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Arlene Richie
Team Chippendales Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis celebrate their “The Amazing Race” Season 21 premiere with a private screening and party hosted by Chippendales and the Rio in the Chippendales Theater at the Rio on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012.
Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 | 7:06 p.m.
Cast of Season 21 of The Amazing Race
The Amazing Race Season 21 Route in Google Earth
The two Chippendales dancers on CBS’ “The Amazing Race” competing on Sunday night’s Season 21 debut against 10 other teams came perilously close to being kicked off the premiere. Jaymes Vaughan and Jaymes Davis started off great rappelling down a 10-story L.A. skyscraper and being in the first group of seven teams to make the fastest flight to Shanghai.
Among their competitors: twins from New York (Natalie and Nadiya), a rocker and an attorney (James and Abba) and the incredible Amy and Daniel -- she lost both of her legs to meningitis and is competing with prosthetic legs. Plus, a pair of lumberjacks (Rob and Sheila), two tall and short substitute teachers (Gary and Will), truckers Rob and Kelley and dating divorcees Abbie and Ryan.
Abbie and Ryan, a dance instructor and a jujitsu trainer, respectively, won on last night’s show. That means if they win the final leg in 10 weeks, they grab the $2 million bounty in the unique incentive. No other team can now win $2 million, but if another team wins the final leg, they’ll get $1 million.
It was a nail-biter right to the end with our handsome hunk Rio headliners. It was fun as each team “lost” playing table tennis against a Chinese champion who used household items, a frying pan, a clipboard and a tambourine to outscore the racers using a regular paddle. Team Chippendales managed to score one point!
James and Jaymes had to use chopsticks to eat a traditional Chinese dessert of frog fallopian tubes inside a papaya. No word yet from the bare-chested brutes as to how it was, but several contestants vomited. A tower where women played abacus was the last stop, but Jaymes and James struggled not knowing if the woman was real life or a statue. Adding to the complication was the deliberately misdirected lies to them by teachers Gary and Will.
As a result, Team Chippendales dropped down to 10th, barely ahead of the lumberjack couple. The final seconds ticked as they duked it out to the finish line, and miraculously the two Las Vegas victors prevailed and compete another week. The only thing I’ve learned is they fare better on the next leg, but their lips are sealed about future challenges.
Season 21 of the Emmy-winning series features the contestants traveling 25,000 miles, and producers promise more terrifying stunts than in any of the previous top-rated seasons. “The Amazing Race” airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on CBS.
Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.
Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.
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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.
Carnival lasts all year at the Rio. With a float occasionally passing overhead and dropping beads while feathered dancers fire up the gamblers below, the Rio tries to keep its 120,000-square foot casino jumping with excitement. Special Brazilian mixed-drinks are also served throughout the casino. The hotel suites tend to be larger than similar priced rooms on the Strip and many offer excellent views with floor to ceiling windows.
The Rio offers some quality shows like "Penn & Teller" and "Chippendales." Many come to the Rio for the nightlife at the VooDoo Lounge, located on the 51st floor, or McFadden's Irish Pub on the casino level.
Others come for a bit relaxation at the Rio Spa or pool area and still others come to shop at the hotel's 60,000 square feet of shops. In each of these endeavors, the Rio attempts to make the experience a bit more fun and spontaneous.
The Rio also offers guests a variety of dining choices from all-American food at the All-American Bar & Grille to Gaylord India Restaurant for something a little spicier and even Carnival World Buffet for the indecisive.
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