After I tried to stop this series and start a new series (which failed), I am back in the driver's seat for King's Survivor's final phase, since it would probably have lasted longer if Adobe didn't cancel Flash (thanks for rushing my series, mate!). This season, I tried to do what u/swoldow did before and make a season called Saints Vs Sinners, where 10 people who embody the term "Saint" will face off against the people who embody the term "Sinner", but unfortunately, it seemed like a lot of the people who signed up misunderstood the definition of saints and sinners. For the love of god, someone who is slightly villainous is not a "sinner", and average people are not "saints". Oh well. I guess it's the best I'm gonna get. Here is the cast: Kahramanca (Saints) Tribe: Ardet Prifti, 31, Rhythm Guitarist, u/Twig7665 Ardet lived a difficult life. Born in Albania with a family that was associated with the mafia meant that Ardet was never safe, and one day, he came back home to find his whole family had been murdered by the Albanian mafia. He spent years on the street, struggling to survive, before he discovered his musical talent. He played a guitar (which he had to steal), which enabled him to earn money. After a few years of doing that, he moved to the United States, where he did his best to get into the largest music college in that country, and actually succeeded. He met some people that became his bandmates, and soon they were pretty popular in the underground scene. When their fame exploded, Ardet's bandmates grew either egotistical or paranoid, but Ardet saw fame as a way to spread awareness for mental illness. He has now become a strong supporter of mental health charities around the country, and he signed up for Survivor to raise money for one of the charities he supports. Ava Chrisly, 23, Kindergarten Teacher, u/Gemini_B Ava was born deaf. After her father died when she was 3, her birthmother struggled to care for her and her 3 siblings. Ava was especially tough since she needed special treatment and one night her birthmother left her on the doorstep of a rich widow with a note explaining how Ava got there. The Widow, not wanting to deal with a deaf child, left her outside where she spent a cold night alone and scared. She came across Marissa, a young girl who ran away from home. Marissa took pity on her and the two banded together. They spent years together on the street with Ava learning to read lips and Marissa learning sign language. Marissa quickly saw that Ava had a gift with children and encouraged her to find a job with kids. Ava didn’t want Marissa to leave, but then Marissa surprised her by revealing she had a scholarship to a teachers college. Ava went off to the collage and became a kindergarten teacher, but when she returned she learned that Ava had gone to jail for stealing from a rich old woman and using the money to bribe a college administrator. Ava promised she’d help bail Marissa out, and learned about survivor. She’s hoping she can win the million to help free Marissa and get their lives on track. Chelsea Rutherford, 22, Lifeguard, u/IAmWolfNinja Chelsea was the heiress to the throne of a foreign country with a corrupt government. The wealth that came with such a status meant nothing to her, since she was utterly disgusted with the actions of her family. Knowing her resentment for their governmental policies, Chelsea's family gradually became verbally abusive towards her. Unable to take any more, she escaped as a teen to pursue her own path. When she arrived in America, Chelsea wanted to do everything she could to erase her dark past and the actions of her family, so she got a job as a lifeguard, where she has saved countless lives. She's occasionally recognized as an heiress, but when it's brought up, she tends to have nervous breakdowns. Chester "Cap'n" Richardson, 67, Retired Naval Officer, u/swoldow Some may see him as just the average old man, but Cap’n has seen and done things most people couldn't fathom. Cap’n joined the navy at a ripe young age about 5 years before the Cold War began, and learned everything from afar, slowly working up the ranks. When things got bad in Vietnam, he was given the chance to take charge of a ship during the war, and he immediately said yes. He ran the ship strictly, but he got both respect from everyone, as well as being genuinely liked as a person by his crew. He led them to many naval victories but unfortunately that didn't last, when his ship was shot with a torpedo, which blew the whole thing up and killed everyone on it, except for Cap’n. With the emotional baggage of watching people he has gotten to know kick the bucket, he immediately resigned from the navy after. As a result of the shipwreck, his mindset has changed, as he’s now super overprotective of his family, and still can't let the explosion go after years and years of retirement. He hopes Survivor can help him learn more about himself, and be the thing he needs to live the rest of his life in peace. Cornelius Von Helton, 52, CEO, u/Gemini_B Cornelius was raised by a family that had fallen from riches and was in tough times. He never expected to get to go to university but got lucky by getting a scholarship for his creative greeting cards. While at university, he enrolled in a business course and after collage started a greeting card business with some friends. All of his friends quickly gave up on the business, but Cornelius stuck through it. When he made a greeting card that was delivered to Eddie Murphy, the comedian was impressed and hired him to do his greeting cards to his friends, family, and invitations to parties. Quickly other celebrities started to hire his business and many fans wanted to get into the trend. His business rapidly expanded and he soon found himself with a company that covered parties, greeting cards, published books and even dabbled in a touch of Realestate. While in his thirties though, Cornelius was mugged while on a walk in the park and got stabbed. He was quickly rushed to the hospital and while there, he was nursed back to health by his soon to be wife. He claims that she saved his life and proceeded to date her after leaving the hospital. She was reluctant at first, but he quickly charmed her and the two have been married for 15 years now. He has two children, a son aged 10 and a daughter aged 8. He's continued to run his business, but leaves most of the work to his higher-ups as he wants to be able to spend as much time with his family and employees as possible. He views his employees as his family and does his best to remember all their names and make the workspace as nice for them as possible. He's come to survivor because his wife loves the show and wanted to compete, but due to growing health issues can't. She's trained him to win, and he wants to do this and win for her. Dana Vasquez, 43, Stay At Home Mom, (filler character) Greg Zimmer, 40, High School Teacher, u/AngolanDesert Greg is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is very trusting and kind and will do anything for the people he loves. Since he grew up in Texas, hard work has always been his priority. He knows that if he wants to win this game, he has to work hard at everything he does. Greg decided to be a high school teacher so he could teach his students the importance of hard work. He has been a fan of survivor for a while, so when he saw that applications for survivor were going out, he knew he had to join in. Hopefully, he won’t disappoint his students. Gwendolyn "Gwen" Wallerby, 52, Baker, u/ghetra Gwen works at a bakery where she gets to do what she loves every day: make many different kinds of pies. She is a very warm, loving person and has a reputation for helping out whoever needs it, usually by baking for them. Baking takes a lot of patience and strength, and she is stronger than she looks. She naturally has a very loud voice that sometimes irks people, but once they get to know her it quickly becomes endearing. Now that her children are out of the house, she has started reading much more and taking classes on different subjects that interest her. The world is her oyster. Kirk Smolarek, 62, History Teacher, u/Twig7665 Kirk never had a normal childhood. His mom walked out on his family not long after he was born, and his father was a former Polish soldier with PTSD and a severe drug addiction, leading to Kirk experiencing abuse from him for as long as Kirk can remember. Wanting to escape his miserable life, he smuggled himself on a boat bound for Australia when he was 16. Lo and behold, the ship got caught in a windstorm and ended up sinking, and Kirk and a few other survivors ended up stranded on an island. After spending more than a month there, he was taken back to his homeland after being found there. He ended up being the only survivor of the whole ordeal. He was returned to his deranged father, where the next time his father tried to abuse him, he fought back, causing his father to end up in the hospital. Deemed not guilty because he defended himself, Kirk did not spend time in prison for this. His father on the other hand did spend time there for drug-related charges and child abuse, but was killed by another inmate before he could be released. Kirk then went to college, where he studied history there, and decided to become a history teacher. He then kept that job title for over 40 years now, and despite being in his 60s, he is still an enjoyable presence for his students, as he incorporates unusual teaching methods to make his students interested in what he's teaching. Despite being financially stable, he wants to win the money so he can be well off when he retires in a few years. Maralyn Sander, 32, Tour Guide, u/Void_Drone Maralyn gives tours of New York, driving around in her bus, answering questions, watching broadway shows. And she spends most of her money on her family, except for the money she spent on her pink pearl necklace. She enjoys the tours for the most part, but when she's alone she vents about how annoying the tours can be. Kotu Adam (Sinners) Tribe: Alexa Station, 20, YouTuber, u/IAmWolfNinja A 3AM YouTuber who arrived late to the trend, Alexa has a tendency to flex her belongings when no one really cares. She was recently involved in a scandal where she faked her boyfriend's death, causing endless amounts of controversy, and a near arrest. Her sub count is dropping significantly every day, so she joined to help gain her popularity (relevancy) back. Carter Witworth, 23, College Student, u/JTsidol Witworth, he was born to a extremely rich family, but his parents didn’t have time for him, but spoiled him rotten, when he got into school, he was known for being a bully, however no one confronted him, and everytime he’d get in trouble or fail a test, his parents would pay his way out, last year, he got a slap in the face, when his