Erik Estrada, the 1980s TV hunk and multiple-time “Sexiest Man Alive” cover boy, is loving his newest role: game show host.
But you won’t find him tossing out trivia questions or pitting family against family on the Game Show Network.
He’ll be doing it live at a casino near you, including Casino del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road, on Sunday, Oct. 1.
Estrada is hosting “America’s Greatest Game Shows Live,” in which contestants compete in games inspired by the classic TV game shows including “Name That Tune” — their version is “Name That Song” — and “The Newlywed Game” — here it’s “The Not-So Newlywed Game.”
Contestants are selected in a drawing from among casino regulars who swiped their player’s cards at the casino from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1. You don’t have to have a player’s card or swipe one to attend as a spectator, though, casino officials said.
“It’s so much fun. You will laugh and laugh and laugh, and it’s easy to win,” Estrada said from his home in California last week, then segued to ultimate game show pitchman mode.
“People have the opportunity to play. Everybody in the house will win something, but someone in the house will get the chance to play for the $100,000 grand prize!” he said. There is $35,000 in prize money up for grabs at the Casino del Sol competition.
He’s given away the $100,000 grand prize just once in the three years he’s hosted the show at casinos around the country after taking over for game show hosting legend Bob Barker.
“I love giving it away. It’s so much fun,” said Estrada, the 68-year-old father of three whose 17-year-old daughter still lives at home. “People will have a good time, that’s for sure.”
All that money at stake aside, Estrada admits one of his favorite aspects of hosting “America’s Greatest Game Shows Live” is what happens on stage.
“You never know what people are going to say on stage, and it’s live” said Estrada, who played California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer Frank “Ponch” Poncherello in the late 1970s-early ’80s TV series “CHiPs.”
One time, a not-so newlywed bride was asked to compare her groom in the romance department to a burger: Is he a Quarter-Pounder? Big Mac? Or where is the beef?
We can’t repeat her answer in a “family-friendly newspaper,” but suffice it to say it got some booming laughs.
“You gotta figure, there’s 1,200 people in my audience. There’s a roar,” said Estrada, who over the years turned his TV cop gig into a real-life law enforcement stint complete with finishing police academy training in 2008 and serving with the Muncie (Indiana) Police Department.
“Greatest American Game Shows Live” is a fully produced show, with special effects and plenty of bells and whistles, the host said.
“There’s a lot to it,” he said. “And I have a good time doing it at my age. It’s like going to your house on a Saturday and playing some games. It’s a piece of cake for me; I totally enjoy it.”
This is not the first time Estrada has been to Tucson, but it is his first big public appearance. His other Tucson appearances have been at private and corporate events, he said.
