LAST EDITED ON 10-30-08 AT 09:14 AM (EST)

Waterworld!

The good version. The one without Kevin Costner.

This week, the teams went to Cambodia to run around and do TAR-related activities. It was a pretty typical episode, aside from my local CBS affiliate going out halfway through the episode. But that's what CBS.com is for!

Aja/Ty ended up finishing last because of a lack of bunching in this episode and were eliminated. Down to 6 teams now.

Week 5 Results
1st place - Nick/Star (2x)
2nd place - Toni/Dallas (1.3x)
3rd place - Terence/Sarah (1.2x)
4th place - Ken/Tina (1.1x)
5th place - Kelly/Christy (even)
6th place - Andrew/Dan (.4x)
7th place - Aja/Ty (0x)

Placement Clarification

I need to clarify the rankings, due to Terence/Sarah's 30-minute penalty. The results are based on the episode's airing and where the episode showed them finishing. Because Terence & Sarah were accepted to the Pit Stop in 3rd place, they are the 3rd place finishers for this leg. Furthermore, Phil explicitly said (via voiceover) it would be assessed at the beginning of the next leg instead of the end of this one.

Had Phil actually made them wait their 30 minute penalty out before checking in, they would've finished in a later position. Because he didn't, and the episode didn't specify exactly what position they'll start in, 3rd place seems like the correct ruling. I can see a compelling argument either way, but this judgment makes the most sense based on what was shown in the episode.

That being said, the overall scores were pretty good. Pretty modest gains/losses across the board, with few people making huge jumps. Only two people guessed Ken/Tina would finish 4th and be the PAT, which we'll identify presently.

The Perfect Bet Award goes to kidflash212 and louislam, who were the only person to get the PAT bonus right. louislam had been away for a couple weeks, but the absence clearly didn't affect this week's wagering. Way to go, both of you!

The Greatest Gainer Award also goes to kidflash212 for jumping up 10 spots to #26. Amazing what those bonuses will do, huh?

Leaderboard
1. flipxcyd - 226
2. KwietOne - 225
3. CTgirl - 223
4. Yogi - 220
5. 5cats - 198
6. vennui - 185
7. esquire - 178
8. ARNutz - 176
9. beau_30 - 171
10. michel - 166
11. tvgeek401 - 111
12. sarah1234 - 104
13. Jims02 - 83
14. qwertypie - 80
15. Higgs - 74
16. kidflash212 - 74
17. jbenz - 68
18. warp_core breach - 60
19. AddieRacer - 60
20. mia rules18 - 60
21. SilverStar - 57
22. MzTee - 54
23. Weez - 51
24. shilfiell - 49
25. Road Kill - 45
26. dajaki - 43
27. louislam - 39
28. bbenzenberg - 36
29. Ontheroadagain - 33
30. Seana - 28
31. tribephyl - 27
32. Corvis - 24
33. Starshine - 24
34. mrc - 23
35. popeave - 15
36. Quepea - 14
37. FFantasyFX - 11
38. Silver03 - 7
39. ohmyheck - 6
40. IanQuentin - 6
41. Max Headroom - 5
42. Snidget - 4

flipxcyd reclaimed the top spot, but the race is closer than it has ever been. Four players all within 6 points of each other. This week's bonus game could really factor into next week's rankings.

Week 6 Payout Table
1st place - 2x
2nd place - 1.6x
3rd place - .9x
4th place - .8x
5th place - .7x
6th place - 0x

Max Individual Bet - 55 points

This week's table is called "Bottom Heavy." Hey, I gave you a clue last week after the top-heavy one.

Bonus Game - Decision 2008!

As everyone knows, we are currently in the middle of a major election, in which the outcome will shape America's future. You probably didn't know that it's also time to elect the 2008 TAR Casino Grand Poobah.

What, you didn't know there was a TAR Casino Grand Poobah? Shame on you. The TAR Casino Grand Poobah gets to lord over everyone like royalty and be grand marshall at the yearly TAR Casino Parade. For the past several games, the Grand Poobah's name was Borge W. Goosh. But his two terms are over and it's time to elect a new one.

This year's candidates are Brock Llama and Don McLean.

...Yes, that Don McLean. Any singer of "American Pie" would make a fine, although long-winded, Grand Poobah.

Unfortunately, both candidates agree on every single important Casino issue (cocktails, feng shui, playing card style, etc), so they've both resorted to buying your vote to get elected into office.

Since Brock Llama chose to opt out of the TAR Casino public financing, so he has allocated 600 points in bribing money. Don McLean has considerably less to spend, with only 400 points to use.

The gist is this. Everyone who votes for Brock Llama is going to get an equal share of his 600 points. Everyone who votes for Don McLean gets an equal share of his 400 points. It's impossible to not gain points in this bonus game, so just play already! To play, just send me a private message with your vote. I've sent my vote along to a busted player already, so I won't be able to cheat.

For example, there are currently 42 players. If 24 players vote Llama, and 18 vote McLean, the points would go like this.

600 points / 24 voters = 25 points each (Brock Llama voters)
400 points / 18 voters = 22.22 points each (McLean)

However, whichever candidate wins the election, all of their supporters get a 5 point bonus added ontop. In this example, the Llama voters would end up with 30 points each for their bonus. If there's a tie, no one gets squat.

Be very careful, though. Obviously, with more funding and a 5 point bonus, voting for Brock Llama would be a sure way to gain at least 15-20 points. If too many people think that way, it could be a gold mine for a lucky few. Imagine if only 4 people ended up voting for McLean...

600 points / 38 voters = 15.79 points + 5 point bonus = 20.79 points each (Llama)
400 points / 4 voters = 100 points each (McLean)

(I am, however, imposing a 200 Max Bonus Score, on the offchance that everyone but one person votes one way or another. We don't want one player completely running away with this game in Week 6.)

So, sometimes it pays to be on the losing end of an election. Just food for thought. It all comes down to how close you think the TAR Casino election will be.

TAR13 Teams Remaining
Andrew/Dan
Kelly/Christy
Ken/Tina
Nick/Starr
Terence/Sarah
Toni/Dallas

And remember, vote early and vote often! And by "often," I mean "only once, you cheater."

Edited because Brock Llama should be blue, not red. I don't know why I keep doing that.