KEVIN KLAUS

Students and community members wait for their chance to audition for ABC's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Friday afternoon. Tryouts for the show were held at the Marriott Hotel, 880 E. Second St.

Monday August 27, 2001 |

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Long lines, even longer wait to find out who makes it on show

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Apparently, more than 1,500 Tucsonans do.

Tryouts for the hit ABC television show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" were held Friday at the Marriott University Park, 880 E. Second St.

Thomas Aguilar, an electrical engineering junior, had a place near the back of the line of those auditioning. He arrived 30 minutes before the afternoon tryouts were to start only to find that many others had arrived even sooner.

"I've been out here about 20 minutes," Aguilar said.

He said he learned from others in line that morning auditions were running late and that he might face a longer wait than he had expected.

The ability to maintain patience in line and correctly answer questions was not the only qualities "Millionaire" producers are looking for in potential contestants.

According to Rich Sirop, associate producer for the show, personality counts too. Sirop said "Millionaire" is looking for people who are representative of the general public.

"Once you pass the test, then comes the audition - which is basically being yourself," Sirop said.

Qualifiers are selected on the spot. However, Sirop said, a qualifier does not become an official contestant until notified by mail. He said qualifiers can expect their official notification in two to three weeks.

Those notified will be entered in a pool of contestants. Those who will appear on the show will be randomly selected from the pool.

This means a person who qualifies at the Tucson tryouts may have to wait months for a chance to actually appear on the show.

"They have to be ready at any time," Sirop said.

Anthropology freshman Christina Butler has plenty of time to wait for her chance to be on the show. Butler hopes to fund her future education through "Millionaire" winnings.

"I want to go to grad school," Butler said. "I thought this would be a good way to make some money."

However, simply qualifying may be more difficult than it seems. Questions were both multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank. Also, there is no set number of contestants to be chosen from the Tucson tryouts - and then there's the interview.

"If we just don't like anybody, we won't take a single person," Sirop said. "But if we like 50 people, we'll take them all."

Sarah Kostellocky, a sociology senior, commented on the test after her tryout.

"It wasn't too bad," she said. "I wish I had passed."

Kostellocky said the topics ranged from Jennifer Lopez videos to questions about the Iberian Peninsula.

Kostellocky heard about the auditions on television. Sirop said "Millionaire" also advertised on the radio and in local newspapers.

Although the tryouts were not for UA students alone, news of the upcoming auditions spread quickly around campus.

Butler said she read about the auditions on a flier posted in the bathroom of her dorm.

Aguilar said he learned of the tryouts through an e-mail sent to him by a club he belongs to, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

Michael Taday, a biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology senior, simply saw a long line as he drove past the Marriot.

Taday called his friend, Joe Dekker, a biochemistry senior, and the two decided to audition.

"It was for the money," Dekker said.

"We weren't sure if we were going to win the Powerball this week," Taday added.

Both are fans of the show. They regularly play along with the television on Sunday nights. Both said they are pretty good, however Taday said Dekker uses too many "phone a friend lifelines." Dekker denies the accusation.

When asked if he too plays along with the television, Aguilar said, "Who doesn't?"

Aguilar said that meeting the show's host Regis Philbin would be the highlight to appearing on "Millionaire." Dekker is hoping for a free trip to New York.

Sirop said contestants appearing on the show are flown, with a companion, to New York. They are lodged in a "very nice" hotel and provided a $50 per diem allowance by the show.

Auditions were Friday at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Each session was intended to include 400 people, however Sirop said the afternoon and evening sessions had to be expanded to accommodate the more than 1,500 Tucsonans who showed up for the tryouts.