Drew Carey Cliff Lipson/CBS
The Price Is Right celebrates its historic 10,000th episode on February 26, 2025
For the past 53 seasons, lucky Price Is Right audience members have been invited to “come on down” and take a spin on “The Big Wheel”, in hopes of winning a grand prize of their dreams. The modern version of Price Is Right is actually a descendant of one TV’s earliest hits of the same name, which ran from 1956 to 1965 on NBC and later ABC. Starting in 1972, host Bob Barker entertained generations of players with his one-liners before current host Drew Carey replaced him in 2017. The basic gameplay rules of The Price Is Right have largely stayed the same throughout the decades, aside from notable banned prizes and quirky restrictions that fans may not know about.
As the CBS game show celebrates its 10,000th episode milestone, keep scrolling to find out more about The Price Is Right‘s unexpected rules and infamous no-nos:
No Meat Policy
Former host Barker was a noted animal rights advocate who closed every episode of The Price Is Right by encouraging viewers to have their pets spayed or neutered.
Drew Carey has seen it all during his tenure hosting The Price Is Right, including encounters with contestants who’ve shown up drunk or high. “Oh, that happens here all the time. They’ll have a gummy or I’ll smell alcohol on their breath,” Carey, 66, told TV Insider in an interview published on Monday, June 24. […]
The Price Is Right staff adopted Barker’s philosophy by banning all meat products as prizes as well as only using fake veggie props on grills for the showroom floor.
“[Barker] really walked the walk,” Carey told Jimmy Kimmel Live! in February 2025. “People don’t know, I was telling [a Jimmy Kimmel Live!] producer, before I was the host, The Price Is Right was a vegan show. Like, they had no meat products. They had no leather goods [as prizes].”
Following Barker’s retirement, Carey was eventually able to get The Price Is Right to ease up on its ban of plastic steaks, at least.
“Now, we have fake meat,” he boasted to host Jimmy Kimmel.
A Banned Prize
Carey also confirmed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in February 2025 that he doesn’t have a hand in picking the contestants or the prizes – with one exception.
The comedian revealed that he always hated grandfather clocks as a prize option, despite the fact that they were very popular with players.
“There was one prize that bugged me the first season, we would give away a grandfather clock every show,” Carey recalled. “I never got it. Every time there would be a grandfather clock, I’d be there with my mic like, ‘Alright, well, I guess people like grandfather clocks, I’m just going to shut up.’”
After a few years as host, Carey finally complained: “One of the first things I wanted to do … when I finally was able to speak up, was to get rid of the grandfather clocks.”
Guest Restrictions
The Price Is Right encourages people from all walks of life to apply for tickets, though there are certain restrictions. Active CBS employees are not allowed to compete on The Price Is Right because of potential conflicts of interests.
Current candidates for public office are also banned from playing The Price Is Right because of potential violations of ‘Equal Time’ media restrictions. This government-mandated rule requires TV channels and radio stations to provide equivalent access to competing political candidates.
Former Price Is Right contestants are allowed to compete on the show more than once, so long as there is a 10-year gap between appearances. Players are not eligible if they’ve competed on four or more other TV game shows within a 10-year period.
Dress Code
Fans often immediately notice the colorful and, at times, outrageous outfits worn by fans in the Price Is Right studio audience. The show’s producers encourage their audience members to wear brightly-colored and flashy clothing in order to make for a more exciting TV viewing experience.
Bob Barker was a household name in the entertainment industry among generations. Decades before becoming a beloved game show host, Barker was born in Washington. After spending his formative years in South Dakota and Missouri, he and late wife Dorothy Jo Gideon moved to Florida after college graduation, where he began his career in entertainment […]
A notice to prospective audience members states: “Colorful, bright, fun colors are encouraged. Please avoid wearing white colored clothing. If you are wearing something family related or in the spirit of Price Is Right, please make sure there are no corporate logos or suggestive phrases/pictures on any clothing of any kind on the front or back.”
As for what audience members should not wear, The Price Is Right asks for no “shorts or skirts above the knees.” No sandals or open-toed shoes are allowed either, as they may not provide adequate safety protection.
Bribes
Longtime Price Is Right producer Stan Blits confirmed to The New York Post in 2013 that many aspiring contestants have tried to bribe their way onto the show.
“People bring me stuff all the time, but I can’t take anything. Not even a business card,” Blits told the newspaper.
Flattery doesn’t work either. “People will put my face on their T-shirts, but the show can’t be about me. There can’t be an awareness that I am here,” Blits added.
Selling Tickets
Don’t even think about it. If you’re lucky enough to land a ticket to The Price Is Right, there is a built-in restriction that prevents you from trying to sell your spot.
The official Price Is Right ticket listings warn: “Sale of this ticket is prohibited.”
While audience members won’t be able to profit from their ticket lottery draws, The Price Is Right does try to accommodate scheduling conflicts. If an audience member can’t make the date they’ve been assigned, they can easily reserve a ticket for a different episode.
Trading Prizes for Cash
Nope, you can’t do that either. Contestants may not have a use for that pogo stick or archery set they’ve won, but the most they can do is decline to accept a prize. A common misconception is that players can trade in any prizes they’ve won for cash – this is definitely not the case.
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Former Price Is Right winner Aurora De Lucia confirmed on her blog in 2013: “There is no cash value option. They make it super clear in all of the paperwork – you take exactly what you won, or you take nothing. (You don’t have to take every single thing you won – for instance, I could’ve accepted the car, but forfeited the camcorders. But, you can’t trade for a different car, or money, or anything like that.)”
Contestants have to declare any prizes they do accept as income on their federal tax forms and pay any relevant taxes.
Spoiler Alert
Players are not allowed to publicly disclose what they’ve won on The Price Is Right until their episode airs on CBS. This policy was put into place to prevent spoilers from dampening viewers’ interest in the show.
Former contestant De Lucia told Mental Floss in 2013 that there’s “a little winners’ room where we sign all our paperwork.” These forms require players to keep quiet about anything they won until they get permission to share, or risk forfeiting all of their prize winnings.
The Price Is Right airs weekdays on CBS at 11 a.m. ET.