Dancing With The Stars Season 14 Las Vegas Odds For March 29th
I’m off on a road trip today, but, I wanted to get some Las Vegas Odds up before I go for Dancing With The Stars leading up into week 3. Once again, what a difference the odds can make after another week of dances. Last week, the odds makers pegged it for Martina (sadly). They continue to put William Levy in first place and now Gavin DeGraw is in last place (no shocker there). Gladys Knight, Sherri Shepherd, Jack Wagner, and Melissa Gilbert aren’t too far behind. There has been a little switching around in the middle.
William Levy 2/1
Donald Driver 4/1
Katherine Jenkins 4/1
Jaleel White 9/2
Roshon Fegan 8/1
Maria Menounos 8/1
Melissa Gilbert 20/1
Jack Wagner 25/1
Sherri Shepherd 30/1
Gladys Knight 30/1
Gavin DeGraw 50/1
I’m still shocked they keep putting Sherri so low. I think they are underestimating Gladys’ fan base too (as well as Tristan’s). I also think it’s a mistake not to put Maria and Roshon higher? Let’s get Heidi and Court’s thoughts and be sure to tell us your thoughts too in the comments section.
Heidi: A different week, a similar story. Really, think about this. If the hard core fans are getting ticked off at the pimping of William and their favorite gets voted off, what do you think they’re going to do? I’ll tell you what I’ll do and and that is vote like HELL for whoever is left that is better than William, be it Katherine or Jaleel or whoever. Now, this likely plays into the TPTB plans…I’m sure they get revenue from the hits…the only reason William is being pimped is for ratings (which have fallen by 30% over last spring, but that’s a different post) and I’m a firm believer in them not caring who wins as long as the supposed ratings grabbers go a long way. But I have to wonder…is he really a ratings grabber or is that totally manufactured by them without them realizing it?? They are so involved in the pimping that maybe the audience is leading them to believe it’s working. I’ve been in studio audiences before and people get warmed up and jazzed up and encouraged to scream, yell and applaud. So, I wonder. I wonder if it’s translating to votes, because the way they are acting, I kinda doubt it. But we’ll see – you don’t need votes if the judges have their heads up your ass. 🙂 Just ask Bristol Palin.
Courtney: The odds irritate me…and like will continue to do so, until the pimping of William ceases or he’s voted off. I don’t for a minute see him with odds that good to win the MBT – even WITH the ridiculous pimping going on. The fans have already caught on to that nonsense, and seem to also be getting kinda fed up with it. This will reach a point when it backfires – and by that point, it won’t matter if William’s a legitimately good dancer or not. But whatever, oddsmakers, go ahead and buy into the artificially-created hype…for now. I’m still puzzled as to how they’re getting such high odds for Donald – don’t get me wrong, I love the guy and I think he could be a dark horse later this season; but so far, just 2 weeks in, I haven’t seen anything big that has made me think “Wow, this guy is headed straight to the finale!” He’s trying hard, but he’s not at “contender” status yet…at least for me. *sigh* And apparently Jack’s not only not getting any love from the judges, but now the oddsmakers, too – really??? Melissa’s got a better chance than Jack? Not so sure about that one…then again, if the judges continue to give him a hard time, I could see it happening. Beyond that, I guess I kinda sorta agree with the rest of the odds…guess I’m already getting a bit “whatever” at them, and it’s not even week 3 yet 😛
Source: Vegas Odds On
Using the current format, DWTS (imo) doesn’t have much longer. The show has been on for so long that it’s lost some of its novelty, and some of the best pros on the show are either moving on soon or more focused on other things they’re up to in the offseason.
I think the only way back up for DWTS is either to find some way to get several big stars on the show (likely not possible) or to forget about the “no prior experience” thing and just bring on people with buckets of dance experience. They could hope that the increased caliber of dancing would get viewers sort of on its own merit, perhaps.
In any case, ‘sic transit gloria mundi’. It couldn’t last forever.
I think just as many viewers that are drooling all over about William, that there are at twice as many that feel otherwise. But I agree, I don’t see him winning, the novelty will wear thin, just like his hair.
As far as Donald, I think he could be a contender for the finals. Based on my feelings now, my gut tells me that the final 3 could be Donald, Jaleel, and Katherine. But ask me next week and I could have a completely different answer. 🙂
Current indication: the top 3 will be Donald, William, and Katherine. The judges are clearly pushing Katherine to the finals!
