Kilting Me Softly

I apologize for that pun.

That episode really made me want to visit Scotland. See all the old castles and stuff like that. I think I'll pass on the bagpipe lessons and the barrel rolling, but the rest of it was really neat. Even the teams seemed to enjoy the leg, up until the Double U-Turn showed up.

Week 10 Results
1st place - Max/Katie (2x)
2nd place - Bates/Anthony (1.6x)
3rd place - Caroline/Jennifer (even)
4th place - Mona/Beth (.4x)
5th place - Joey/Meghan (0x)

Smooth Sailing.

Pretty solid week all around for everyone. I think, after such a big shake-out the previous week, the survivors were content to stick with the pack and make it to finale week. For the Bonus Game, Max/Katie U-Turning Joey/Meghan was by far the most popular pick, so everyone ended up striking out on it. I suspect many of us are kicking ourselves for missing out on that chance.

We did lose one more player this week, Yogi, who went after the big score with a Joey/Meghan loan. It was just a bad situation all around because the penultimate leg's results weren't very conducive for a comeback, so there wasn't much more that could've been done. But, as I say every week, it's best to go down swingin'. Thanks for playing, Yogi!

The Greatest Gainer Award goes to vennui, who climbed a whopping 3 ranks this week. 3 ranks may not seem like a lot, but when there's only 12 players left, that's still a 25% bump. Nicely done!

The Perfect Bet Award also goes to vennui (2.6x), who narrowly beat out flipxcyd (2.58x) for the crown. Both took fiscally smart loans on Max/Katie, and it really worked out. Way to go!

Leaderboard
1. IanQuentin - 2224
2. Jims02 - 2032
3. Molaholic - 1740
4. KwietOne - 1515
5. Ontheroadagain - 1410
6. flipxcyd - 1220
7. alemattos - 900
8. vennui - 664
9. sarah1234 - 350
10. louislam - 350
11. FFantasyFX - 185
12. taffnic - 46
13. Yogi - -480

Going into this final week, IanQuentin has retained his lead, but the crowd is starting to catch up a bit. All of the Top 6 are within half of his point total, which means we may be in for quite a few mindgames in this finale week.

Finale Rules

We are now in the finale leg, so I should go over a couple of the slight rule changes that applies to the finale.

1. The overall team rankings (and payouts) will be based on the finish order at the Finish Line of The Amazing Race. Since we have 4 teams and may have two legs to go, the first leg will only determine who finishes 4th overall (0x), while the final 3 go on to determine teams 1, 2, and 3.

2. The final week is No Limit on your regular wager. Feel free to wager as many of your points as you wish on the regular game. There is a bet limit on the bonus game, however.

3. You are allowed to make your finale wager in secret if you so desire, by sending me a private message. If you want to keep opponents guessing, it might not be a bad idea.

If you're concerned about me peeking at your picks (since I'm in 2nd place and all), I'm going to make my picks publicly in this thread by Saturday night. I'll be locked-in by Sunday, so you don't have to worry about me looking early.

...Which I will.

Finale Payout Table
1st place - 2x
2nd place - 1.3x
3rd place - .7x
4th place - 0x

Max Individual Bet - NO LIMIT

No loans this week either. Gotta go with what's in your bank now!

Bonus Game - "Million" Dollar Baby

And now, for our customary finale bonus game. I like to keep the finale week as predictable as possible so people can know in advance what kind of week they're building to.

In this game, players may wager on which team will say the word "million" first. As always, variations of the word will count, such as "millions", "millionaires", or "moneymoneymoneymilliondollarsmoneymoney". All we're looking for is M-I-L-L-I-O-N to be spoken by them.

The recaps don't count as part of the episode, and if none of the teams ever say it (it has happened once before), then no answer is correct and all bonus wagers score 0x.

Million Payout Table
Correct Answer - 4x
Incorrect Answer - 0x

Max Bet - 250 points

Last week's game was +450 and you got a +750 possibility this finale week, so it's a huge opportunity to make one last big move. This could end up deciding this thing!

TAR22 Teams Remaining
Bates/Anthony
Caroline/Jennifer
Max/Katie
Mona/Beth

Good luck!

A 2003 IceCat original