Just Desserts

As a professed Nadiya/Natalie hater, I must say it was amusing to see them complain about Josh & Brent and how they didn't deserve to make it that far. It's kind of a stupid argument considering the twinnies were one of the teams conspiring to get rid of Abbie & Ryan a couple weeks ago. You can make that argument when you see other teams helping a team... But when it's part of your design, you lose the right to complain.

But don't worry. Josh & Brent proved they belonged, after all.

Finale Results
1st place - Josh/Brent (2x)
2nd place - Jaymes/James (1.3x)
3rd place - Trey/Lexi (.7x)
4th place - Nadiya/Natalie (0x)

Locked Out!

When I posted the lockout teams in the finale entry, I jokingly called it the Josh & Brent Underestimation Club. Considering that they were in the middle-to-back of the pack most of the race, we were certainly not that confident in them winning this race. So they were a popular lockout pick.

So, considering they won the race, it made things a little dicey in terms of making a big move. If they were locked out, then it really came down to the bonus game and a 1.3x Jaymes/James payout. But this certainly leaves some room for a comeback further down in the ranks...

Speaking of the bonus, Trey/Lexi said "million" first, just right out the gate in their first confessional.

This week's Greatest Gainer Award goes to Starshine (1.89x), who never gave up hope and made a big bet on Josh & Brent. Big props to Georjanna (1.77x), who also made a big Josh/Brent wager, as well as jbenz (1.83x), who parleyed the bonus game into a nice gain. Congrats!

The Perfect Bet Award goes to both Georjanna, who climbed several ranks from the #9 position from last week. But how many ranks did Georjanna climb? We shall see. Still, congrats on a nice final push.

And now for the final results. It was a pretty interesting final week of bets, especially with the lockouts and how Josh & Brent snagged the unexpected win. It really did leave the game wide open this final week.

(Highlight to reveal the Top 10).

Leaderboard
1. louislam - 791
2. Georjanna - 610
3. Ontheroadagain - 580
4. Yogi - 460
5. CTgirl - 442
6. Belle Book - 384
7. Floyd1 - 383
8. jbenz - 378
9. sarah1234 - 365
10. Starshine - 361
11. flipxcyd - 298
12. chiubakka - 234
13. alemattos - 218
14. Pplys - 179
15. IanQuentin - 178
16. udg - 120
17. Max Headroom - 91
18. MzTee - 89
19. kduck - 76
20. vennui - 65
21. bbenzenberg - 57
22. Snidget - 57
23. popeave - 55
24. taffnic - 21
25. esquire - 21
26. VisionQuest - 13
27. KwietOne - 0

In the end, it was louislam who ended up atop the Leaderboard, becoming the official TAR21 Casino Game Champion, with Georjanna claiming the Silver Medal and Ontheroadagain grabbing the Bronze.

This was a pretty interesting season of the TAR Casino Game in that it resembled the actual race itself in some ways. While louislam did manage to finish in the Top 10 every single week, 1st place could never be reached. It was a constant string of 3rd and 4th place finishes, just keeping up with the leaders. There actually wasn't too much movement at the very top, with flipxycd leading for Weeks 1-4, with Yogi taking over from Weeks 5-10. But, much like Josh & Brent, louislam made the big move when it counted and finally snagged the #1 spot when it mattered.

Georjanna was also a consistent member of the Top 10, finishing there every single week except for Week 1. There were a long string of Top 5 finishes as well, until tumbling to #9 last week. But, as the Perfect Bet Award showed, a great bet in the finale really did the trick. Congrats!

Ontheroadagain's season really proved that you're never really out of the game until the very end. He was able to crack the Top 10 a couple times during the season, but it wasn't until last week that he made his huge move, climbing into 4th place going into the finale. And once he made it, he never looked back. Great job, sir!

Also, big props to flipxycd (4 wins) and Yogi (5 wins) as mentioned earlier for winning several weeks this season. We also had a lot of players with impressive streaks in the Top 10, including sarash1234 (9/10 weeks), Belle Book (9/10), Floyd1 (7/10), CTgirl (7/10), chiubakka (6/10), and jbenz (6/10). I wish I could fit everyone on the list, but my fingers hurts, so a big congrats all around!

louislam is actually an old veteran of the TAR Casino Game, going all the way back to the 2nd round of the game, the TAR6 Casino Game. There were a few close ones (finishing 3rd last year) as well. So it's great to see all those years of playing come together into a big win. Congratulations, louislam, you're now in the TAR Casino Game 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
TAR20 Casino Game - IanQuentin
TAR21 Casino Game - louislam

In the Books

Another season of The Amazing Race has been completed and therefore another TAR Casino Game is complete.

As usual, I want to give a huge thanks to every single one of you for playing! The TAR Casino Game is nothing without its players, from the grizzled veterans like louislam () all the way to the newer players like Floyd1. Because while I can provide the payout table and bonus game each week, it's you guys who keeps this thing going with your wagers.

So thanks a bunch for being the best group of players on the whole interwebs. At this point, I can't imagine watching The Amazing Race anymore without thinking in the back of my mind about what's going on with my wagers. When I busted out of the game midway through, I was pretty bummed out about it.

So, next year then! Y'know, after the Mayan Apocalypse.

If you can think of a way to improve the TAR Casino Game, let me know in this thread and I'll file it away into my overstuffed Rolodex 'o Ideas. Bonus games, gimmicks, payout tables, etc. Or maybe someone has a clever idea to get around the problems of "To Be Continued" episodes. Let me know!

Have a great holiday season folks. See you in the spring!

Expedited the results this year, because I've always thought it was silly to make you guys wait a couple days after everything's always. Just had to will myself to not be lazy this Monday night.