“Come on down!”

Those words have been ringing in the collective TV conscience of America since 1972 when an updated version of “The Price is Right” debuted on CBS with host Bob Barker. With its simple premise of “guess the price and you win,” it has created a legion of fans of all ages (the show is remarkably popular with the college crowd, who you’d think would have something better to do at 10am weekdays).

So turning the TV experience into a live-action stage show is a great idea, and putting it in Las Vegas at Bally’s, a city known for drawing all types of people who want to win something, was downright genius.

Hosted by Roger Lodge (you may remember him from another TV phenom called “Blind Date”), “The Price is Right Live” has all of the elements you’ve come to know and love from the TV version: contestant’s row; the showcase showdown; and beloved games like Hole-in-One (or Two!), Cliff Hangers, The Race Game, and the holy grail of TPiR games: Plinko.

And much like the TV version, everyone in the audience has a shot at playing and winning.

At each seat is a handheld, interactive device with A, B, C, and D buttons on it. A quiz is shown on the big screens overlooking the theater with prizes from TPiR shows past. When they say “Go” you have to pick the prizes that were the most expensive and the least expensive and punch in the corresponding numbers on the keypad. The whole thing is hooked into a computer that determines which four people picked the correct answers the fastest and those people are invited to “Come On Down” to contestant’s row.

A standard bidding round follows with one winner getting invited up on stage to compete in a classic TPiR game.

The prizes are not quite as valuable or glamorous as the televised version of the show, of course. We’re talking $100 telescopes and the like for the contestant’s row prizes and things like a washer and dryer combo for the stage games, but that’s nothing to sneer at, really.

Each round gets four new people to contestant’s row and additional quizzes are shown to get people to the big wheel and showcase showdown. The latter features one showcase that two people bid on with the person coming closest without going over winning not the entire showcase (worth about $22,000 including a car on the day I visited) but one prize from the showcase worth a couple of grand. However, if you come closest and are within $250 of the actual retail price, you do win the whole thing including the car.

On the day I saw the show a woman won the washer and dryer in Cliffhangers, a guy lost a cruise with some bad putting skills in Hole In One, a woman walked away with a couple of grand from Plinko, and both of the contestants overbid on the showcase showdown and walked away with nothing. In between rounds they randomly called out names and gave those people points on their Harrah’s Total Rewards cards and others got t-shirts.

Out of the hundreds of people in the audience about 25 or so actually got a chance to get up and play a game and another 25 or so got Total Rewards credits. I wasn’t one of them, but it didn’t change my enjoyment of the show. It’s fast paced and while Lodge is no Bob Barker, he’s a genial presence that keeps things light.

The show costs about $40 and while you may think that’s a lot of money to spend for only a small chance at actually winning something, it’s probably much, much better odds than you’re getting in the casino.

A couple of quick notes… You must be 21 or older to participate in the games (registration is required beforehand) but younger folks can watch. Also, the lines to get into the theater once you have your tickets is crazy long but seats are pre-assigned so there is absolutely no need to stand around for 45 minutes waiting for the doors to open.