LAST EDITED ON 12-13-11 AT 11:40 PM (EST)

Yawn.

Yeesh, what a boring finale.

I'm not going to blame the TAR Producers on this one since it was a really cleverly constructed leg. And bonus points for using the city of Atlanta, a city I'm actually somewhat familiar with (having lived there for 4 months). But the racers' performances just killed any kind of suspense. Amani and Marcus fell to the back of the pack at the flight simulator, Jeremy and Sandy got lost at The Dump, and neither team ever saw Ernie and Cindy again.

Ah well, we can't always have a close finish like last season. That's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Finale Results
1st place - Ernie/Cindy (2x)
2nd place - Jeremy/Sandy (even)
3rd place - Amani/Marcus (0x)

All About Ernie/Cindy

Man, with what poor luck we've had with bonus games lately, it looked like we might not have anyone say "million". Thankfully, Ernie finally said it about halfway through the episode, right before their unfortunate A-students/C-students metaphor. They were a fairly popular pick for the bonus, getting about as many guesses as Jeremy/Sandy.

Although when analyzing finale picks, it's hard to tell what's gamesmanship and what people's true guesses are.

The final Greatest Gainer Award goes to 3 players, chiubakka, jbenz, and taffnic. All 3 of them climbed 8 ranks this final week of the Casino Game. Nicely done, you trio.

The final Perfect Bet Award is also a 3-way tie, going to chiubakka, bbenzenberg, and popeave. Very nicely done, you other trio.

And now, time for the overall results. I must say, the race for the grand champion was very much up in the air, as last week's leader Max Headroom skipped the bonus wager entirely...

Especially considering the large majority of the Top 10 players took various stabs at the bonus game. A lot of varying strategies in this final.

(highlight the Top 10 to see)

Leaderboard
1. Max Headroom - 1830
2. esquire - 1568
3. 5cats - 1454
4. CTgirl - 1120
5. louislam - 1120
6. beau_30 - 1037
7. ARNutz - 800
8. flipxcyd - 800
9. vennui - 743
10. Jims02 - 436
11. Belle Book - 412
12. FFantasyFX - 392
13. alemattos - 366
14. Puffy - 347
15. chiubakka - 243
16. Ontheroadagain - 200
17. IanQuentin - 150
18. bbenzenberg - 135
19. qwertypie - 122
20. Wallflower66 - 69
21. popeave - 66
22. Element King - 42
23. jbenz - 15
24. taffnic - 12
25. sarah1234 - 1
26. KwietOne - 0
27. Yogi - 0
28. Starshine - 0
29. Weez - 0
30. LeftPinky - 0
31. jbug - 0
32. samboohoo - 0

In the end, it was Max Headroom who claimed victory this season, with former Casino champs esquire earning the Silver Medal and 5cats earning the Bronze. All three of these players had a wildly divergent game, so it's interesting how they all fell into the Top 3.

For example, esquire started the game in 36th place, and didn't post a Top 20 finish until after Week 6, and didn't make Top 10 until after Week 10. esquire really showed this season that, despite a rocky start, you can really climb through the ranks through carefully timed aggression. 5cats, on the other hand, was a strong contender from the very start, notching a Top 10 finish every single week. 5cats also held the #1 spot for 4 straight weeks between Weeks 5-9. 5cats fell a bit during the Week 10 Shakeout (falling to #6), but managed to make one last climb into 3rd this final week. Congratulations, to both of you!

If there's any word you could use to describe Max Headroom's Casino Game, it would be "solid". He always seemed to float somewhere in the 4th-6th range, always seeming to trail the likes of michel (winning 3 weeks) or ARNutz (previously reigning champ)... In fact, Max fell out of the Top 10 after Week 8, going into the TBC episode. Oftentimes, whenever you take a dive that late into the season, it can be difficult to catch-up.

The TBC episode had Amani/Marcus in 1st place, with Andy/Tommy still stuck back at the bodybuilder challenge with Bill/Cathi. Max Headroom made a keeper Andy/Tommy that paid off big time (especially with the majority of picks being Amani/Marcus), vaulting him up to 2nd place. After overtaking ARNutz in Week 11, Max never looked back.

Congratulations, Mr. Headroom. You're now in the Casino Hall of Fame!

Previous Casino Game Champions
TAR5 Casino Game - zombiebaby
TAR6 Casino Game - VA Slim
TAR7 Casino Game - esquire
TAR8 Casino Game - Neobie
TAR9 Casino Game - Neobie
TARX Casino Game - bighair
TAR All Stars Casino Game - Higgs
TAR12 Casino Game - KwietOne
TAR13 Casino Game - CTgirl
TAR14 Casino Game - 5cats
TAR15 Casino Game - taffnic
TAR16 Casino Game - Yogi
TAR17 Casino Game - Yogi
TAR18 Casino Game - ARNutz
TAR19 Casino Game - Max Headroom

Cheers.

*raises glass*

I'd like to make a toast to the silly, frivolous things in the world.

Call me ridiculous if you want, but I honestly get a real kick out of making a wager with "play money" on The Amazing Race. It's those moments like watching Andy/Tommy chase Ernie/Cindy down on the beach where you're thinking, "NOOOOOOOOO ERNIE & CINDY, RUN FASTER, I NEED POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" that you realize how cuckoo-bananas this whole thing is.

But it's fun, and that's the important thing. Hosting this game season after season is a blast, and I hope you guys have a great time too. Every year, seeing so many faces returning (and new faces joining!) is extremely rewarding and humbling to me.

Many thanks to all of the players who participated, for it is you who keeps the TAR Casino Game going. You fill the place with the energy, the camaraderie, the gamesmanship that goes into a good game.

So, cheers. *raises glass again*

If you all have any comments, suggestions, ideas, or general finger-pointing, please let me know in the replies below and I'll keep them in mind for next year. It was cahaya's suggestion a year back about a Fantasy Football-type game that sparked the idea of the Keeper Teams this year. Those suggestions always seem to get stuck in the back of my brain when I'm scrambling for a new idea.

Have a great holiday season everyone, and I'll see you guys back here next year for TAR20!

Considering how up-and-down I was this year in the rankings, I am soooooo content with finishing 10th. I have no desire to be greedy this year.