“Come on down!”
Naperville resident and realtor Jeff Stainer heard those three iconic words on Wednesday’s episode of “The Price is Right,” launching him into a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“I was sitting in the audience, and you have no knowledge that you’re going to be selected, zero,” said Stainer. “They just put you in the audience and put up a flash card, ‘Hey Jeff Stainer, you’re the first contestant to come down on ‘The Price is Right!’ I was like, ‘What the heck?!’ So it was a very exciting moment.”
The results
The excitement would only escalate as Stainer found himself celebrating a winning bid on designer shoes later in the show.
“I actually won that bid by going $1 over the next guy,” said Stainer, laughing.
Stainer would go on to win a 15-day African safari, valued at over $27,000, a price he correctly guessed in the next game.
“[It was] a dream my brother’s always talked about doing but stupidly expensive,” said Stainer. “When Drew [Carrey] came up with the game, you had to pick one of two prices for it. I went with the higher end of that price.”
“We all knew Jeff would win something. He’s just one of those people,” said Sue Daley, Stainer’s former coworker. “He deserves it.”
Making an experience of his watch party
While the episode taped on November 7 of last year, it didn’t air until recently. Stainer made sure the debut became an event to remember. He invited more than 100 friends, family members, and colleagues to fill Center Stage Theater in Naperville to watch the episode, which kicked off with a special message from comedian Colin Mochrie.
“Everyone have a great time. I wish you all luck,” he said. “Thank you for coming this morning.”
After reliving the big game show moments on screen, some audience members were selected to “come on down” and play Jeff Stainer’s version of the game show, with his son Ryan Stainer serving as the announcer.
Fans played classic games like Hole in One, Dice Game, and even Plinko, all on replica set pieces custom-built by Stainer himself.
Replicating ‘The Price is Right’ set
The Naperville realtor spent 400 hours building and engineering all the props, including the famous Showcase Showdown wheel.
“A lot of effort went into detail because I wanted to mimic the colors of the show to make it look and feel as real as it could,” said Stainer.
The free event included real prizes, from a grill and hammock to a 3D printer to a couch and even a $1,000 Amazon gift card, all totaling over $10,000, thanks to local sponsors.
As for his own prize, Stainer plans to take the African safari with his wife sometime next year. Until then, he plans to put all of his homemade game show props in storage with the hopes of one day using them for another event.
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