John Guidroz

Lake Charles native Tremaine Collins fulfilled a childhood dream by appearing as a contestant on the long-running game show, “The Price is Right,” earlier this year. He made it all the way to the Showcase Showdown and won more than $30,000 worth of prizes, including a new car.

Collins, 26, now lives in Los Angeles, but he flew to Lake Charles over the weekend to watch the show with his grandparents Monday. As a child, Collins grew up watching the game show with his grandparents. After the show, Collins had a T-shirt made that read, “I’m from Lake Charles & I won the Showcase on ‘The Price Is Right.’ ” He said his grandparents made similar shirts.

During the Showcase Showdown, Collins bid $22,000 for the prize package, which included a 2021 Chevy Spark 2LT, an outdoor wine bar, and a vacation to Tybee Island, Ga. He suspected the other contestant overbid on her prize package. She did, and Collins sprinted over to the car before host Drew Carey finished telling him he won the showcase.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Collins said. “I kept screaming, ‘I’m just a little kid from Lake Charles, Louisiana. This doesn’t happen to us! ‘ ”

Collins first considered applying to be a “Price is Right” contestant during a month-long stop in Lake Charles last December to help out his grandparents. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the show was only screening applicants living in southern California. Collins applied in January, with the interview done over Zoom. He was asked to name his favorite game, which is “More or Less,” and show how he would react if he won a new car.

A month after the interview, Collins saw one of his co-workers on the show. He waited patiently and got an email a few weeks later that said he would be a finalist on the show.

COVID-19 protocol prohibits a full audience on the set. Now, a dozen finalists are invited to the CBS Television City studio where the show is filmed, with nine appearing on the show.

When Collins arrived at the studio April 26, he immediately made friends with the other hopefuls looking to be on the show. 

The show takes about 3-4 hours to film, Collins said. 

Finalists are placed behind a curtain, four on each side. Collins was one of the first called over to “Bidder’s Row.”

“I was like, ‘Oh that’s me,’ ” he said, laughing.

Collins said Carey was very down to earth while speaking with the contestants during commercial breaks.

“He was phenomenal,” Collins said. “I was the first one he talked to.”

It took five tries on Bidder’s Row before Collins got the bid closest to the actual retail price on the featured prize, a MacBook computer. The show’s announcer said Collins’ turn was worth the wait because his next prize up for grabs was a new car. Collins played the game “Gridlock,” but was unsuccessful.

His turn at spinning the wheel secured his spot in the Showcase Showdown. Collins spun .90, just 10 cents shy of the $1 goal.

Collins has 30 days from the show’s airing to pick up the car, with the other prizes being sent to him within that same period. He has one year to take the trip to Georgia.

Despite the show being filmed months ago, Collins said he stays in touch with the other contestants.

“We’ve become like a little family,” he said.

Watching the show Monday was a relief because Collins had to keep it a secret for more than a month.

After Hurricane Laura’s landfall last August, Collins’ employer, Credit Union of Southern California, provided him with money to help pay for hotel rooms and food drives for hurricane victims.

“It was just hard to see,” Collins said of Lake Charles after Laura. “It was way worse than Rita.”

Now that the word is out, Collins said he’s already getting phone calls and messages on social media. He said he will use his new car to drive to and from acting auditions in Los Angeles.

“That’s the best feeling,” he said. “(The car) is mine, if the price is right — and it was.”

As a child, Tremaine Collins grew up watching “The Price is Right” with his grandparents. Earlier this year, he won the showcase.

Lake Charles