There will be “Fear” and loathing in Las Vegas when NBC’s hit reality series “Fear Factor” makes its inaugural road trip and heads to the popular Vegas attractions of “The Strip” and “Fremont Street Experience” where three men and three women will face their fears as they match wits and physical competition to win $50,000 - or much more -- in a special 90-minute episode for broadcast in spring of 2003.
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In additional to being the first time that “Fear Factor” and host Joe Rogan have traveled out of the greater Los Angeles region to tape an episode, for the first time in the history of the hit reality series, the general public will be allowed to witness two of the outrageous stunts being attempted by the contestants.
Sunday night, January 5, 2003 (8:00p.m.-12:00midnight), the public is invited to gather at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas to witness the taping of the first stunt of the episode which will take contestants to the ceiling of the Experience -- 90-feet above a four-block section of a pedestrian promenade located in the city’s “neon center.” Details of the stunt remain secret, as they cannot be revealed until the moment the contestants learn them during the episode.
Wednesday night, January 8, 2003 (8:00p.m.-12:00midnight) the public will be offered seating in specially constructed bleachers outside the Luxor Hotel and Casino (on “The Strip” - Las Vegas Boulevard) with it’s architecturally unique 36-story pyramid which is three-fourths the size of the Great Pyramid at Giza. One can only imagine what the producers and stunt experts of “Fear Factor” have in mind for the contestants out on the more than 30 stories of dark bronze, sloped glass walls at a 39-degree incline.
The Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino will host two other challenges: one in the exclusive Presidential suite, which normally hosts only the highest rollers, where the series will mix its typical gross-style of challenge with a gaming twist; and the finale in the casino when the episode champion will be required to bet half of his or her winnings on one hand of blackjack. For once, this final stunt can be revealed, as there is no way to prepare for a challenge against Las Vegas’ legendary “lady luck.”
In each pulse-racing “Fear Factor” episode hosted by Joe Rogan six contestants recruited from across the nation must decide if they have the guts and determination to face their most primal fears. Under the supervision of professional Hollywood stunt coordinators, contestants are confronted with a series of challenging stunts.
“Fear Factor” is a production of Endemol Entertainment USA. The executive producers are Matt Kunitz (“Dog Eat Dog”) and John de Mol (“Big Brother”).