What do you get when you mix Wesley Chapel resident Christopher Moody with TV personality Wayne Brady and a hot dog costume?
Oh, about $18,000 worth of prizes, including a new dining room set and a 7-day trip for two to Greece.
That was Moodyโs haul when he appeared on June 22 on the CBS-TV daytime game show โLetโs Make A Deal,โ which is hosted by Brady.
The show didnโt air until last week, Nov. 10, allowing Moody to finally let the secret out of the, err, hot dog casing.
โIt was a tough secret to keep,โโ said Moody, who works in the admissions department at USF and moved to Wesley Chapel five years ago from Carrollwood. โMy parents were the most excited. I had to be coy and vague with them for four months.โ
A longtime fan of the show โ he and his wife Meredith DVR it daily and watch it together at night โ Moody was able to extend a trip to a conference in California by one day to fit in an appearance in the studio audience during a taping of the show.
He had applied online for a ticket, and the day after his conference, after parking two blocks away โ and yes, walking the rest of the way in his hot dog costume โ Moody joined 150 other prospective โdealersโ in a room and filled out the necessary paperwork.
Groups of 10 were then ushered off to meet with show producers for interviews.
โLetโs Make A Deal,โ created in 1963, is probably most famous for its long-time host, Monty Hall, and often having contestants choose between prizes hidden behind doors number 1, 2 or 3.
Contestants still dress in zany costumes, the higher energy the better, and a series of deals are offered to those chosen.
โEveryone is at 110-percent energy level, some were hooting and hollering and doing all kind of things to get noticed,โโ said Moody, confessing to putting forth a little extra energy himself.
Seated in the first row, Moody didnโt have to wait long to appear on the show. The first contestant, a woman from Orlando, was called first, and then Brady, the host for the past nine years and best known for his stand-up comedy and years on โWhoโs Line Is It Anyway?โ (which now airs on The CW network), then called for โThe Hot Dog.โ
โI knew I was the only person dressed as a hot dog,โโ said Moody, who had to take a circuitous route to Brady without tripping over any cords or camera angles. โI was definitely worried about that,โโ he says, laughing.
Brady interviewed Moody, asked where he was from and about the costume, and then riffed on his fond memories of eating hot dogs during the summer while visiting his grandmother.
Given the choice between a check or a box, the Orlando contestant chose the check. Brady then turned to Moody, and offered him $1,000 for the box.
โI turned it down,โ Moody says. โIt was just a gut feel. Right from the beginning I was hoping Iโd win a trip, I had a good hunch that is what was going to be in the box.โ
Brady offered $1,400, then $2,000, but Moody stood firm.
โI figured Iโm in this far, why not keep the box?,โโ he said. โBut I was wondering if he was trying to save me from something miserable, or is he trying to save the company from giving away an expensive prize?โ
Moody finally got to see what was under the box โ a video screen, which revealed that he had won a dining room table and set of four chairs, as well as a private dinner for up to nine people.
โAt the very least,โโ Moody thought, โit wasnโt a terrible decision,โ especially since his dining room set at home was 25 years old and Meredith had been asking him to get rid of it.
โBut thatโs not all,โโ the announcer bellowed.
Thatโs when it was revealed that Moody also was getting a 7-day Greek cruise, including two nights in Athens.
Hot dog! โYou can tell by my reaction I was super pumped,โโ said Moody. โIt was a great experience.โ