Hundreds of hopeful contestants packed the Steinhafels Furniture store in Downers Grove Thursday, waiting hours for a shot at appearing on The Price Is Right, the CBS game show that has been sending Chicago-area residents through a similar audition ritual all year. Attendees played a version of Plinko right there on the showroom floor, dressed in costumes and hand-lettered signs, all vying for one of just two spots that will eventually lead to a taping in Los Angeles.
A Bucket-List Moment for Some
The scene, first reported by CBS Chicago, included Dawn Worthington, who said she came out wanting to win Price Is Right prizes, and Tennelle Worsham, who showed up in a custom T-shirt and described the casting call as part of her 50th-year bucket list. Richard Panuncialman was auditioning for the second time, according to the station's report, a sign of how many locals keep coming back for another crack at the wheel.
Shelbi Schaden, a teacher, stood out in a bright red blouse, rainbow-colored skirt and gold glittery shoes, telling the outlet that her bright clothing reflects her personality. The station's report noted that simply auditioning made many hopefuls feel like they had already won, even before any names were called.
Only Two Will Move Forward
Despite the hours-long wait, The Price Is Right is expected to choose just two contestants from the Downers Grove event, and those selected will find out in October. That narrow ratio isn't unusual for these regional stops — finalists picked at local CBS affiliate casting calls typically receive round-trip flights to Los Angeles and hotel accommodations to attend a studio taping, according to Patch.
The Downers Grove turnout builds on a pattern CBS Chicago has already established in the suburbs. The station hosted a similar four-hour contestant search in August 2025 at Steinhafels' Orland Park location that drew more than 18,000 pre-registrations, as reported by Southwest Regional Publishing. That Orland Park store had only opened in late 2024, and pairing it with the Downers Grove Steinhafels Superstore suggests the furniture chain has become something of a go-to venue for the network's talent search in the region.
Steinhafels' Footprint in the Suburbs
The Downers Grove store itself carries some local history. It opened in May 2021 at a former Art Van site on Butterfield Road, spans 112,000 square feet, and is supported by a 110,000-square-foot distribution hub established in Bolingbrook in 2022, according to the Daily Herald. Steinhafels is a fourth-generation, employee-owned furniture retailer founded in 1934, giving the casting call a distinctly Midwestern backdrop for a show that films thousands of miles away in Southern California.
Anyone Chosen Faces Strict Rules and a Tax Bill
Not everyone who lined up in Downers Grove would even be eligible to compete. To qualify for Price Is Right auditions, applicants must be at least 18 years old, be legal U.S. residents, and cannot be candidates for public office or employees of CBS, Fremantle, or local sponsors, per rules cited by CBS Miami. Anyone eventually selected also faces background and driver-history checks before making it to the stage.
Winning has its own complications. Under IRS guidelines, game show winnings count as ordinary taxable income based on their fair market value or manufacturer's suggested retail price, meaning California state income tax must be paid or withheld before non-cash prizes are released, according to FindLaw. That tax burden has led some past winners to forfeit high-value items entirely or use cash won in games like Plinko to cover their IRS and state tax bills.
Part of a Show With Deep Roots
The Price Is Right has been a fixture of daytime television since it premiered on CBS on September 4, 1972, and with its 54th season beginning in 2025, it became the longest-running game show in the world, surpassing Chile's Sábado Gigante, according to background compiled by Wikipedia. Host Drew Carey has led the show since 2007, following Bob Barker's 35-year run, and had surpassed 3,200 episodes hosted as of February 2025 per the Los Angeles Times. In February 2025, CBS aired the show's landmark 10,000th episode, featuring $10,000-themed pricing games and a $10,000 donation to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
The show also changed its production home in June 2023, moving from Bob Barker Studio 33 at Television City in Hollywood — where it had filmed for 51 years — to Haven Studios in Glendale, due to a $1.25 billion renovation of the historic Television City complex. Whoever gets the call from Downers Grove this fall will be flown out to compete in that newer Glendale setting, a long way from the Steinhafels showroom floor where they first tried their luck.