William is a more polished dancer than Donald, but the over hyped on William can backfire in the latter phase.
Cheryl needs to step up her presentations for William and do not rely on the sex factor heavily. Sooner or later, the novelty for his hotness will start to wear off and audience will start looking at his true potential.
To this point, Cheryl’s routines are a little underwhelming and not meeting the hype for William.Their Quickstep was too safe and their Cha-cha had flair, but predictable! Cheryl has a perfect raw talent to mold, and i don’t know if she is aware how significant for her to meet up that hype for William on the dance floor! One positive note for William: he hasn’t reached his potential and there are still surprises to be expected from him.
Peta is doing a great job on Donald by challenging him more on his potential and the choreography.
Katherine is beautiful and a huge ringer! She is the equivalent of Nicole Sher of this season.
Steve, ITA the show needs to interject some newness.
1) Replace CA, Bruno + Brooke. I may not always agree w/Len, but he does know what he is talking about and what to look for. I’ve always looked to him to give the “true” read of the performance. Brooke doesn’t add anything extra to the show other than she can relate to the celebs and the process. Keep Tom because the show would never be the same w/o him.
3) Format: I liked the idea someone mentioned that everyone competes to the end and then it is decided who wins. My only fear w/this though is that would mean A LOT for the viewers and judges to remember.
4) Music: Use some of the musical guests for the actual dancing instead of just for the results show. There is so much talent out there, that I don’t think it would be hard to come up w/a line up. It is to add some variety.
5) Do a season where the American Pros compete against the DWTS Pros from another country – sort of like in teams! Celebs are chosen as per normal and done lottery style as to who they are paired to. Or the competing country brings their own celebs w/them.
Ms. Taz
I heard that too about everyone competes to the end and then it is decided who wins. Donald said it and I liked it at the moment!!! But then I thought that this would be great if EVERY season had competitors like season 14 where everyone (almost) is good. If there would be someone like…Kate Goselin for example (and she is not the only) it would be a torture for everyone to watch her till the end! Viewers and judges!!! That’s my fear…not that viewers and judges would have a lot to remember… 🙂
@Sandy – I hope the novelty will wear thin. I think I’m more sickened by Cheryl’s comments and behavior than TPTB trying to brainwash us into believeing he’s a great dancer and the sexiest man alive.
Sorry if I missed this interview or discussion on another thread, but I couldn’t find anything. I caught some of E! News last night. There was yet another interview with William and Cheryl in which the interviewer asked them something to the effect of how they were going to top their performances. Cheryl chimed in and answered, “Making babies!” What?! After the g-string comment and all of the other lascivious ones she’s made, I’m beginning to think that Cheryl is devoid of any substance or just plain desperate to win another MBT and/or a man.
@Ms. Taz – I like some of your suggestions, especially 1 and 5. CAI definitely needs to go. Bruno seems to know a bit more about correct technique than CAI does, but with some of his blantant overscoring this year I’m thinking he should go too.
@Ashley J – Cheryl’s behavior this season is disgusting. I honestly can’t believe she is acting like this.
I agree, and Cheryl. William, if the judges are to be believed, is supposedly some “dance God” that is apparently hypnotizing us into submission….. And, what is it that Cheryl is mentioning, that they’re “bringing to the table?”
“The higher the score, the more comes off”
“Making babies”
Ummmmm……. How about his technique and some exciting choreography, or hard work, practice and stuff like that? Focusing on his looks instead of how hard he’s working, and how well he’s improving makes me think neither are really invested, and even she feels he isn’t very good.
As for the other 2 the odds makers had in the top 3, Donald is the only one that I’m rooting for….. For now, anyway, as long as PETA doesn’t overdance him, I like Donald. And we do have pros who consistently overdance, and they aren’t on my list of favorites.
