LAST EDITED ON 09-19-06 AT 03:36 PM (EST)

No, you're not seeing things. It's the TARX Casino Game now. Roman numerals rawk. Doesn't that look so much more extreme?

Goodbye Diversity

That was a couple disappointing eliminations. We had two unique teams in Bilal/Sa'eed and Vipul/Arti and both of them were eliminated in Week One. Not that I'm tired of watching models and dysfunctional couples race every single year... I'm just a bit disappointed by the outcome.

Still, it's The Amazing Race, which is still better than most other shows on television.

Week 1 Results
1st place - Tyler/James (2x)
2nd place - Duke/Lauren (1.8x)
3rd place - Peter/Sarah (1.6x)
4th place - Dustin/Kandice (1.4x)
5th place - Rob/Kimberly (1.2x)
6th place - Kellie/Jamie (even)
7th place - Erwin/Godwin (even)
8th place - Tom/Terry (.8x)
9th place - Lyn/Karlyn (.6x)
10th place - David/Mary (.4x)
11th place - Vipul/Arti (.2x)
12th place - Bilal/Sa'eed (0x)

Playing the Odds...

Week One is usually a giant crapshoot, as we've never seen any of these teams in action yet. Still, many players seemed to do very well this week, as 33/60 players finished with a positive score.

Unfortunately, we did have a first-week casualty in the game, Molaholic. Personally, I'm a bit annoyed at the circumstances, because I know how much Molaholic enjoys playing the game. So the circumstances are terrible. However, because of these circumstances, Molaholic scores a free night in the Presidential Suite at the casino hotel.

...With two complimentary bottles of wine. Of course.

The Perfect Bet Award goes to the player(s) who made the most accurate bets and scored the best possible payout of the group. In the first week, we have a three-way tie for the PBA, between tribephyl, Higgs and bighair, who each doubled their scores. You just can't go wrong betting on the idiot models, huh? Good job, you three.

Leaderboard

1. tribephyl - 40
2. Higgs - 40
3. bighair - 40
4. Jims02 - 38
5. taffnic - 36
6. ohmyheck - 32
7. alwaysintruble1 - 32
8. qwertypie - 32
9. mikey - 32
10. Weez - 31
11. lowerlashes - 31
12. esquire - 30
13. davwav02 - 30
14. louislam - 30
15. ARNutz - 29
16. bystander - 29
17. Wallflower66 - 28
18. Lasann - 28
19. Ontheroadagain - 28
20. vennui - 28
21. cahaya - 28
22. MacabreMasquerade 26
23. Yogi - 26
24. Max Headroom - 25
25. Seana - 25
26. VA Slim - 25
27. willinCal - 25
28. dreamerbeliever - 25
29. michel - 25
30. tvgeek401 - 22
31. popeave - 22
32. seahorse - 22
33. LeftPinky - 21
34. dragonflies - 20
35. flipxcyd - 20
36. KwietOne - 20
37. MzTee - 20
38. Corvis - 20
39. byoffer - 20
40. Neobie - 20
41. Road Kill - 20
42. mysticwolf - 19
43. 5cats - 19
44. SilverStar - 19
45. CattyChat - 19
46. KittyLuvr - 19
47. IanQuentin - 19
48. sharags - 18
49. asdf row - 17
50. Ryan DeMaster - 17
51. beau_30 - 16
52. Peetah - 15
53. ChrisGTS - 15
54. girlgeek - 13
55. adricharlie - 13
56. jbug - 12
57. JanetFAN - 12
58. redbaronii - 10
59. Estee - 7
60. Molaholic - 0

In case you're wondering, ties are broken by Previous Ranking. In Week One, however, they're broken by Posting Order, with earlier posters with priority. Not that the Week One rankings really mean anything, except for bragging rights...

New Players Still Welcome!

Through the next two weeks, new players will be accepted to the game. However, enter as soon as you can, because new players will receive fewer starting points each week.

To save space, here are the abridged rules...
1. Each new player receives 15 points to start.
2. Once you've run out of points, you're out of the game.
3. Each week, you may choose to bet some (or all) of your points on the remaining Amazing Race teams.
4. There is no limit on your individual bets, as long as the total doesn't exceed the number of points you have.
5. You may bet on as many or as few teams as you want.
6. You don't have to bet all of your points, or even play at all during a particular week.
7. All bets must be integers (whole numbers).
8. All entries must be posted before showtime: 8:00 PM on Sunday, September 24th.
9. Any edited posts after the deadline will receive a significant penalty.

For the complete rules, please check out the Week 1 entry thread. Also, check out the Sample Entry below.

Here's the Payout Table for Week 2.

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

*NEW* One More Rule *NEW*

You really thought I'd do two seasons of No-Limit play without one little rule-change? Tsk tsk tsk.

I know, I know. You all probably have your "safe picks" in mind already. You know, the teams that you can reliably expect to finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd every week. So who even needs teams like David/Mary, Lyn/Karlyn, or Tom/Terry?

Every week, the TAR Casino Game will be having something called Loser Bonuses on certain teams. That is, if you bet on a team that did poorly on the previous leg, you will receive a bonus on your wager.

What kind of bonus? A second multiplier, that's what kind. For example, here are the team multipliers for Week 1...

David/Mary (1.3x)
Lyn/Karlyn (1.2x)
Tom/Terry (1.1x)

The Loser Bonus simply factors onto your regular bet by tacking on that bonus multiplier to your score.

Examples
Bet: 30 points - David/Mary
Result: 1st place (2x)
Score: 30 points * 2 * 1.3 = 78 points

Bet: 30 points - Lyn/Karlyn
Result: 6th place (.9x)
Score: 30 points * .9 * 1.2 = 32.4 = 33 points

Bet: 30 points - David/Mary
Result: 8th place (.5x)
Score: 30 points * .5 * 1.3 = 19.5 = 20 points

So, as you can see, you could score a lot of points if one of these teams do very well. Remember though, like in Example #3, the team still has to place somewhat well, however, or you'll continue to lose some points. Don't worry about the scoring, if you're not math-inclined. I'll do it all for ya; all you gotta do is sit back and watch the bonus points roll in.

This will be a permanent feature to this year's game, so pay attention to who the Bonus Teams are each week. If you have any questions about the Bonus and how it's scored, feel free to ask in the thread below.

TAR9 Teams Remaining
David/Mary (1.3x)
Duke/Lauren
Dustin/Kandice
Erwin/Godwin
Kellie/Jamie
Lyn/Karlyn (1.2x)
Peter/Sarah
Rob/Kimberly
Tom/Terry (1.1x)
Tyler/James

Good luck everyone!


Now I need to decide if I want to go for a big payout this week, or do a predictable bet on Tyler/James...