parents yet again had to bribe the college board to accept him, they cut off his allowance, he’s playing just for the money, nothing else. Irvin Eamers, 32, Olympic Sprinter, u/asiansurvivorfan A born athlete, Irvin loved competing in all sports but wasn’t known to play fair as he was never a team player and would often torment others to win. He started training for the Olympics at the age of 17 and eventually got the opportunity to compete in multiple Olympics where he took home many gold medals. However, they were striped from him when he was caught doping and using steroids to give him an edge in races. After the controversy, Irvin’s current wife left him and he was banned from competing in any future competitions. He came on Survivor for one reason and that is that is the money as he’s currently being sued by the Olympic committee. Jessica Abrefa, 25, Poker Player, u/Twig7665 Jessica wasn't the most well off growing up, she lived in Alabama, where racism was rampant. As such, she was bullied for her race, until one day, she decided that they will all be wrong about her not being able to do anything because of her skin colour. She publicly humiliated the whole football team at her high school, and that stunt got her expelled in her senior year. She didn't care, and then she decided to run away to Las Vegas, which she did. While there, she started modeling, but found it boring. She then picked up the hobby of gambling, and played her first poker match when she was 21. She proved herself to be a formidable foe by beating one of the top poker players at the time, a dude named Brett Herman. Impressed by her skills, he tried to form a bond with her, but she turned him down due to him being a very paranoid man. Now, Jessica dates and cheats on men almost daily, and is considered one of the top female poker players, despite only playing for a few years. An avid Survivor fan, she wants to be as flirty and manipulative as she is in her real life. The only problem would be meeting another poker player, but she finds it unlikely that she will. Joey "Wildcard" Caruso, 24, Poker Player, u/wordonthestreet2 Joey did not grow up with the best moral compass as his father notoriously had ties to the mafia. He used the money his father made through illegitimate businesses to gamble throughout his teenage years. When his father learned about his poker abilities and how easy it was for him to manipulate his opponents they began using his poker career as a way to launder mafia money through various casinos. He is known for his excellent poker face and unpredictable style of play which earned him the nickname Wildcard. Maize Nguyen, 28, Heiress, u/Vicctoryy From the outside looking in, the Nguyen Family Dynasty of San Francisco looks like a well supported and strong business, but from the inside, things are crumbling apart. The matriarch and patriarch are always at each other's necks over the company, leaving their children to clean up their messes. Maize, being the oldest, has taken it upon herself to lead the company, and she leads with an iron will and even harder iron fist. While she seems like a worthy replacement for her faulty parents, she has never been afraid to leave with force. Anyone at the receiving end of a verbal lashing from Maize is likely to not return to work the next day, or ever again. She is arrogant, rude, demeaning, and yet she gets things done. Saving the company from absolute bankruptcy caused a lot of backlash, but Maize couldn't care less. Success should be accomplished by stepping on the necks of those who aren't ready for the power, and Maize has done that exact thing. Any person in Maize's way has been an obstacle she has to conquer, and with a flip of her finger, that obstacle is no longer a problem. She has never been afraid to crack a few eggs to make an omelette, and unfortunately, those eggs have just been working class people struggling to make minimum wage and put dinner on their table. Too bad for them according to Maize. Maize has come to Survivor to prove that the Nguyen Dynasty is far from over, and their business monopoly will run on for years with Maize at the front of it. She is the iceberg, everyone else is a ship with no idea of what's in their way. Those too bold to step in her way are trampled, quite literally. Maize has no problem with controversy, controversy brings attention, attention brings money, and money brings power. Molly-Anne Benson, 26, Marketing Assistant, u/ghetra Molly-Anne is a social butterfly. She loves chatting with people about pretty much anything and loves meeting and getting to know new people. She has a natural charm about her that draws people in, but sometimes people are bothered by how chatty she is. She also loves to gossip and is not above spreading rumors. However, she is rather sensitive and can be set off by just about anything. She frequently will push people's buttons if they offend her and will hold a grudge until the end of time. Nikki Lopez, 29, Stripper, u/Void_Drone Randall Martin, 49, Real Estate Agent, u/TDSwaggyBoy Being a self proclaimed sleazeball, which is a very weird thing to be proud of, Randall's life was never too good. He didn't grow up with a lot of close friends. Sure, people liked him at first, but when they really got to know him they didn't appreciate him nor his antics very much. Randall had to make a name for himself. He quickly found a career in the world of real estate. Not even his co-workers enjoyed his company, but they appreciated his skills. Being a fast and smooth talker really pays off in his industry. And now, Randall wants to put his skills to use in SURVIVOR. How well will that pan out? Vito Luco, 49, Used Car Salesman, u/swoldow Vito is the last person you'd want to trust with anything. A true con-artist at heart, he now has a job selling used cars, but his past jobs would make you run away from him in fear. When he was younger, he was a part of a major drug-trafficking operation run by the mafia, and he later got a job selling illegal fireworks, both of which got him to do jail time for a decade. Newly released, he seems to be back to his old ways, as he scams people out of their money daily with his faulty cars. He was born constantly overshadowed by his perfect younger brother, who is a popular politician, while he just swindles from people. As a result, he hates people who play loyally, and wants to prove that evil is the best way to play. He isn't afraid to play hard, as that's what he did all his life, and he'll either win, or go out swinging. Link to Season Episode 1: The 20 new contestants are welcomed into Turkey, where their first task is to compete in a challenge for reward. The Sinners tribe win this reward due to having more young and fit members than the Saints tribe. As a result, the Saints are already demoralized as they arrive at camp. Cap'n starts to feel good vibes from Ardet and Maralyn, and takes them under his wing to form an alliance. Ava, on the other hand, reveals that she is deaf to Chelsea and Gwen, and the three form another alliance due to being close to one another already. Cap'n sees this and scrambles to find an idol, and does so. Over at the Sinners tribe, Witworth and Jessica see their opportunity to look for an idol, and they find it, giving them more security, while back at camp, Maize and Nikki get into a fight over thinking that the other has an idol, which neither of them do. Vito becomes the moderator of this fight, saying that the three of them plus Irvin and Molly need to stick together in the long run. Randall sees this alliance form and tries to get Alexa, Jessica, Witworth, and Wildcard on board, which they all agree to at first, but then Wildcard sees this as his opportunity to cause conflict within his tribe, so he becomes content with being a swing vote. The Sinners win immunity, and on the Saints tribe it quickly becomes a race to see who can scrape up the swing votes the fastest between Cap'n's alliance and Ava's alliance. Dana becomes the target for Ava's alliance because of her weakness in challenges and her blind loyalty, while Greg is targeted by Ardet and Cap'n due to his shiftiness. They are able to get Kirk and Dana on board to blindside Greg, and they try to talk to Gwen, but she does not flip. Instead, at tribal council, we end up with a 5-5 split, followed by a 4-4 vote split due to no one flipping. Then a rock draw occurs on the first vote of the season. Ardet becomes the victim of the rocks, sending him out of the game despite never receiving a single vote. Episode 2: After an explosive first vote, Cap'n tries to figure out who flipped on the six and sent Ardet home. No one tells him who did it, so he assumes it was Ardet. Ava tries to flip Maralyn from Cap'n's alliance, but is unsuccessful at doing so. At the Sinners camp, Jessica and Witworth, despite being closely aligned, argue over who gets to keep the idol, and Witworth ends up keeping it in the end. The Saints pull out a surprise victory over the fractured Sinners, and back at camp, Wildcard decides to snake the alliance he was pretending to work with, and joins Vito's alliance. Their first target is none other than Alexa, who saw this game as nothing other than a tool to get more relevancy back, and it particularly irked Vito, who wanted to play against people who played hard. So together, with his alliance and Wildcard, they vote for Alexa. Meanwhile, the four person alliance realizes that Wildcard snaked them, so they vote for him, and Alexa becomes the second person voted off in a 6-4 vote. Episode 3: After Alexa's vote off, Irvin tries to bond with Vito, wanting to be his right hand man, and they become closer due to both being sleazy people. Wildcard begins to feel like he's in control, and it starts to annoy people on his tribe. At the Saints camp, Cap'n starts to rub people the wrong way because of his cockiness due to having an idol, but no one catches on to him having an idol, which is good news for him, because he plans on holding onto the idol until the merge. The Sinners win immunity for the third time, and they grow cocky because of this. Cap'n and Kirk, being the two oldest men on the tribe, join forces with Dana and Maralyn to take out their biggest threat in the opposing alliance, Greg. However, the other side has majority, and they decide that Dana has been blindly loyal to the other three, and hasn't been pulling her weight in challenges, so she becomes the third person voted out in a 5-4 vote. Episode 4: After a somewhat boring vote, Greg starts to get paranoid, since he's already gotten 9 votes and it's only episode 4. He then tries to get the minority alliance to pin their votes onto Gwen, but Gwen gets angry at him for doing so, and they have an argument. At Sinners camp, Jessica tries to talk to Irvin, trying to get his alliance to help hers take out Wildcard, and