William has potential put I think he doesn’t have the drive and desire to make it to the finals. He’s just eye candy which is good for ratings.
sick to death of all this take your clothes off rubbish around william….even if i thought he was a good dancer which im not sure he is ,all this talk about what he looks like would turn me off and Cheryl is annoying me with it too….didnt need to do any of that really with gilles but then he could dance 🙂 i hipe one of the quiet unassuming ones sneaks up and takes it this year, fed up of so called ratings grabbers.;-(
meant hope 🙂
Heh. Americans against the Europeans?? Been done and won, IMO. 🙂 It’s a mistake to think that the producers care which pro wins, IMO. There’s no change there – except the lottery style which they will never do, and wouldn’t work anyway because many would complain regardless. That’s been proven. They aren’t going to take a tried and true formula that combines height, personality, drama and change it in some misguided attempt at fairness. It’s NEVER going to be fair. Do it lottery style and Mark ends up with a woman that is 6 foot tall – I not only would not enjoy watching that, but it would hardly be “fair”.
Replace CAI and Bruno?? People were wanting Samantha to be fired because they thought she sucked…and look how that turned out.
This show isn’t going anywhere – it was number 2 or 3 for the week in viewers and demo or not they’re not going to do away with a money making show. People are still watching it. People always want to change things, but every time something is changed people still complain and often it’s not a change for the better. Winner Take All Cha Cha anyone??
Oh, the everyone stays to the end idea?? No good – part of the DRAW of this show, Idol and the Voice is that people get to have their say every single week. Not to mention the money to be made from site hits. It is, in a small way, interactive – why do you think they keep doing design a dance?? It’s certainly not a big draw, ratings-wise. They do it so the viewers feel like they are more a part of the show.
Well, if you can’t win with good dancing….
I’M thinking season 14 will be an all male final. In no particular order, I see William, Roshon and Jaleel.
I’d prefer Jaleel, Roshon, and Donald.
@Ifigenia: Thanks fore that! I couldn’t remember for the life of me who had said it when I was pulling the post together!
@Ashley J: Yes, that is why I want Bruno to go, but I think that is also half the reason why they are keeping him. They never know what he is gonna come out w/next and especially over the last few seasons he’s been judging w/no filter!
@Heidi: Not everything is a negative hun! Ok, so I get the point w/the lottery. But would you not agree that seeing what some new Pros could bring to the table be interesting? As for Brooke, a lot of the Pros instruct their celebs to consult w/her if they have questions etc. For that reason I can’t see it happening. However, Carson and Drew Lachey both have the same experience as Brooke and we all know that those two can do the better if not on par job as Samantha.
Ohohoh, I almost forgot!
@Sandy: How are the lessons comin hun? Guiellermo treating you OK?
DWTS has had new pros over the seasons and none of them are terribly impressive thus far. As far as I’m concerned, only Tristan appears to be successful and possibly Val. But then you have Lacey and Chelsie – Chelsie does fine, but Lacey has a lot of weaknesses. Even Chelsie isn’t as strong in ballroom as many of the older ones. Then there’s Dmitry and Damian, and Anna Demidova. That’s what? 3.5 out of 7? Clearly, you can’t just plug a new pro into the show and have it be great.
It’s just that you guys are talking like these are new ideas, not ideas that have already been tried with very limited success. Be careful what you wish for. And remember that no matter what they do, someone will be pissed off.
@Heidi:
Well said hun. I understand your pov. I don’t think we’re talking like they are new ideas. It is just brainstorming over what could be done to freshen everything up-even if it is just for one season. Several of us have mentioned in other threads how predictable the show is becoming. Hell we could all write the script by now and not be far wrong! Whenever that happens, it drains some of the fun out of it. Just because something has been done once badly, doesn’t mean it can’t be redone successfully! But what do I know? Lol! 🙂
@Princess Heidi (#19) The devil you know… Like Samantha & Brooke… Now that I’ve watched one old season, Samantha seems like freaking Diane Sawyer compared to Brooke.
While I can’t stand some of the judging thus far this year and as much as I would like to see CAI go, I do think there are drawbacks to fixing what isn’t broken. Think about what happened when American Idol started messing with the judges…
@Princess Heidi : I agree with you. I think Val, Thristan, and Chelsie are the most successful new pros/made a big impact on the show. Lacey as well but its not what she does on the show that is bad its her big mouth that gets her in trouble (she caught that from Maks I guess). Anna D was great but in essence was an Edyta replacment and to be honest she couldn’t fill edyta’s shoes.
I wish they would have given damien another chance and dymetry annoys me but is a great dancer. The jury is out on Peta still. Gotta see a jive from her first.
