Bakersfield man ready to press his 'Luck' on game show
Aug. 24—When it came time to "Press Your Luck," a Bakersfield man down on his luck was ready.
When Billy Duncan IV applied to compete on the ABC game show — his episode airs Thursday — he was feeling low.
"At the time I was jobless," the 26-year-old said. "I had just lost my job at the previous hotel I had worked at and, being a husband and a father, it was really discouraging."
"I was applying for everything — and I applied for a game show."
Encouraged by his brother-in-law, who noted that Duncan seems to always buy winning scratcher lottery tickets, he applied and decided to include the optional video.
"I thought no one is going to watch this video. I'm wearing a wife beater tank top and my hair is a mess. I feel like I'm super lucky and I'm smiling real huge. Then my son popped up in the video."
His reaction to the appearance of his son, Billy Duncan V, who he describes as "his legacy," helped impress producers, Duncan said.
"One said, 'Your energy was high, your smile was amazing ... and you can do it (win) for your son.'"
The lifelong Bakersfield resident — "I was a (West High) Viking. I bleed green and gold!" — said he had no prior knowledge of the show, either the original version in the mid-1980s or the latest "Luck," hosted by Elizabeth Banks, which debuted in 2019.
To prepare to compete, Duncan turned to Hulu, which streams episodes of the game show.
"While ironing my clothes in the morning and eating dinner at night, I was watching," said Duncan, who is now the general manager at La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Bakersfield North.
He said he learned to love the show and empathize with the contestants.
"I felt their stress. Anytime that Whammy guy came out, he would break my heart as a screen viewer."
Although Duncan can't reveal much about the episode, he did say he strategized a bit but should have "thrown that strategy out the window."
"This is my first appearance on TV, let alone a game show. It's all chance. It is luck."
He named a moment during a trivia round as one of the standouts while filming.
"I've already had the nightmares and crazy thinking about it. ... They kind of give you the answer in the question, but I was starstruck by Elizabeth Banks' greatness. I went blank on a question that probably more than half of America is going to get."
He is still excited to watch the episode with wife Patricia and 2-year-old daughter, Nyla Jade, but only after they attend back-to-school night for his son who just entered kindergarten.
Duncan's episode of "Press Your Luck" airs at 8 p.m. Thursday on ABC. For more on the show, visit abc.com/shows/press-your-luck or facebook.com/TVPressYourLuck.
Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter at @realstefanidias.