Irvin tells Vito about the plan, and Vito starts to see Wildcard as not being of use anymore. After losing the reward challenge, the Saints come back harder and beat the Sinners at the next challenge. Wildcard lets Vito know that he is going to vote Maize, since he wants to make a big move early on. This becomes the final nail in Wildcard's coffin, as Vito was quite close to Maize. At tribal council, Wildcard becomes the first unanimous boot of the season, going out in a 8-1 vote. Episode 5: Vito starts to think that Irvin has been playing way too loyally, and he gets into a discussion with him that slowly devolves into a full-blown fight between them, but Vito, realizing that Irvin would make a bad enemy, tries to make it up to him, and it works. The Sinners win both reward and immunity, and they feel elated about it. Cornelius goes to Cap'n and proposes an alliance to him, allowing them to control things from behind the scenes with Maralyn. He also reveals that he has grown a disdain for Greg, and that they need to flip the numbers on him. They get Gwen and Kirk on board, or so they think, but Gwen blabs to Greg and their alliance, leading to Kirk to flip as well. They decide to vote Cornelius out due to him being the biggest gamer on the tribe, and he goes in a 5-3 vote. Episode 6: The tribes pack up their things, anticipating a swap, but then the host announces that they will be competing for individual immunity on their tribe, and whoever wins will be safe from the double tribal council taking place that night. Maralyn wins for the Saints, and Vito wins for the Sinners. The Sinners also win reward, earning food to enjoy while they watch the other tribe go to tribal council. Witworth, Jessica, and Randall decide it was now or never to get rid of Maize, who had a fight with Randall earlier that day, but Vito, hearing about this, decides that Randall is the biggest sleaze on his tribe, and he needed to go as soon as possible. In his voting confessional, he states there can be only one sleazy guy on the tribe, and that was himself, so Randall had to go, and Randall becomes the sixth person voted out in a 5-3 vote, and he is bitter as all hell about it. At the Saints tribe, Cap'n becomes angry over the fact he cannot vote in the majority, and it makes the majority annoyed with him, so they decide to vote him off. Luckily for Cap'n, he still has an idol, so he and Maralyn vote for the most threatening player in their minds, Chelsea, and Cap'n plays his idol, sending Chelsea out of the game in a 2-0 vote. Episode 7: After Chelsea's idol out, Cap'n officially became public enemy number one on his tribe, and he tries to find his rehidden idol, but Kirk finds it instead. Maralyn and Greg have a fight due to the food on their tribe running low, and morale being even lower. At the Sinners tribe, Nikki begins to be seen as an easy goat due to her one-sided loyalty to Vito. Morale at the Saints tribe dips even lower when they lose both reward and immunity. Not wanting to lose again,the majority decide to vote off their oldest member, Cap'n, as a last ditch attempt to prevent them from going on a losing streak. Cap'n and Maralyn vote for Greg, and Cap'n becomes the eighth person voted out in a 5-3 vote, missing out on the jury by one placement. Episode 8: After Cap'n's vote out, there are only five members on the Saints tribe, compared to the Sinners having seven. The Sinners increase their winning streak by two by winning both reward and immunity. At the Sinners camp, Jessica and Witworth have another fight over the idol, with Jessica insisting that she keep it. This causes the rest of the tribe to be alerted to the fact that Jessica and Witworth have an idol, and Witworth becomes a target because of this. At the Saints tribe, the women form a tight three, and Kirk and Greg are forced to band together to survive. At tribal council, the three women stay strong, and Greg is voted out 3-2 and becomes the first member of the jury, leaving only four Saints left in the game. Episode 9: With his back up against the wall, Kirk knows that he's probably gone next if he didn't have the idol, which ensured his survival until merge. The Saints finally win a challenge, a reward challenge, but lose immunity once again to the inflated egos of the Sinners. Not much else happens this episode, but Kirk tries to get Maralyn to flip and vote out Ava, but she disagrees to do so, and she votes for Gwen instead, making Kirk not trust her, and he decides to vote for her, while also playing his idol. This causes a 1-1-0 tie between Gwen and Maralyn, and Ava, misunderstanding what would happen if she forced a tie, votes for Gwen while Kirk votes for Maralyn, and Ava becomes the second person in King's Survivor history to be eliminated by default, due to there being no other options, and she becomes the second member of the jury Episode 10: At long last, the tribes merge into the purple Ucurum tribe, meaning balance in Turkish. Left in the game is Witworth, Gwen, Irvin, Jessica, Kirk, Maize, Maralyn, Molly, Nikki, and Vito. At first, it seems like it would be Saint Vs Sinner, but Jessica and Witworth come to the three Saints left in the game, and they convince them to vote with them come tribal council. Vito wins his second immunity challenge of the season, and his target was Witworth for being the strongest male not in his alliance, and also for lying about not having an idol, which he believed was given to Jessica. At tribal council, the lines cause a 5-5 divide between Irvin and Witworth, and on the revote, Maralyn randomly decides to flip to avoid a tie, and Carter Witworth becomes the third member of the jury, and also another person to go out with an idol in their pocket. He is understandably pretty pissed about this ordeal, but wishes his tribe well. Episode 11: The day after Witworth's blindside, the nine remaining contestants compete in a reward challenge, which the team containing Irvin, Maralyn, and Vito win. At the reward, Irvin and Vito realize how dangerous Maralyn could be after she starts trying to talk game with them. Soon afterwards, Maralyn finds the idol, and Jessica calls out Molly for following Vito almost blindly. Nikki wins the second post merge immunity challenge, and Vito tries to recruit Jessica for the vote, which succeeds. They then choose to target Maralyn, since she was the most threatening out of the three Saints, and the six remaining Sinners pin votes onto her. Unfortunately for them, Maralyn pulls out an idol, and the Saints vote for Irvin, a potential immunity threat, making him the fourth member of the jury in a 3-0 vote. Episode 12: After Irvin's blindside, only two men are still in the game, compared to the six women. Nikki is able to find an idol, after thinking that she hasn't been playing hard enough, while Molly gets into a fight with Maralyn over the latter pulling out an idol, which she hadn't wanted her to do. Molly wins immunity, and it becomes a battle of the Saints Vs the Sinners, just like the theme of the season. The Saints go after Maize, wanting to weaken Vito further before going after him, but they are unable to swing anyone over and Vito, fueled by vengeance, gets his alliance to vote for Maralyn. In a 5-3 vote, Maralyn becomes the fifth member of the jury. Back at camp, the final seven become annoyed at Nikki's arrogance after being safe from being voted out, so she becomes a target for the two remaining Saints left. Kirk also becomes a target for being a perceived leader for Gwen, causing him to be target numero uno. After Kirk wins immunity, the target shifts from him to Gwen, due to her being perceived as not wanting to play the game, and rather would be along for the ride, which Vito found unpalatable. Kirk and Gwen then try to vote out Molly for her strength in challenges, and in the end, Gwen gets the boot in a 5-2 vote, making her the sixth juror. Episode 13: With only six people left in the game, the final reward challenge takes place. Maize wins it, and she shares it with Vito, her closest ally, and Jessica, who her and Vito wanted to bring closer. Soon, they realize what a threat she could be, especially because she's a poker player, she becomes the biggest target instead of Kirk. Luckily for her, she wins immunity. Kirk tries to bond with Maize as a way to get Vito to not vote him out, but it backfires, and he becomes the biggest target yet again. At tribal council, he votes for Molly, but everyone else votes for him, making him the seventh juror in a 5-1 vote and completely eliminating the Saints from the game. Finale: Jessica, Maize, Molly, Nikki, and Vito remain. Five players who had remarkably different playing styles, but all came from the same tribe. They compete in the second-to-last immunity challenge, which Maize wins, and the biggest target becomes Jessica again, who has proven herself to be the only player not following Vito, and only voting with him just to get further in the game. Vito does not feel the same way about keeping Jessica around, so he and his alliance with Nikki, Molly, and Maize vote for her, and Nikki plays her idol in case someone flipped on her, and Jessica becomes the eighth juror in a 4-0 vote. Back at camp, Vito feels incredibly cocky, and he tries to influence a fight, and he does so between Nikki and Maize. He then goes on to win final immunity, and Nikki tanks her own game with her fight with Maize, and everyone votes her out, causing her to become the ninth juror in a 3-1 vote. The final three consists of Maize, Molly, and Vito. Molly gets criticism for her lack of strategy, only using her social game to get far, and her challenge capabilities. Maize is seen as following too closely to Vito, but the jury is willing to vote for her if Vito tanks his jury speech. He does not, and explains his game in great detail, saying he started out forming a five person alliance on the first night, he commenced the Wildcard blindside, the Witworth blindside, the Jessica blindside, etc. He did it all, but the bonds he formed in the game were genuine, and he didn't intend his villainous backstabbing to be taken personal. In the end, he gets all the jury votes, even from two people he never met, Greg and Ava. Maralyn wins the Fan Favorite for standing up to Vito and her idol play. Winner: Vito Luco, u/swoldow Fan Favorite: Maralyn Sander, u/Void_Drone Potential Returnees (yeah, I haven't done this in a while): Vito, Jessica, Kirk, Maralyn, WItworth, Ava, Cap'n, maybe Ardet, if I do a first boot season Next season, will be the final season before season 35, I won't spoil the theme for 35, but trust me, it won't be a season to miss. Season 34 however, with the release of the new Island Of The Idols sim, it will feature two King's Survivor Idols, who will be revealed with the sign ups. Next season will be King's Survivor Venezuela: Island Of The Idols!