I see an all male finale too.
in no particular order
1) william
2) roshon
3) jaleel
with the very strong possibility of donald sneaking in for roshon or jaleel
the finale i would want would be as of week 2
1) roshon
2) jaleel
3) maria or katherine (havent decided between them yet)
ive got nothing against william, but i need to see more improvement, before i think he deserves to be in the final
I could be wrong, but I don’t think William is going to make it. We’ll see. I certainly don’t think he’s finale worthy at this point.
William is all sex and no substance, in my opinion. And I thought Cheryl was more professional than resulting to using sexuality to get votes. Then again, sex sells, doesn’t it?
I still don’t miss Samantha. To me, Brooke was a breath of fresh air when she joined as co host. Was she the brightest host? By no means. Did she drastically change the way we view DWTS? No. But let’s face it, Brooke is not only beautiful to look at but she makes us laugh. Of course, this is not intentional 99% of the time but she always has us talking. And come on, the Cheesecake Awards wouldn’t have been born with out Brookie B 😉
Hmmm, I must be missing something with Roshon, he seems nice like a nice kid and all, but making it to the finals, I just don’t see it.
This William thing is really gonna Piss Me Off if some of my favorites are taken out for this “hunk of beef” (I don’t think he’s a hunk by any means, it just fit the description) that they are promoting so heavily.
And I think it’s time that Cheryl take some time off, she has lost her sense of direction as a professional. Time for her to regroup and get out the “Guide to being a Professional Dancer/Teacher/Mentor Handbook”……
I couldn’t pull up the video you guys last posted on William and Cheryl until last night. For some reason my BB kept closing the page on me.
After watching it though, it kind of confirmed what I had been thinking about her. Over the last three seasons or so I’ve noticed a change in her. I think the words would be “assertive” and “I don’t care what anyone thinks” sum it up.
If anyone has been watching the GSN episodes, and they compare it to now she is like night and day. It’s a shame because she is and slowly becoming was my fav female Pro. I don’t like this new side of her at all and I’m having a problem pin pointing exactly what kicked this all off.
As far as William is concerned, judging by what some other discussion boards, twitter + fb pages, the fans are echoing everything we are saying here. They are becoming tired of it real quick. So, with that said, even though TPTB want to keep him around, the fans may just answer that in the negative w/their votes.
@Ms. Taz – Very well said.. 🙂 Yup, even if they back off with the William pimping the damage has been done. I think the viewers will speak with their lack of votes and rather sooner than later….
Oh and by the way, Guillermo says “Hi” and Thank you!!! 😈
I’ve decided that we need some T-shirts here….
The first says, “I didn’t drink the William Kool-Aid, and proud of it!” I’d wear this one.
Thanks Sandy!
*Waves Hi back at Guillermo*
What a gentleman! 😛 LOL
LOL Lori!!!!!!!! Good One!!!! Love it!
Here’s mine: Pic of an owl with eyes like this 😯
Underneath says: William Who?
Lori & Ms Taz- Sign me up for the William T-shirts. LOL Thanks for my Friday laugh. So glad I dislike KoolAid.
Sign me up too!
Seriously, this William thing is so out of hand. Next thing you know there will be ladies (and maybe Bruno) in the front row (and Cheryl also) waving dollar bills….. BARF!!
#Sandy- Whoo, bad visual…Bruno throwing $ bills.
I’m starting to wonder if they went around LA looking for William fans so they can seed the audience with them. That really is the impression I’m getting since I don’t see that much worship for him anywhere.
Oh, Good thought, like “inside plants”…. Would they be that dirty?
Happens all the time, Sandy. 🙂
@Heidi,
I have always wondered about this with audiences, especially when the show is being taped live.
I haven’t had the opportunity to attend a taping of any show, let alone DWTS. But do you or anyone else know the break down?
For example: # of seats reserved for Pros, Celebs and their guests, past partcipants, VIPs etc
Heidi, sure hope you’re right about more hype than substance to the hoopla for Mr. McTeeny Head. I would laugh my who-hah off if he got booted about midway….and then I’d have to open an extra bottle of champagne. Not a Kool-Aid drinker either, literally or otherwise!
