“Come on down!”
Those three simple words may just change a life — and for a New York resident, it appears that they did.
Richard Shelton, 30, from Long Island, New York, has been an avid fan of the classic TV game show, “The Price Is Right,” for as along as he can remember.
He credits his love of the show to his father,r who is also a fan.
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“[My dad] would always watch it every morning when I was at home before school, so I guess I was just amazed by the lights and the colors and the sounds and the fact that people were happy and winning,” Shelton told Fox News Digital.
“I grew to watch it over time and keep watching it,” he said.
Shelton said over time he realized that he could one day be one of those happy contestants.
In 2022, “The Price Is Right” announced a series of special episodes the program would be filming with different themes, including “superfans.”
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At the time, the classic game show was hosting only partial audiences, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shelton decided to submit for the show’s general admission ticket and try to be a part of the superfan episode.
“I know a lot of secret things about the show, like how to play the games, and I know the themes of the games are always the same — whether you watch them tomorrow or the next day,” he continued.
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“There’s just a lot of trends that they use [that] people who watch the show would catch onto.”
In October 2022, Shelton finally heard back from a casting producer for “The Price is Right.”
The next day, Shelton joined a Zoom call and was tested on his knowledge of the show.
By the end the week, he learned he was going to be in the studio audience.
“She told me there were 20 superfans that they were casting, and only nine of us will get picked,” Shelton noted.
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Traveling with his sister and his dad, Shelton made it to Los Angeles, California — knowing there was no guarantee he would be pulled onto the stage as a contestant.
Once the game show started, Drew Carey called the first contestant down — and then he called the second contestant down.
That was none other than Shelton.
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Shelton played the second game on the show and had to guess the price of a Gucci carryon and fanny pack — he bid $2,700.
Shelton’s estimate was the high bid. He was able to join Carey on stage — and was told exactly what he would be playing for that day.
“The announcer said, ‘He’s playing for Yodely Guy’s favorite place to visit,’ and the doors opened.”
Then the announced said, “And it’s a trip to Switzerland,” as Shelton recalled.
The game Shelton would play was revealed after the prize had been announced. It was one of the show’s most recognizable games: Cliffhangers.
Shelton said he picked up on some pricing tricks after years of watching the show.
He explained how different items on Cliffhangers typically increase from $20-$40 based on levels in the game.
“I was really excited,” he added. “I already knew I was going to win the game before it had even started.”
Shelton started guessing the prices on each of the three prizes.
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He guessed the exact price of the first prize, he was $5 over the price of the second item and only $2 away from the exact price of the third item. Yodely Guy had stopped moving and Shelton officially won the game.
“I went crazy. I went all over the place. I tried to shake Drew’s hand — he tried to shake mine,” said Shelton.
“You don’t even realize you’re in the moment, it’s just so exciting. You black out, really.”
Shelton ran over to the monitor that showed his grand prize to Switzerland — and he was quickly joined by Carey, who had even more exciting news for the superfan.
The game show host grabbed the iconic Yodely Guy from his mountain and pulled out a pen to sign the special memorabilia item, before giving the token to Shelton.
“How many people can say they own that? It’s a priceless item,” he said. “Having that is probably a very valuable item that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
Shelton said that being able to win big in front of his father made the victory doubly special.
“He is the one who kind of told me to look out for these tricks, especially that game,” Shelton added.
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“I felt like I got to play his favorite game that the show has,” Shelton said.
Shelton’s episode of “The Price Is Right” aired in February 2023. He had one year since that airing to use the trip.
While he’s not an avid skier, he was very excited to see the scenery of the Swiss Alps this September.
He stayed in the town of Vitznau, on Lake Lucern, and enjoyed boat rides across the lake and exploring the mountains.
Shelton started documenting his trip by taking pictures of Yodely Guy as “if he was the one on the vacation,” he remarked.
Shelton posted the pictures of Yodely Guy in Switzerland on Instagram.
One image was shared by “The Real Price is Right” Instagram account, which wrote, “We love this!” and “The Yodely Guy was long overdue for a vacation.”
Fans on Instagram appear to be loving how much fun Shelton is having as he publicly celebrates his big win.
“It really was a lot of fun,” Shelton said.
“I’m so glad I won it, and now I’m in ‘The Price is Right’ family.”
Shelton said he hopes to make a second appearance on the game show some day — and go on another adventure with Yodely Guy.
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