Right after Winners at War, we are kicking off the endgame with our last newbie season, which takes place in Greece, just like the first season. 18 new castaways will face off, and there will be a returning twist, the Edge of Extinction, but this time, there will be no returnees. It will be just 18 castaways forced to battle the elements and each other, with minimal twists other than the EOE, and the fire making challenge. Without further ado, we will see who will be competing on this season! Fotia (Greek for Fire) Tribe: Ava Vasquez, 59, Kindergarten Teacher, u/TDSwaggyBoy Mother of two, grandmother of seven, Ava is a very kind individual. She made it her goal to help her children in any way, shape or form she could, wanting to give those she loves the best life possible. Even to the point of prioritizing their well being over her own. She always wanted to make a difference, and eventually became a kindergarten teacher in order to help make the years of said toddlers the best she could. Ava still remembers her kindergarten teacher, a kind and warm individual, and she hopes to be seen the same way as her. Darleen Rojas, 38, Retail Manager, u/Ripecornball60 Darleen was the popular girl in school when she was young. She was a pageant queen, and planned to be a model when she was older. She got through the rigorous casting process to become a model, but sadly fell short at the final call, where she found out she had breast cancer. Going through Chemotherapy was a life changing experience. She lost her hair, her passion, and her job opportunity. She worked at a Retail store for 3 years, until she had a flirt with the manager. He promised her the store in exchange for her "assets". She accepted the offer, and Darleen became the store manager. The previous manager and her dated for 3 more months, until the worst happened. She found him cheating on her. This caused her to break up with him, and kick him out of working for her. Trying to fill his hole in her heart, Darleen used an abandoned break room in her store, and transformed it into a nightclub club she calls the "Hidey Hole". There, she has 1 night stands with women and men alike. She is out here due to one of her "clients" saying someone as manipulative as her could win. Ellie Ruchkin, 24, Bowling Alley Worker, u/Jckboy100 Ellie is a super nice girl, to almost everyone... however, if you do anything to cross her, she won't forget it. Growing up as an only child made her learn how to entertain herself, and learn how to take care of herself when her parents weren't around. She wants to play this game to see if she has what it takes to win the title and check that comes along with it. Erik LeFort, 34, Writer, u/Gemini_B Erik grew up in a typical family. At a fairly young age he realized he was gay, but was luck that his family supported him. That, alongside with supportive friends helping him overcome the few bullies he faced, he wants to be a beacon of hope for gay people everywhere and want's to show what a loving family can do. Despite his want to help others though, he's not afraid to play dirty if it get's him further in the game. Ethan "EJ" James, 20, College Student, u/JTsidol Ethan was always struggling In life, that never allowed him to do anything, his dad was extremely angry at him, after his mother died at birth, blaming the death on him, when he was 7 he began abusing him, until at 17 he ran away, now he‘s studying hard to finish college, and he hopes he can get the money to help him study and have a better life. Kim Juri, 35, Poker Dealer, u/Gemini_B Kim Juri grew up with a fairly poor family and at a young age secretly turned to gambling to support her family. She got very good and became a poker dealer at a casino. She wants to destroy this game because she knows how to lie, cheat and play dirty. She's here to win, and nothing will stop her. Krista Ayers, 34, Unemployed, u/breadon17 Krista is a single mom of four, so life isn't very easy for her. She can't find a job and she has an abusive boyfriend who is trying to take everything she knows and loves. She applied for Survivor so that she could get the money she needs to survive and feed her kids. Kyle Simmonds, 26, Poker Player, u/asiansurvivorfan Kyle was raised in a very divided home with his parents constantly fighting, and his Dad being an alcoholic. This caused him to start taking part in things he shouldn’t be taking part in like gangs, drug, theft, etc. When he was 20, everything changed for him when his friend signed him up for a local poker tournament. He was reluctant at first, but decided to give it a shot. He surprised everyone including himself at that tournament, as he completely dominated and won. This really gave him the boost he needed in life as he proceeded to continue his success by winning more tournaments and at a higher level too. He plans on handling the game like a poker match and wants to bring all his cards to the table. Vaso Dragovic, 45, Journalist/Former Yugoslav Soldier, u/Twig7665 Vaso was born in Serbia, which was in the once prosperous country of Yugoslavia in the mid 1970s. He lived a normal life up until his teen years, where he watched the country he once knew as a dream turn into a nightmare. The country became a war-torn hellscape, and he was forced to join the military at the young age of 16. He witnessed countless atrocities, and to escape the war, he had to smuggle himself onto a boat bound for the United States in 1996. With no food, no money, and no shelter, he joined a gang to get himself what he needed to survive. After over a year of selling drugs and being in a gang, he left it and went to go live in a rehab facility until he was was 29, in 2004. He then began work to try and fit back into society. He now works as a journalist for a news company. He signed up for the show to see if he has the skills to win it. Pouli (Greek for Bird) Tribe: Alfred "Void" Vallentino, 28, Magician, u/swoldow Alfred grew up on the streets of Las Vegas in poverty, with both of his parents as struggling actors. To make a few extra dimes, he started to teach himself basic magic to perform on the streets and sometimes skipped school to make more money. He was extremely bullied at school for his passion and lack of money, which led him to be socially isolated from everyone else. He grew more attached to his magic, as he kept working harder and harder until a famous magician with a Vegas show caught wind of his act, and let Alfred open for him. Since then, Alfred has rose to the top of the food chain, and began to experiment with his suspenseful acts to make the audience feel all sorts of emotion. Katrina MacQuoid, 58, Prosthodontist, u/Gemini_B Katrina’s parents we’re performers in Kentucky. They lived and breathed theater and expected their daughter to be the same. Though Katrina loved being the center of attention, and still does, she never loved the stage the way her parents did. Her parents wanted her to continue to pursue something arts related, and she became an advertising adjective, but never felt satisfied. When she learned that Kentucky was looking for jobs in the dental field, she felt it would be a perfect field to enter. She always found teeth interesting, I mean, are they bones? But they fall out? So weird. She returned to school at age 35 and became a Prosthodontist at age 43. She’s worked as a Prosthodontist since then and (While not at the level of Peter) has a firm understanding of the most important hole in the human body, the mouth. While she’s liked by many people because of her fun personality, she has trouble forming 1 on 1 bonds and has never found the special one. As a child she often got in trouble for anger issues with her parents, so she began to hold in her anger and let it out in huge, uncontrollable fits when her parents weren't around. This holding in of anger until she can’t contain it is a habit she continues to have, blaming her rages on “Hurricane Katrina” as a sort of justification of her actions. She’s never left Kentucky and while she’s very book smart, she can often be very ignorant on other subjects. Lila Herring, 21, Secretary, u/AngolanDesert Lila is a very competitive spirit. She always wants to challenge herself and see how far can she can make it. When she saw that survivor auditions were going out, she knew she could win and provide for her poor family. Lukas Reed, 24, College Student, u/Jck100 Lukas Reed is a shy, humble young man. Coming from a devastating childhood with the loss of his young sister, him and his dad suffered hard. This shaped him into the man he is today, coasting through college, now he wanted something to step out of his comfort zone and try out this highly social game, and see how he can do. Luther Dane, 32, Fisherman, u/Twig7665 No one knows much about Luther, due to his tendency to keep everything he knows a secret, and it causes people to see him as a strange loner, a title he does not mind. He was in a car accident in his teen years that killed everyone in the car but him, and he began to think of himself as an untouchable person, someone who could survive almost anything. This caused him to grow reckless when he's not fishing, and made several poor choices in his twenties, including messing with police, which caused him to be sent to jail for several months for interfering with a cop's duty. Now out of prison, he continues to be reckless, but stayed away from police this time. Will his reckless personality help or hinder his journey on Survivor? Only time will tell. Madyson "Maddie" Anderson, 25, Nurse, u/JTsidol She’s lived a normal life, she wants some fun, she’s single, hoping that she can get a showmance to lower her target, then strike at the right