The two-year run of the "Ultimate Blackjack Tour" wasn't CBS' first foray into the world of televised blackjack. No, the "Tiffany network" enjoyed a previous dalliance with the game of 21.
"Gambit" was a CBS-TV daytime game show that ran from September 1972 to December 1976. It first aired the day of the premiere of another game show that ultimately displayed more staying power: "The Price is Right."
The concept re-emerged four years later, in the revamped form of "Las Vegas Gambit," which ran on NBC from October 1980 through November 1981. That show aired from the Tropicana in Las Vegas, thereby going from the "Tiffany network" to the "Tiffany of the Strip." Both incarnations of the show were hosted by — who else? — Wink Martindale.
"Gambit" was played with an oversized regulation deck of playing cards. Two married couples buzzed in to answer questions. The couple that answered correctly first got control of the next card off the deck. The first card was shown before the next question was posed. Subsequent cards were dealt face down.
The couple in control of the card deck either added the card to their own hand or forced their opponents to take the card. The object of the game was to get your hand as close to 21 as possible without going over. (Card values were identical to those in blackjack.) After receiving a card, the couple elected to freeze their hand, in which case no more cards could be added.
After a hand was frozen, the opposing couple had to answer questions until they missed one and busted, thereby giving the win to the couple with the frozen hand. If they surpassed the score of the couple whose hand had been frozen, they won outright.
A hand of exactly 21 won a jackpot that began at $500 and rose in increments of $500 per game. On the original "Gambit," $100 was awarded per game, a sum upped to $250 on "Las Vegas Gambit," and $50 was awarded for each tie game. Two wins took the match and a chance to go through the Gambit Board bonus round.
This bonus round featured a large game board, bedecked with 21 cards numbered 1 through 21. The couple then chose a card that revealed a prize and a playing card that augmented their hand. They could elect to stand on a score of 12 or better or continue in the hope of hitting 21. If they busted, they lost all the prizes revealed on the Bonus board. If they hit 21 precisely, they not only won the Gambit Jackpot, but a new car as well.
What distinguished "Las Vegas Gambit" from its progenitor (other than being set on the Strip) was its bonus round. In the Vegas version, 18 cards were used instead of 21 and players could only stand on 17 or higher. Later, the bonus round featured a board displaying the numbers 1 through 9. Contestants rolled the dice to eliminate numbers, with $100 awarded for each number eliminated. If contestants eliminated all the numbers, they won Gambit Galaxy, a prize package that escalated in value until it was won.
According to Wikipedia (but no other source), an earlier version of the "Las Vegas Gambit" bonus round featured 52 audience members, called the "Living Deck," each holding a different card. Allegedly, the audience member holding the card chosen won the same prize as the couple playing the game.
The stop-and-start popularity of "Gambit" in the U.S. was exceeded overseas, where it was taken up by Anglia Television and aired on Britain's ITV network. This version of "Gambit" ran seven consecutive years and ended in 1985. It was emceed by TV news personality, and frequent game-show fixture, Fred Dinenage.
Back in the U.S., ABC-TV attempted a 1990 revival of "Gambit," this time hosted by former "Newlywed Game" emcee Bob Eubanks and with a new format and bonus round. GSN followed in ABC's footsteps a decade later. Neither got picked up — more proof (if any is needed) that what isn't broke rarely requires fixing.
