Locals try to make a "Deal"

BOSTON - Thousands of hopefuls waited in line for hours on Saturday to try their luck at an open casting call for the game show “Deal or No Deal.”

The line stretched down two flights of stairs and into the main lobby of Seaport Hotel at the World Trade Center. The casting call was advertised to start at 10 a.m., but production assistant Brian McGuire said people had started showing up hours earlier.

Each person hoped for the chance to win a million dollars on the popular television show. On the program, twenty-six women wearing glamorous dresses hold up numbered cases hiding different sums of money. A contestant chooses one box to put aside, and then eliminates the others one by one. He or she aims to uncover small amounts of money in each round, to make it more likely that the chosen case holds something larger. Host Howie Mandel temps the contestant with counter-offers throughout the game in exchange for walking away.

McGuire helped control the crowd when people at the front of the line started to get rowdy and push others out of the way.

“Only come in if I point to you,” he instructed. “Don’t worry, everyone is going to get in today.” He said that the turnout was much larger than he had expected, and that he was surprised at how early people had come that morning.

Martha McDonald, 60, of South Boston, had been on line for over four hours before she made it to the front.

“I wasn’t thinking,” she said. “I thought this would be exciting… but it’s not anymore. I feel like there’s no light at the end of this tunnel.”

“Could I make it? No, no chance. No deal!” she said. “I didn’t dress up, like some people… but I’m a dreamer. That’s why I’m here.”

McDonald was referring to people like Northbridge resident Talia Luther, 34, who came to audition wearing a red evening gown and carrying a silver case, emulating the women on the show. Lambert said she wanted to stand apart from the crowd.

Others held signs and balloons advertising their hopes to be chosen. Earlier in the day, said McDonald, she even seen a man in a fisherman’s outfit.

Kimberly Ling, a 27-year-old from Quincy, was lucky enough to skip the line. Ling works at Emerson University, where the “Deal” casting director is an alum, and was offered a VIP pass.

“This is totally outrageous, something I would normally never do,” said Ling. “But it’s my birthday, and why not? This is about taking chances, and I’m already having so much fun.”

Ling looked over the application, which included questions from “What is your most embarrassing moment?” to “Can you rollerblade?” She was satisfied with most of her answers but knew she needed to write something that would make her stand out. She found her chance with the last question, which asked what she would do with a million dollars.

“My future significant other could spot me when I appear on national television after being chosen for the show,” she wrote. “We could have a dream wedding with all that money…. and Howie could be the minister. Instead of saying ‘I do,’ we would each say ‘deal’ or ‘no deal!’”

Other contestant hopefuls had a variety of reasons for wanting to appear on the show.

Mike Delacorte, 27, thought the judges might consider his status as a young, single father when making their decision. “Getting on would be a thrill,” he said. “I have a son, and I’d love to make money for the two of us. Plus, he’d get a kick out of it.”

Delacorte, of Providence, became another VIP when he was the lucky caller on a local radio station.

Kathy Connor, a 55-year-old from Duxbury, said she knew she was ready for an adventure.

“I was a flight attendant in Desert Storm, so I’m ready for anything,” she said. She wrote a book about her experience in the war, and said she would use any money she won on the show to publish it and raise funds for injured troops.

George D’Angelo, 41, of Lynn, must have impressed the judges, because he was chosen to advance to the second round of the competition. He ran out of the judging room exclaiming with joy, and shared his thoughts on why he was successful.

“The trick is to be yourself, be spunky, be smiling, have energy… don’t be an obsessive fan of the show,” he said.

D’Angelo and others who made it through Saturday’s auditions were invited back for a second round on Monday. According to McGuire, the casting team will give more in-depth, personal interviews to see if they can find the best contestants for the show.