time. Marshall Keaton, 28, Marine Biologist, u/TDSwaggyBoy Marshall was born to a loving family of five, being the oldest of three kids. His father, Dominic, always expected Marshall to follow in the family's footsteps and become a lawyer, just like his old pops. At a young age, Marshall never seemed to agree with his father's plan - being a lawyer is so boring, bro! He went through the entire process, getting accepted to law school, only to then drop out. Marshall and his father got into a massive argument about it, and Marshall ended up leaving his home afterwards. They are still not on speaking terms. Marshall then studied to become a marine biologist, as he always found sea creatures to be fascinating. Now with a girlfriend of 2 years, Marshall hopes to win the money for the both of them. He's got this, yo! Nolan "NK" Kristoffson, 19, Drummer, u/Twig7665 Nolan was born the younger of twins to a large, fairly poor farming family. He was the youngest, and he resented most of his family. He saw his twin Matt as the antithesis of himself, and while he was able to go to college because of a football scholarship, Nolan had to drop out and help out at the farm. He finally had enough at the age of 18, and told his parents about him wanting to become a drummer, and his parents kicked him out, so he lived at his friend's house for the past year. They were able to get him a drumkit, and they formed a garage band. Inspired by his hard life being constantly outshined by his brother, he wrote angry, edgy lyrics, and they started performing gigs. He shortened his name to just his initials, and now drums for a living. He is playing King's Survivor to finally outshine his perfect twin brother. Ximena Verez, 22, Fencer, u/asiansurvivorfan Ximena grew up poor and therefore had to start earning money at an early age by delivering stock. On one of her trips, she was kidnapped and abducted by a group of men that worked for a wanted druglord and rapist. She along with her 3 fellow captives were beaten, abused, and raped for 4 years missing and undetected. After years of mistreatment, Ximena and the other captives were finally found and released. Although it was reliving to be free again, she was deeply traumatized by everything her captor did to her and had an extremely tough time trying to adapt to the real world again. She decided to seek help and was sent to a rehab facility where she got help relieve her trauma. One of the things she picked up was the martial arts which eventually developed into an interest in fencing. Despite it being a male dominated sport, Ximena was adamant on showing young girls they can accomplish anything no matter the hardships they’ve gone through. After her time in rehab, she managed to recover and now spends her time competing in championships all around the world. She came to be a voice for domestic abuse victims. Link to Season Episode 1: The eighteen new contestants are shipped into Greece, where they learn of the return of the Edge of Extinction, from the season of the same name. They are then split into their two tribes: the green Fotia tribe, which means "Fire" in Greek, and the orange Pouli tribe, which means "Bird". Ava, Darleen, Ellie, Erik, EJ, Kim, Krista, Kyle, and Vaso draw green buffs, and Void, Katrina, Lila, Lukas, Luther, Maddie, Marshall, NK, and Ximena's buffs are orange. They are then instructed to get as much stuff off the boat as they can, and Krista finds the advantage menu, which can give the user either a reward steal, an extra vote, or an idol. At Fotia, EJ tries to be a mafioso, so he bonds with Ava, and forms an alliance with Darleen and Kim. At Pouli, NK and Void bond very well over being outcasts, and they pull in Lila, Luther, Maddie, Marshall, and Ximena to form "The Outcast Alliance". The Fotia tribe wins the first immunity challenge of the season, forcing the Pouli tribe to vote someone off. Wanting to cut off the weak links as quickly as possible, NK suggests to get rid of Katrina, but Ximena gets the idea to split the votes in case one of them had the idol, and Void individually talks to both Katrina and Lukas to get them to vote each other, and also try to get one of them to play their idol, but neither of them have the idol, so at tribal council, Katrina becomes the first person sent to the Edge in a 5-4 vote. Episode 2: Lukas tries to figure out who voted for him, so he tries to ask around his tribe, but does not get an answer and likely only angers his tribe. Void finds the hidden immunity idol so Lukas wouldn't, and he shows it to Maddie to make sure she's loyal to him. At Fotia, Ava and Ellie get into a bit of an argument, and EJ tries to get Ellie onto his side by talking to her. Vaso tries doing the same thing with Ava. Ava and Darleen form an alliance, as Darleen wanted to get her own numbers so she could topple EJ sooner rather than later. Once again, the Fotia tribe wins immunity, and the whole Pouli tribe is ready to vote out Lukas, since he's the only outsider and he has already proven himself to want to play way too hard, so Lukas is voted out 7-1. Episode 3: After Lukas' vote out, the Outcasts must turn on one another, and the lowest in the pecking order was Maddie. At Fotia, people start to see Krista as an easy target, so both Erik and Ellie form fake alliances with her. Kim also leaves her alliance with Darleen and EJ after having a fight with the latter. Vaso, not trusting anyone, looks for and finds the idol. Pouli wins their first challenge of the season, winning the reward, but their winning streak is cut short before it even began, as the Fotia tribe wins immunity for the third time in a row. Maddie tries to manipulate Marshall into flipping from his side, to hopefully bring a few others with him, but Marshall stays loyal to the majority. Maddie becomes the third person voted out in a 6-1 vote, getting sent to the Edge. Episode 4: When the tribes meet up again, a tribe swap is announced, and the purple Telikos tribe, which means "final" in Greek, is introduced. The Fotia tribe consists of four former Fotias- Ava, Ellie, Erik, and Kyle, and one Pouli- Marshall. On Pouli is three Fotias- EJ, Krista, and Vaso, and two Poulis- Lila and Luther. Finally, on Telikos is two Fotias- Darleen and Kim, and three Poulis- Void, NK, and Ximena. At Fotia, both Ellie and Kyle bond, and the two of them decide to form an alliance and pull in Erik. At Pouli, Krista makes it clear to Lila that she's going to flip, given how EJ had been controlling the Fotia tribe since the start of the game. This causes Lila to see Krista as a bit of a loose cannon, so she keeps an eye on her. At Telikos, Darleen finds the idol, and she keeps down about it, knowing that she's in the minority. NK impresses his team with his leadership, and he also bonds with Ximena. Pouli loses the immunity challenge again, which lowers morale significantly for them. When they get back to camp, Vaso decides on a whim to flip from his old alliance, seeing as he's not gonna vote in the majority if he doesn't. The new target is the mafioso himself, EJ. He tries talking to each of the tribe members individually to try and get them to vote Lila out, who has kind of became the punching bag of the season, but it doesn't succeed, and EJ becomes the fourth person voted out in a 4-1 vote. Episode 5: Knowing that they are unified, the Pouli tribe are at peace-for now. At the Edge, Lukas finds a way to practice for the Edge challenge, which he finds very useful. Maddie also finds an extra vote that she could give to someone, but they won't be able to use it because reasons. At Telikos, Void and Kim bond over being from Vegas, and a new alliance is formed, with Darleen and Ximena, leaving NK on the outs of the tribe. At Fotia, Erik and Kyle bond strongly, and Ellie tries to get Marshall on her side to take out Ava if they were to lose, since she was the weakest in the tribe. Pouli loses the reward challenge, but Fotia loses the immunity challenge for the first time in the season. Marshall becomes torn between going with the majority and putting himself on the bottom or voting against the majority and still being on the bottom. Ultimately, he decides to go with the majority, thinking Ava didn't have the idol, which is true, she didn't. She becomes the fifth person voted out in a 4-1 vote. Back at camp, Ellie and Erik solidify their alliance by forming a final two deal. They think that since the last season they saw before they left was Blood Vs Water 3, which had a final two. On the Edge, Katrina finds an advantage to penalize who she thinks has the best chance at returning to the game. At Pouli, Vaso and Krista decide they need to stick together because they two Poulis were gonna get them one after the other if they didn't stick together. Lila becomes seen as an even bigger threat than she used to be, and Krista and Vaso try to pull Luther aside to try to convince him to flip on his alliance. He refuses to in secret. Fotia continues their losing streak by losing the reward challenge, but since the host announced that two tribes will be going to tribal council in a joint tribal council, Fotia fights tooth and nail to win the challenge, and they are able to succeed. The whole Telikos tribe decides that Krista is too much of a loose cannon to make it to the merge. Vaso and Krista target Lila, and Luther and Lila target Krista for being weaker than Vaso, as they don't know when the merge will occur. At tribal council, Krista is blindsided 7-2 and is sent to the edge. Episode 6: The merge is announced. The 12 remaining contestants watch the first six castaways to be voted out compete in a challenge to return to the game, which Maddie wins despite being penalized by