Never Had a Chance

Man, tough leg setup for Nary & Jamie this week. They started at least an hour after Vanessa & Ralph, with no bunching, a very easy Roadblock, and a double U-Turn. If the teams weren't so dysfunction this year by U-Turning each other, they would've been easily picked off by the Double U-Turn and been completely done.

The fact that they were even close is pretty amazing if you think about it!

Week 8 Results
1st place - Bopper/Mark (2x)
2nd place - Rachel/Dave (1.6x)
3rd place - Art/J.J. (1.5x)
4th place - Brendon/Rachel (.5x)
5th place - Vanessa/Ralph (.4x)
6th place - Nary/Jamie (0x)

Flip-Flopped

You'd think with the exact same setup as last week, with the exact same results (save 1st and 2nd switching places), you'd think we'd knock it out of the park. But, then again, 1st and 2nd are the most important rankings, so a "decent" week makes some sense. Scores were still fairly good overall. And with Bopper/Mark finishing 1st and being an unlikely pick, it allowed a few players to make some big moves.

We did lose one more player this week, Estee. If there's anything we've proven this year, it's that the Lucky 7 game is the devil and is basically impossible to win. But you gotta roll the dice. Thanks for playing, Estee! Enjoy some cocktails in the lounge and see if you can drink your self into forgetting about that whole Tebow thing.

This week's Greatest Gainer Award goes to Yogi, who climbed 7 ranks to #7 overall. Very nicely done, sir!

The Perfect Bet Award also goes to Yogi (2.59x), who managed his perfect week the old fashioned way, a perfect regular wager and a correct bonus pick. No fancy-shmancy bonus multipliers even needed! Congrats!

Leaderboard
1. jbenz - 1467
2. michel - 1366
3. IanQuentin - 1208
4. louislam - 1145
5. KwietOne - 1099
6. beau_30 - 972
7. Yogi - 964
8. CTgirl - 926
9. Georjanna - 775
10. vennui - 629
11. Molaholic - 546
12. chiubakka - 535
13. Ontheroadagain - 510
14. Jims02 - 501
15. MzTee - 491
16. ARNutz - 453
17. kduck - 421
18. esquire - 293
19. bbenzenberg - 285
20. Weez - 277
21. shillfiell - 272
22. FFantasyFX - 269
23. flipxycd - 257
24. Element King - 164
25. Starshine - 133
26. qwertypie - 106
27. Scuba Steve - 69
28. michiganhugefan - 39
29. sarah1234 - 31
30. Wallflower66 - 15
31. alemattos - 9
32. Max Headroom - 1
33. Estee - 0

Profit Multiplier - 1.6x

It seems like every week we have a new leader, with jbenz now taking the helm. There's still a lot of shuffling around in the Top 10, though, so it will be a close race coming down the stretch!

Week 9 Payout Table
1st place - 2x
2nd place - 1.7x
3rd place - Break even
4th place - .3x
5th place - 0x

Max Individual Bet - 440 points

I Dare You! I dare you to play a more challenging Payout Table this week, listed below! If you accept this dare, make sure to mention that you're playing the Challenge Payout Table in your entry.
Dare Bonus Multiplier - 1.4x (for next week)

Challenge Payout Table
1st place - 2x
2nd place - 0x
3rd place - .3x
4th place - 1.7x
5th place - Break even

Max Individual Bet - 440 points

Technically, the same values on both tables, but there's a lot more risk associated with the Challenge Table. If you play the Challenge Table, you had better be sure you're right!

A PAT on the Back

It's time for everyone least favorite bonus game, PAT! PAT stands for the Painfully Average Team in a particular week, the team that finishes right smack in the middle of the pack... Not too high, not too low. Or, in the case of the Final 5, it's the team that finishes in 3rd place this week.

Place a wager on which team will finish 3rd. If you're right, you get a huge payout. If you're wrong... Then welcome to 0x town. We're heading down the home stretch, so a nice bonus payout could really skyrocket your ranking.

You may only make one bonus wager, however, so it's an all-or-nothing gamble.

PAT Payout Table
Correct Answer - 5x
Incorrect Answer - 0x

Max Bet - 110 points

We're talking about a +440 on this bonus game, which is a nice chunk of change. Good luck!

TAR20 Teams Remaining
Art/J.J.
Bopper/Mark
Brendon/Rachel
Rachel/Dave
Vanessa/Ralph

One Note About Dares in the Final Weeks

There will be no dare bonuses in the finale week, so this week might be the final opportunity to score a dare bonus. I'm not sure if we're two or three episodes away, though, I still need to figure out the upcoming schedule. But I wanted to let you know, in case you plan ahead or something.

Good luck!

So, let's see, if I play the Challenge Table and the PAT bonus, then I'm essentially betting on 1st, 3rd, and 4th this week...