WHAT 'PRICE' FAME? ULTRA-EARLY ARRIVAL IS KEY TO GETTING ON THIS SHOW.

Byline: Melissa Heckscher

Staff Writer

So you can guess the price of a Presto Salad Shooter or a bottle of Citracal, and, within a hundred dollars or so, the price of a sleep set and a car.

You've got a strategy for Plinko, you know how to play Flip-Flop, and you're strong enough to spin the Big Wheel.

In short, you're ready to be the next contestant on "The Price Is Right."

But how do you get there?

In short -- you wait in line.

"People are coming earlier and earlier," says "The Price Is Right" producer Roger Dobkowitz, who has been with the show since it debuted on CBS in 1972.

"I feel bad because people come at 4 o'clock ... in the morning, and they think that's early enough."

It's not. Dobkowitz says the person at the front of the line arrived at 4 p.m. the day before the show.

The CBS Television City studio gates open at 8 a.m., but "order of arrival tickets," which determine where you'll be seated should you make it to the studio, are handed out at 6 a.m.

By sunrise, hundreds will be waiting with hopes of scoring one of the studio's 325 seats.

The sidewalk scene hasn't always been so frenzied. Though there's always been a line in the morning, Dobkowitz says the sudden surge in early, early-morning hoopla happened shortly after host Bob Barker announced he would retire June 28.

Expert contestant

"Our fans are extremely dedicated," Dobkowitz said. "People come very early in the morning and they make friends. I constantly hear from contestants on the stage, 'It's a party out there.' "

Theodore Ott can vouch for that. The night auditor at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel across the street from CBS studios has been on the show more times than he'll say.

"It's kind of embarrassing; I keep going," Ott says. "I find that the line is as much fun as the show. And I love the show."

Ott has become the unofficial go-to guy for "The Price Is Right" hopefuls. Every night before a taping, he teaches a free workshop at the hotel for guests seeking to "Come on down."

"We've got a limited time to cover what will take you all of tomorrow to live," he'll say in all seriousness, conducting his hourlong workshops with the rigidity normally reserved for classroom lectures. "I'll take no questions until the end."

Laugh if you will, but his workshops seem to work. Hanging as proof on the lobby walls are at least 50 Polaroids of "Price" winners, former hotel guests, smiling for the camera with their name tags still pinned to their shirts. (Ott makes guests promise to come back for a photo if they end up winners.)

No heir up there

Barker, 83, announced his retirement last October after 35 years of hosting the hourlong show. According to Dobkowitz, "The Price Is Right" is still looking for his replacement.

Nobody has been named yet, but Barker says he'll finish his last show like he always does, with a simple, "Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered."

That show, Dobkowitz says, is going to be a tough ticket to earn.

"I have a feeling people will be camped out for a week before that one," he said. "Other than that, it's going to be a regular 'Price Is Right' show."

4 ways to score tickets

If you would like to request free tickets to "The Price Is Right": Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, with a note specifying the date and quantity of tickets needed (maximum of 10 per written request) to "The Price Is Right" Tickets, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. (This is also the location where the show is taped.)

Pick up tickets at "The Price Is Right" ticket booth at 7800 Beverly Blvd. Tickets are available from two weeks prior to the tape day up to the day before. The ticket booth is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. A maximum of 10 tickets per person can be picked up.

Tickets do not guarantee admission. You must still wait in line.

For more information, go to www.cbs.com/daytime/price/tickets (in addition, online ticketing will begin April 1), or call the show's ticket office at [phone] or the 24-hour information line at [phone].

-- M.H.

12 ways to get on stage

1) Get there early. The earlier the better -- even the day before.

2) Leave your cell phone and camera in the car. You will walk through a metal detector, and all phones, cameras and other electronic devices will be held until show's end.

3) Prepare for your "audition." Show contestants aren't chosen at random. Producers interview every person in the audience before the show. If you want to stand out, try the following:

Be enthusiastic and inventive with your answers, but be yourself. (Show producer Roger Dobkowitz said producers can always spot a faker.)

Know the show.

Know some games just in case you're asked about them.

4) Look neighborly. Show producers say they have no agenda when they choose contestants (other than finding "fun, enthusiastic people"). However, Ott said, people who "look like the neighbor from down the street" tend to fare best when it comes to making the cut. He recommends shirts with names of home towns, favorite teams or schools as good wardrobe picks.

5) No brand-name logos.

Though not forbidden, Ott said they drastically reduce your chances of getting chosen.

6) No costumes.

7) Girls -- no tube tops. In 1977, one contestant lost hers running to the stage.

8) Go to the bathroom before the show. (You know why.)

9) Bring food. It's a long wait.

10) Bring valid ID.

11) Bring folding chairs for the line. Once you get your ticket, you'll have a chance to put the chairs back in your car.

12) Be 18 and over.

-- M.H.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Above: Nicole Holmes, with longtime host Bob Barker, spins the Big Wheel on the Showcase Showdown during the taping of "The Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular," airing May 6. Below: Camping out in line for tickets is part of the experience. Producer Roger Dobkowitz says he hears from contestants that "it's a party out there."

Box:

(1) 4 ways to score tickets (see text)

(2) 12 ways to get on stage (see text)