Katrina. Krista then raises her flag to leave the game, leaving the game first. The people who formed the Thymamai tribe, which means "remember" in Greek, are Void, Darleen, Ellie, Erik, Kim, Kyle, Lila, Luther, Maddie, Marshall, NK, Vaso, and Ximena. Luther decides to go rogue from his six person alliance, leaving them in a severe minority. Maddie tries to get a good relationship with Marshall again, and it works, but it causes most of the tribe to turn on her again. Lila finds the merge tribe idol, and like many before her, she keeps quiet because she does not want to attract more attention. Erik wins the immunity challenge, and when talking to others about the vote, he finds most people are content with just sending Maddie right back to the Edge. Maddie tries to target Kim, but does not succeed as she is voted out 12-1 and is sent back to the Edge. Episode 7: After Maddie's blindside, cracks begin to form in the final twelve. While Erik tries to remain humble after his immunity win, which he succeeds in doing, soon people start to throw out names like there's no tomorrow. NK throws out Kim's name, Ximena throws out Kyle's, Darleen does the same with NK, and Kyle throws Marshall under the bus. At the first post-merge reward challenge of the season, a group of Void, Erik, Kim, Luther, Marshall, and Ximena win, and they get Chinese takeout. Darleen wins immunity, saving her from going to the edge for one more vote. The two biggest threats at the moment for the people still in the game were Kim and Kyle, because most people believed there was some sort of poker alliance going on between the two. As it turns out, there was a sort of alliance going on there, so the ten people who weren't in it decided to split the votes between Kyle and Kim, with seven votes on Kyle, who was much more physically strong than Kim, and three votes on Kim. Kim figures out this plan, and tells Kyle to play his idol if he has one, which he does not. Kyle votes for Marshall, and Kim votes for NK, leading to Kyle getting voted out 7-3-1-1. He chooses to stick around at the Edge. Episode 8:Erik and Ellie get into a fight for whatever reason, and their alliance becomes no more. Ximena and Vaso both decide to help out with the tribe, causing their standing within the tribe to get better. Darleen tries making her relationship closer with Luther, wanting to have a good social game so she doesn't end up as a goat. Erik wins immunity for a second time, cementing his status as a challenge threat (which is really odd, since his challenge stats are on the lower side). People finally begin to catch on to how physically strong Vaso is, so a group of four, led by Void, consisting of him, Darleen, Kim, and Ximena, while another group of four, Vaso, Erik, Ellie, and Luther, vote for Lila, seeing her as an easy target. The rest, deciding that Kim would be better off on the Edge, vote for her. Both Vaso and Lila play their idols, and Kim is the ninth person sent packing in a 3-0-0 vote. Episode 9: After Kim's vote out, Void, Ximena, and Darleen strengthen their trio to try and have a better shot at making it to the end. Void and Darleen also form a new alliance with Ellie, Erik, and Luther to give themselves the majority of the tribe. Marshall and NK start to form a bromance, and Darleen wins immunity again. Erik and his alliance plot to get rid of Lila, due to her status as an all-around threat and the fact that she could easily win with her story in the game. Void also tries unsuccessfully to get Vaso on board, he instead gets into a fight with Ximena and really hurts his standing in the tribe, causing him to gain enemies in Ximena, Lila, Marshall, and NK. He is saved when the majority, thinking that Lila happened to be the bigger threat, vote her out instead in a 5-4-1 vote. Back at camp, Darleen bonds with Ximena, and it causes Ximena to make the reckless decision to flip from her alliance and try to join Void and Darleen's. Still, she had a dislike for Luther that she could not shake. When Vaso wins immunity, she becomes the main target. Still not giving up, she talks to her rival Vaso to try and get him to help her vote out Marshall, which he agrees to do. Still, it is not enough, and Ximena becomes the eleventh person voted out in a 7-2 vote. Episode 10: After Ximena's vote out, only eight remain in the game. They compete in a reward challenge, which Void, Darleen, Erik, and NK win. Seeing as Vaso and Marshall were more physically threatening than NK was, despite NK winning a reward challenge. After Erik wins immunity for the third time, he tries to get everyone to vote Marshall out. When Luther later bonds with Marshall, he feels remorse for doing so, but knows it must be done. Void is not told about the plan to blindside Marshall, and he thinks that Vaso is the person being voted out, as does NK. Nk also finds the idol. At tribal council, Marshall is voted out in a 5-3 vote, and for the first time in the season, Void was on the wrong side of the vote. Episode 11: Luther shows everyone he can win challenges and wins the reward challenge. Then, Luther brings along Void and Darleen as to show that he is playing a loyal game and he can be trusted. When they get back, Luther does some damage control with Erik for not picking him, and they get back on good terms, and also have a stronger bond than before. Vaso tries to get people on his side to blindside someone that he didn't like, so he talks to NK first, and when it didn't work, he starts targeting him, but also talks to Erik. This conversation goes down a lot better, and it helps him convince Erik to go after NK. Erik then talks to Luther and Darleen about the plan to similar success. Void, Ellie, and NK himself decide that Vaso needs to go, and NK reveals to Void his idol. Erik wins immunity for the fourth time. At tribal council, NK plays his idol, and Vaso is sent to the Edge in a 3-0 vote. Episode 12: After Vaso arrives at the Edge of Extinction, they receive letters they wrote to themselves before the game. Back in the actual game, NK wins a reward challenge, and he chooses too bring along Void and Erik, to try and get some allies, since he was almost voted out at the last tribal council. Unfortunately, only Void is willing to help NK, as Erik was closer to Ellie and Darleen. The Ellie/NK alliance dissolves after NK gets into an argument with her, and he loses another ally. Things get dire when he loses the immunity challenge to Void, leaving his only option, to find an idol. He does not find one, and he knows that he's most likely going at that point. NK tries to vote for Darleen, and Void throws a vote onto Ellie due to being too close to Darleen. In the end, NK becomes the final person sent to the Edge of Extinction in a 4-1-1 vote. Finale: Void, Darleen, Ellie, Erik, and Luther await the return of the player from the Edge. Lila wins, and she becomes a target the instant she arrives back into the game. Luckily for her, she wins immunity, and she shares the reward with Void and Erik, intending to do what NK did in the previous episode. This time, it succeeds, and she gets both Void and Erik on her side. Luther joins their side as well. Darleen and Ellie vote for Void and Luther, respectively. The other people still in the game voted for Ellie, but Darleen plays her idol for Ellie, and a tie between Void and Luther occurs. Erik decides Void is the bigger target of the two, while Lila votes for Luther. It results in another tie, causing Darleen and Erik to draw rocks, and ultimately, Darleen becomes the twelfth member of the jury. After Darleen's shocking rock draw, the four of Void, Ellie, Erik, and Luther decide to stick together to take out Lila if she loses immunity, which she does, to Void. At tribal council, not wanting anyone to flip on his closest ally in Erik, Void plays his idol for him, causing no votes to be negated, and for Lila to be voted out in a 4-1 vote over Ellie. In the final immunity challenge, Erik makes a desperate deal to Void to take him to the final two, trying to downplay his great all-around gameplay as similar to Bao's from Cook Islands- someone who has a great physical and strategic game, but their social game has a lot to be desired, and Void agrees to the plan. Void then is able to beat out Erik in the final immunity challenge, and he keeps his word, sending Luther and Ellie to fire. Luther's survival skills aided him immensely in this final challenge, and he wins the fire making challenge with a handy lead. Ellie becomes the 14th and final member of the jury. Our third all male final three consists of Void, Erik, and Luther. Void is called out for trying to be seen as trustworthy, while being caught in multiple lies during the game. Luther's game is seen as weak all-around, since he followed Void and Erik and didn't really do much in the game. He does get some votes due to how bitter the jury is towards Void and Erik, and he gets Ava, EJ, Maddie, and Marshall's votes. Kim, NK, and Vaso all respected Void's game, so they voted him to win. Ultimately, Erik is voted the winner of the final newbie season of King's Survivor due to having a great social and physical game, and never receiving a vote throughout the entire game. He may not have had the best strategic game, but he didn't need it to win the game. Void wins the Fan Favorite for being the biggest personality of the season and for his robbery. Winner: Erik LeFort, u/Gemini_B Fan Favorite: Alfred "Void" Vallentino, u/swoldow For King's Survivor's last season, we will be going out with a bang. 20 memorable contestants who never won before will compete for one last chance at the million, and one will win. Who will be on this season? We will find out soon enough.
