an endless, continuous loops of two Deal or No Deal reruns.

A couple ahead of us had brought along two folding camp chairs. We all gratefully took turns sitting for a few minutes as we moved along in this line. There was another concession stand set up at the periphery of the tent, but the line waiting to buy food and drink was so long none of us was willing to stand in it. Again, they ran out of bottled water.

When we got closer to the screen and the small stage in front of it, one of the producers appeared to give us a little speech on what we should do to increase our chances of getting on the show. He pointed to the big screen behind him, where the same African-American lady had been playing an endless game of Deal or No Deal and told us she didn't make it through the first round audition but nine months later the producer was looking for someone just like her and she was given her chance to be on the show, along with her travel arrangements to California.

His rules and advice:

1) Contestants will form groups of ten and be directed to one of eight tables within. The ten will give their spiel to a casting assistant one after the other.

2) You have 20 seconds to convince us why you should be a contestant.

3) Don't tell us how much you like the Deal or No Deal game show. We already know. If you didn't like it, you wouldn't be here.

4) Don't tell us how beautiful the models holding the cases are. We know they're beautiful.

5) Do tell us about you - what you do for a living, what you do for fun, any unusual activities or hobbies.

6) Smile - no one likes to watch a contestant in a bad mood or without any energy.

Okay, we had it now. My cohorts and I rehearsed what we were going to say. Funny? Trite? A gimmick?

Lots of people waiting in line had obvious gimmicks. One was holding a huge cardboard cutout of a million dollars with little legs on the bottom. A young girl was proudly wearing her "Miss Arizona Teen" sash. Several had little silver briefcases with various things written on them. A few had signs taunting the banker or pictures of Howie Mandell. According to everything I've heard, however, these gimmicks will not get you onto the show, or any other show that I am aware of. As for me, I just dressed like an ordinary person and waited in line.

7:30 PM
Finally, we reached the end of the line and were split into groups of ten. Half of my cohorts got into a separate group but we all decided to wait for each other after it was done. We were excited now, and practiced our smiles outside the casting area.

When our group got the go ahead to approach a table, we each got our 20 seconds (although a few took longer I made sure to keep my spiel brief - they really didn't time it). After everyone had finished, the casting assistant chose two from our group to stay back for a longer interview. Lucky them - they will probably have the best chance of actually getting on the show. According to one of my friends, they asked her "So, what do we need to know about you?" Another said she was asked, "Tell us a funny story about you." Neither were prepared and told me they were uncertain what to say, but at least they got the opportunity.

8:00 PM
It was now down to me and another woman who had walked with me to get in line so many hours earlier. We hailed a casino cart to give us a ride back to our vehicles and parted ways with a hug and admonitions to drive careful.

So, after waiting nine hours in line under a hot sun with very few facilities and little, if any, comfort, it all culminated in a 20-second interview and then a big let down. I doubt I will ever be called for my chance to be on Deal or No Deal. According to the news the next day, 14,000 people showed up to audition. I wasted an entire day of doing nothing but standing. By the time I got home, I was sunburned, hot, thirsty, hungry, and my dogs were aching like nobody's business. Would I do it again? For the chance to win a million bucks, heck yeah!

If the Deal or No Deal casting bus comes to your town, remember to fill out the application form online. Typing your information in the form will make it much more reader-friendly. Bring a survival pack filled with water, snacks, sunscreen and something to sit on. Smile and show lots of enthusiasm. Think ahead of time about what you will tell the casting staff to set you apart from all the others. And most of all, have fun!