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How One Northwest Family Conquered 'The Price Is Right'

Will James
/
KNKX
From left: Tina Goss, Bret Goss, and Darlene Goss in Tina and Bret's Chehalis, Wash., home

This story orginally aired on February 24, 2018.

If you've ever stayed home sick from school or played hooky from work, you've probably found yourself watching "The Price is Right." 

It takes one look at the TV game show's screaming, jumping live studio audience to realize: This show has some pretty intense fans.

One Northwest family may rule them all.

No fewer than three members of the Goss family have been told to "Come on down!" and compete on the show over the past 22 years. All three walked away with prizes, with two members of the family winning "showcase" hauls worth tens of thousands of dollars.

KNKX reporter Will James visited the Goss family in Chehalis, Wash., to learn about how they made winning "The Price is Right" into an art, a science, and a family legacy. 

"When we knew we were going down, it was crunch time," said Tina Goss, the family's most recent victor, whose episode aired in December. "It was study."

Bret Goss, her husband, competed in 2013 and bonded with host Drew Carey over their service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

"We moved around a ton," Bret said of his childhood. "My father was in the hotel business, and so it was from different property to different property. And so there was one thing usually consistent. It was the television that had 'Travelodge' in the side of it, and 'The Price is Right' that would come on throughout the summer months."

Darlene Goss, Bret's mother, who lives in Lincoln City, Ore., started it all with an impromptu drive to Los Angeles in 1996. She walked away with a dining room set and a chandelier, but fell short of the grand prize.

She's not done, though.

"Oh yeah, I'll try again," she said. "Oh yeah, I'll be down."

Will James is a former KNKX reporter and was part of the special projects team, reporting and producing podcasts such as Outsiders and The Walk Home.