A Vegas Miracle - how I won $129,000 in my 3rd tournament ever
This is how I won $129,000 in my 3rd ever poker tournament. Note: don't try this, it probably won't turn out well for you. I spent about 6 months grinding up a $5,000 bankroll playing home/casino games ranging from .5/1 to 1/3. The week that I hit that $5,000 mark, Matt, one of my best friends from college informed me that his job had placed him in Las Vegas for the next month and that I could crash with him for a few nights if I wanted to come on out west. I had frequent flyer miles for the flight and some Mlife/Fremont hotel comps for the rest of the trip. My grand total for flight and lodging for 10 days came to $200. Now, I’m not going to bore you guys with low-level cash hand histories. The next 10 days were filled with me playing lowstakes poker for 10-12 hours a day. It’s as fun as it sounds – it’s not. I was having a good time in Vegas otherwise – but towards the end of the trip I had a realization: 1/2’s the same everywhere. I didn’t have to fly out to the desert to raise to $7 preflop. After 10 days, my grand total from poker (and a fair amount of dumb degenerate shit on Fremont) was -$186. That wasn’t what I came out to do — I knew that I was a better player than my recent results had indicated. The morning of my return flight, I decided I was going to play tournaments until I either busted my $5,000 bankroll or hit something worthwhile. I impulsively decided to not get on my plane at 11:30am. Checkout time from Luxor was at 11:00 – and I didn’t know where I was going yet. I had 30 minutes to pack up my stuff and figure out where I was going before they’d charge me a fee. I sorted TripAdvisor by cheapest first – I’ve stayed in crappy hostels/motels before and overall am a very low maintenance person. I figured that by staying somewhere for $20 a night, I’d be able to maximize the amount of shots I could take before flying back home. I accepted that there was a real chance I’d go back broke – but I didn’t really care. If I didn’t take my shot now, then when? I booked the cheapest bed in Vegas - a 6-person shared hostel just past the Stratosphere. Let's just say you get what you pay for — it was not a happy place. A fair amount of the people in there were bordering on homelessness and there was barbed wire surrounding their outdoor gym. In addition to this, I had the constant stress of knowing that all that separated my bankroll from the rest of my roommates was a tiny lock. I took the Deuce to the strip, lived off food comps, and turned down invites from my friends to hang out. I was in town to play poker, nothing else. Disclaimer: I had never played tournaments prior to heading out to Vegas. My only knowledge of hand ranges was from watching televised events. I downloaded a free Nash chart app on my phone while on the Deuce to the strip and studied it for 5 minutes – whatever, I get the jist of it. Let’s play some cards. The first day of doing this I played the $140 daily at the Aria. Top 13 spots paid -- I finished in 15th. It was depressing to say the least — I felt as if I was at rock bottom. Before the first night of sleeping at the hostel I called the airline to see if I could get on the flight that I had deliberately missed the day prior. I couldn't. I made it my goal to at least cash something so that I could get a decent hotel room. I couldn’t have slept more than 2-3 hours the first night there. One of my roommates was loudly vomiting all night, the sheets itched, and I was going through an existential crisis... like dude, you’ve got a finance degree and you’re really doing this shit? While on the bus to the strip, I opened Poker Atlas and saw that there was a $200 satellite to win a seat into the $1,600 Venetian main event. I decided that I was going to go take a shot at that. I was at risk twice in the satellite but after studying the GTO method on how to win coinflips, I persevered and won a seat to the main. The first day was surreal – once again, I was running on minimal sleep due to my housing arrangements, but I remember the following hands from day 1:
Button opens to 2.2x, I’m in the BB with Q9cc. SB folds, we go HU to a flop of 832c. He c-bets, I call. Turn 4x, x/x. River Ax. I check, he bets, I x/r to like 3x his bet, he insta folds. I take it down and show air.
UTG+1 opens, MP calls, I flat on the button with K10ss. 3 ways to a flop of Qs43xx. UTG+1 bets 40% pot, MP calls, I call. Turn is the Js. UTG+1 bets 60% pot, MP calls, I flat. River comes the 8s. UTG+1 snap bets 80%. MP flats, I flat. I announce king high flush, they both muck.
Folds to the SB, he limps, I look down at Q10o, and check. Flop comes KQ6r. He leads 35%, I call. Turn 10. He bets, I call. River comes a J. He bets, I tank for about 45 seconds then flick in a call, he shows 76o… ship it.
The average stack after day 1 was around 40k, I bagged like 65k. I walked back to the Deuce stop outside of the Venetian and headed on my 30 minute ride back home. I kept thinking to myself, someone’s gotta win this thing, why not me? I had to get in the money for this tournament to be able to get the fuck out of there. A min cash here was over $3k – that was more than enough for me to get a suite on Fremont for a few nights and party for a bit, then get home with my head held high. Day 2: I get up at 7am after already being completely awake for the past 4 hours. There’s no way I slept more than 3 hours last night. I hit the Denny’s by the Stratosphere then get on the Deuce. I get to the Venetian and feel like I’m about to fall asleep. I go to the self-serve coffee/tea dispenser in the middle of the room and make myself an iced coffee. I get to my table, and the cocktail waitress comes around. I ask for another iced coffee and toss her a fiver. Here are some highlights from the 1st half of day 2:
I open 97ss on the button, BB flats. Flop comes AK3s. BB checks, I bet 35%. He throws out a 5k chip – which I interpret as a x/r to my bet. I groan, make a joke about it being the first hand of the day, and start to muck. The dealer stops my cards midway before hitting the muck, and informs me that he didn’t raise, that he called my flop bet. Everyone laughs, I go silent and wait for him to make change. Turn is the 2s. He thinks for a second and bets 30%. I tank for like 30 seconds, then flat. River is a blank. He thinks for a second, then checks. I bet like 30% pot. He tells me that I’m an angle shooter and mucks. I tell him I’m not an angle shooter and show my 9 high. Everyone laughs, we get on with playing.
CO opens, I 3b 87dd in the SB to 4x, he flats. Flop comes 1032d. I check, he checks. Turn is the 6d. I bet 55% pot, he flats. River comes the Kd. I bet 60%, he tanks, tells me he thinks I backdoored diamonds, then folds. Damn, these players are pretty good.
I open KK UTG to 2.5x, UTG +1 flats. Heads up to a flop of K43r. x/x. Turn 8, I bet 40% pot, he calls. River 3, I bet 80% pot, he tanks, then calls with AK.
I bring my 3 racks of chips to the new table and immediately get some comments – whatever, I’m just on a heater, it happens. At this point, my body was giving out. I was trying my hardest not to fall asleep in between every hand. Cutoff opens, I’m in the SB, I look down at KK. I put in the 3b, folds back to him. He puts in a healthy 4. We’re the two big stacks at the table – I’d guess he was 50bb effective while I was around 65bb. God damn, am I good enough to fold kings here? No, I’m not. I shove, he snaps, I know that I’ve just fucked up my tournament. He shows the aces. The dealer puts a king in the window, and I hold. I’m for sure the chip leader now. I lose a few 40/60 and 60/40 flips and chip down a bit. I still have a very healthy stack, probably around 80bb. The next 3 hands are from the second half of day 2:
Aggro Asian guy on the button. Folds to him, he opens to 2.2x, SB folds, I look down at 43ss and raise to 7.5x, he flats.
Flop comes 894cc. I check, he bets, I call. Turn’s another 9. I check, he bets 75% pot, I call. River’s the 10c. I check, he bets 1.2x pot. I ask the dealer for a count of the bet – meanwhile, villain looks like he’s going to shit himself. I flick in a chip, he throws down KcQx. I laugh a little, show my 43ss, and obnoxiously say ship it.
I open KQo UTG+1, MP 3bets me. I figure that a 4b from UTG+1 could take it down a fair amount of the time, so I decide to go for it. He thinks for a second and flats.
Flop comes AK4r. I check, he checks back. Turn is a 6, goes x/x again. River’s another brick. I put in a 30% value bet. He does a little grimace and tanks for like 20 seconds. It looks like he’s going to fold so I start verbally telling him that his queens are good. The dealer informs me that you’re not allowed to talk about your hand to another player. I inform him that I’m not talking about my hand, I’m talking about villains’ hand. Dealer laughs and lets me continue to antagonize villain. MP starts talking back, asking if I’m really bluffing. I inform him that once he folds, I’ll show the bluff. He ends up calling, I snap show, he pays me then gets up from the table to go for a walk.
We’re playing 6 handed. UTG opens, MP flats, I flat TT on the button. 3 ways to a flop of AT9ccc. UTG bets 50% pot, MP folds, I put in a medium sized raise. He thinks about it and flats.