From what I understand, the floor level of the audience is reserved for friends & family of the celebs & pros, as well as any other miscellaneous VIP’s (i.e. stars of a new ABC show that they’re plugging, past celebs & pros). The balconies are the “general admission” seating for regular folks who got tickets to the taping. From what I’ve seen, the greatest amount of hoopin’ and hollerin’ about William has come from the balconies and the back rows of the floor seats…and if the floor seats are for VIP’s, it makes sense to me that the further back you are, the less of a VIP you are 😛 So I don’t think it’s a stretch to conjecture that there may be some creative “seeding” of the audience going on…maybe William’s publicist/manager handing out VIP tickets to members of his fan club. Who knows…but weirder things have happened.
And yes, the audience is very much “coached”, like many live audiences. When my bf and other teachers from his studio went to the show as guests of Corky back in season 8, I remembered he said something about the show being “very choreographed”, with the production staff instructing the audience on how to clap, when to clap, when to clap louder, when to remain calm, etc. He also complained about how the audience has to do a lot of waiting around – I believe they herd the entire audience in and have them seated at least a full hour before showtime, and you’re not allowed to bring in cell phones, cameras, etc. I dare you to take away a man’s iPhone and see how cranky he gets 😛
TY so much Courtney for the insight!
I knew about the coaching and also the waiting around part. Three of my colleagues from work do health segments on Breakfast Television. Similar to that of bringing on Dr. Gupa or Dr. Oz. That show is taped w/a live audience. It was kind of neat to hear all of the “back stage” happenings.
I wouldn’t doubt that TPTB retain some hmmmm “creative control” in that department. I’m sure other shows do it as well.
While we are “Brad Pitt” and Katherine on just about every channel with a sprinkling of Melissa, Jaleel, Rochon Sherri and Jack I am seeing nothing on Donald, Maria, or Gavin, with the exception being “Extra” and if the judges keep overscoring some of them every week, it will kind if seal their fates, don’t you think? I’ve even seen more coverage on the person booted off than on these 3 over the past several days.
Courtney is right – and ALL Studio audiences are highly coached and they usually have a warm up person to get them jazzed up. Not only do they wait in the studio for a while, they are also seated outside for a good while before hand – you’ve seen video of the audience sitting outside where someone (Carson or Sabrina) goes around and talks to them, right?
I will add that you almost have to know someone to get into this show unless you live in the LA area and can go at the drop of a hat. I’ve had MANY people tell me that they get notified on Saturday for a Monday night show. I had some friends go recently and one was told on Monday that she could have a ticket to the tuesday night results show. It’s that quick – and if it is like other studio audiences there is NO guarantee that you will get in with a ticket. If one of the celebs brings ten friends, people with tickets could get the boot. I’ve also had a couple people tell me that once you get on the lot, it’s not that hard to get around. My friends took a picture of themselves in the skybox after the show. Another friend had been chatting with Joanna Krupa before the show and when Joanna found out that she was coming to the show, she invited them to her trailer and they just walked back there – saw Derek wandering around being hyper, as I recall. They waited in her trailer for her – the security didn’t like it that they went back there, but didn’t stop them on Joanna’s say so. I think (although I could be mis-remembering) that Joanna got them floor seats instead of balcony.
If you look at the audience closely – especially in the balcony – you can see someone whipping what looks like a towel around which is the signal to clap and scream like crazy. I’ve seen it in many episodes, but you really have to look for it. I see it mainly because I watch the shows several times in order to write a few of the blogs we do. Frankly, I think in recent seasons they’ve been doing the job too well because the audience interaction (booing for example) is just out of control ridiculous.
Thanks Heidi! 😀
Interesting to know! It was just one of those curious questions “that float around your brain” things. I didn’t know if any of you here had actually been at a taping.
Some of the shows work that way up here too. You can call and get tickets no problem. The tickets have a one week expiry date. Then they send you a schedule for taping days. You show up (wait outside like you mentioned) and it is first come, first served sorta thing. Just because you have a ticket doesn’t mean you automatically get a seat. Some of them allow standing room only in the green room, so you are backstage so to speak and watching on large screens.
That was one heck of an upgrade those people received! WOW! Then they get trailor access? SCORE!!
Thanks for the info hun, and thanks again Courtney!
I don’t why they keep calling him “Brad Pitt”… Brad Pitt he ain’t, not even close.
[…] an interesting shake up for the Las Vegas Odds this week compared to last week. We’re not seeing so many ties. The odds makers have put William first again, but, note how […]