LAST EDITED ON 09-16-09 AT 09:29 AM (EST)

We're Back!

Do you like The Amazing Race?
Do you like playing games?
Do you like complimentary cocktails?

Then the TAR15 Casino Game is for you!

You don't even have to like cocktails, but I know a few people who will find a good home for them.

Once again, for a record-setting eleventh season, the TAR Casino Game is open for business. Well, every season we technically break the record, but my marketing people say it sounds better. They're giving me angry looks right now like I'm messing the intro up, so I'll get back to the script.

*opens script and begins reading*

For those of you returning from last year, welcome back! It's good to see you again! For those that are new, welcome aboard! We love the new peeps in the Casino!

The TAR Casino Game is about making wagers. I'll supply each player with starting points, and it's your job to make them multiply? And how do you do that? By making bets on teams in each week's episode of The Amazing Race. If your team(s) do well, you'll gain points. If they falter, you'll lose some. It's as easy as that.

But you can't play if you don't register. So I encourage everyone to try the game out! The game really adds an extra degree of fun when watching the show!

Last year winner was 5cats. Will 5cats be able to pull of the super-rare repeat, or is it someone else's time to shine?

The Rules

1. Each player in Week 1 starts with 20 points. In every subsequent week, this amount decreases, so join now. Also, these are the only points you get, so don't waste them. Once you run out of points, you're out of the game.

2. Every week, you may choose to wager your points on the various teams. Later on, there will be limits on the max bet you can lay down. But for Week 1, don't worry about it. Wager however you want to.

3. You don't have to bet all your points. Any points you don't wager are banked, and will be carried over to the following week without risk.

4. Decimals are evil. All wagers must be a whole number. Also, in scoring your entries, all decimal points will be rounded up. It makes the scoreboard prettier that way. No one wants to see a final score of 693.22463 to 612.1935.

5. Absenteeism sucks. If you miss three straight entries, you're eliminated from the game. If you're going to be on vacation, send me a note and I'll keep the records. I'll even take wagers in advance.

6. All entries must be entered before showtime: Sunday, September 27th, 8 PM Eastern Time. Any entries after that time will not be counted. Any edits to an existing entry after the deadline will be penalized. The clock is based on the clock on this message board.

I reserve the right to change the deadline, in case the board's clock gets all wonky again like that one year.

7. Your wagers will be scored based on the almighty Payout Table. The Payout Table gives a multiplier value to each ranking, and determines the return on your wagers. Each of your individual wagers are multiplied by their appropriate multipliers, and then totaled together.

For example, here's the Payout Table for Week 1.

Week 1 Payout Table
1st place - 2x
2nd place - 1.7x
3rd place - 1.5x
4th place - 1.3x
5th place - 1.1x
6th place - Break even
7th place - Break even
8th place - .9x
9th place - .7x
10th place - .5x
11th place - .3x
12th place - 0x

This is going to be based off of the final rankings at the end of the two-hour special. It would be a little crazy to make double-wagers on the individual hours. If there is an elimination before the end of the two hour episode, then that team finished 12th overall, and everyone else is ranked how they finished at the end of the two hours.

Example - You've got 20 points and you choose to wager them on the following "fictional" teams...

Jeff/Jordan - 9 points
Natalie/Kevin - 6 points
Michelle/Russell - 3 points

Bank 2 points.

Now lets pretend Jeff & Jordan finished 5th, Natalie & Kevin finished 3rd, and Michelle & Russell finished 10th. Your score would be...

Jeff/Jordan = 9 points * 1.1 (for 5th place) = 9.9
Natalie/Kevin = 6 points * 1.5 (for 3rd) = 9
Michelle/Russell = 3 points * .5 (for 10th) = 1.5
Banked Points = 2 points

Total = 9.9 + 9 + 1.5 + 2 = 22.4 = 23 points (rounding)

Overall, a you'd gain 3 points and have 23 points to wager next week.

Here are the teams you'll be wagering on. Check out their bios on CBS.com's page for The Amazing Race for more information.

TAR14 Teams Remaining
Brian/Ericka
Eric/Lisa
Garrett/Jessica
Gary/Matt
Herbert/Nathaniel
Lance/Keri
Maria/Tiffany
Marcy/Ron
Meghan/Cheyne
Mika/Canaan
Sam/Dan
Zev/Justin

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! That's what I'm here for! Don't forget to check out the Sample Entry below!

Good luck, everyone!

For those of you who want to know this year's gimmick in advance, I'll drop you one hint before next week. "My decision this year is indecision."