The turn is the Kd. He pauses for a second then checks. I figured AxKc was his most likely combo. I didn’t think he could fold AxKc to any sizing – I decide to overbet jam 2x pot. He tanks for like 5 min and eventually lets it go. He tells me later he folded AxKc. Nice fold sir. I finished day two 2nd in chips out of the 64 players remaining. More importantly, I was in the money. My friend Matt offered to give me a ride to the hostel to grab my stuff. On the way to the hostel I’m telling Matt how trash the place is and he’s kind of like yeah man, whatever, it can’t be that bad. We gather my belongings and head on out. Matt remarked to me that the hostel reminded him of jail mixed with a summer camp. I open a same night hotel app and see a room at the Four Queens available for $110. The lady at check in was nice enough – however, she informed me that the only room they had available at my price point was a smoking room overlooking the Fremont St. experience. I paid the $20 to upgrade to a non-smoking in the quiet part of the hotel. Vegas man, I swear. It’s like 2am at this point -- I get to my room, sit on the bed and close my eyes. I open them and it’s 11:00am. Ah fuck man, I gotta get to the Venetian. I hop in the shower, brush my teeth, and freshen up. Even if I don’t have clean clothes, whatever, I’m second in the main, who cares. Some interesting hands from the first part of Day 3:
I had two inexcusable punts in this tournament. This is the first one: I open 5h5c from LP, BB calls. Flop comes J62hhh. x/x. Turn is a 4x. x, I bet 50% pot, BB jams 15bb. I called – and immediately realized I fucked up, big time. He had 2 big chips in his stack that I didn’t see, making his shove effectively like 25bb. In addition, I didn’t have the 5h, I had the 5d. I really didn’t ask for a count or double check my hole cards. Villain turns over 64o and holds. In my defense, I literally didn’t know what ICM meant at the time. Whoops.
Someone who I recognize from poker TV jams 22bb UTG. I’m in the CO with JJ, I ask him how much it is, he’s talkative and seems genuinely comfortable/down for me to call. I fold – I run into him a few days later at the Aria, he tells me he had AA there. I believe him.
CO opens, button instantly jams 30bb effective. I’m in the SB with TT and 25bb – live reads, we’re flipping. I call for all in my effective stack, CO folds, button has AQ. I hold. He’s not happy I called with tens. Oh well, sorry bro, gg.
MP opens, CO 3 bets to 7bb, button jams 20bb. I look down at 2 black aces in the big blind. I reshove, MP folds, CO calls off his 20bb stack. I’m up against AQ and QQ. I hold.
Even with my atrocious punt earlier in the day, I’m the chip leader again. We’re down to about 15 left in the field. UTG opens, I 3b AKo on the button, he jams 20bb, I call. He has 99, a king comes on the flop and he’s gone. It’s day 3 of the main and we’re playing 5 handed with 12 people left. Let’s fucking go.
Button opens to 2.5x, I’m in the BB with A8dd, I flat. Flop comes A104r, I check, he bets, I call. Turn is a 7, x/x. River A, I bet 1.2x pot. He tanks, calls, I show, I’m good.
CO opens to 2.5x, I’m in the BB with 108dd, I flat. Flop comes Kd4x2d, it goes x/x. Turn is a Kx, I check, he bets 60% pot, I flat. River is the 4d. I check, he bets pot. I tank and let it go. He tells me later he checked back a weak king on the flop.
SB completes, I’m in the BB with J9o and I check my option. Flop comes Q108r. The SB donks out into me for 60% pot. I flat. Turn comes a brick and he leads into me for 60% again. I raise to 3.5x his turn bet, he thinks for a while then flats. River is another brick. He bets 80% pot into me. I tank for a while, then shove. He starts laughing and folds QQ face up.
Less than a week ago I was grinding buffet comps at Planet Hollywood. Now I have guys correctly folding top set to me. I’ve made it to the final table. I pick up a few small pots and the two shortstacks at the table get eliminated in quick succession. This is without a doubt the most pointless and just plain out stupid punt of my entire life: I open J2dd on the button into a ~18bb SB and a GTO robot with mid 7 figures in career earnings in the BB. Don’t do this, this is quite literally lighting money on fire. SB folds, BB flats. Flop comes Kh8h3d. I cbet, BB calls. Turn is the Kd, goes x/x. River comes a 7h, he leads into me for half pot. Whatever, I’m going for it – I put in a raise. He thinks for all of 5 seconds then calls me with KQh. Wow, I just punted away $50,000 in ICM. Jesus Christ dude, what the fuck. For the next orbit or two, I’m clearly pissed at myself. I get up after my button and do a lap around the poker room – I’m good. The monkey tilt is gone, and I’m ready to get back to playing normal ranges. Anyway, nothing else really happens for a while – I look down at AKo UTG and raise it up. Folds around to the BB, he thinks for a while, then jams for about 20bb. I snap, he has AQo. I hold. I’m now second in chips. We go on a 10-minute break. When I get back to the table, the prospect of a 5-way chop comes up. We’re all tired – and the pay jumps are very significant. If you couldn’t tell from this story, I’m a degenerate, but in this spot, I’m willing to reduce variance a bit. We run the numbers and come to an agreement – we all agree to take a very slight ICM bump to give 1st place a bit more money than his stack is worth. I just won $129,000 -- huh? This was my second tournament cash – not too bad considering that it was my third tournament ever. Maybe I should start learning how to play MTT’s now. I take $124,000 in a check and $5,000 in cash. I’m leaving Vegas in 4 days and don’t plan on coming home with any of the cash. The winner of the tournament’s a pretty cool guy and he asks if I want to crash in his guest room tonight… like yeah, if that’s a real offer, I’m down. I pick up my toiletry bag from the Venetian concierge and we hit the Uber. The next morning Matt picks me up at his house – I hit the Chase bank and deposit the $124,000. I take Matt and my other friend, Spencer out to the Sterling Brunch over at Bally’s – the entire time, Spencer just kept repeating “Davis, what the fuck”. I don’t know dude, seriously, what the fuck. I get a suite at the D downtown that night and (very) long story short I end up hitting $100 on a number at roulette at 5am. It’s time for bed. Here’s a link to my Hendon Mob, verifying my tournament result. Hopefully I see some of you guys at the WSOP in 2021. https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=783521 Davis
You asked for it, here it is: Meeting McCarthy (1992)
Meeting McCarthy by Garry Wallace Southern Quarterly, 1992, 30(4), 134-139 In March of 1989, while traveling to El Paso with Betty Carey, I was afforded the opportunity of meeting Cormac McCarthy. Betty Carey, of Las Vegas World Series of Poker fame, was writing a book about her adventures as a professional gambler. She had arranged to meet with McCarthy to discuss her current writing, as well as to rendezvous with their common friend, Frank Morton, another gambler. What follows is my best recollection of the several conversations that took place over three days of our visit. I made no tape recording or notes during these informal, quite friendly talks, but wrote what I remembered in a journal after returning from El Paso. This account is recreated from chapters in my unpublished novel based on my year-long writing partnership with Betty Carey, and is as accurate as memory allows. Where I felt reasonable confident about actual words, I have used direct quotations. Elsewhere, I have paraphrased. On a bright spring Sunday morning, Betty and I awaited McCarthy in a quaint family restaurant on Mesa Avenue in El Paso, where Cormac suggested we meet to have brunch. Betty clutched a handkerchief to absorb the perspiration from her hands. She was nervous, as was I. Each time the entrance door opened, we glanced in anticipation. Finally a man, nondescript—medium build, short hair, a dull plaid shirt—walked down the short flight of stairs, his eyes searching the lower tier where we seated. It was Cormac McCarthy. Betty smiled and we got up to greet her friend. McCarthy asked about Betty’s book. He had been privy to her very first draft, written three years before. Her stories were about life as a gambler. For thirteen years she had won and lost fortunes, sitting at poker tables across the country with men like Jack Strauss and Amarillo Slim, risking life to hijackers, still able to spirit away tidy sums unknown to anyone but herself. Betty told McCarthy that so much had happened since that first draft that she was in the process of rewriting the whole story. Betty had allegedly been cheated in a Las Vegas casino scam. There were allegations of Gaming Commission and FBI coverups. Her case was then on appeal before the Nevada Supreme Court, ultimately to be thrown out because of the statute of limitations. She asked McCarthy if it was common for writers to do so much rewriting. He said he knew a few writers who would compose a hundred pages of a novel and then have to start over, but that he usually knew where his own novels were going from the start. Betty told McCarthy that she and I had written the screenplay of her story, and that ICM of Los Angeles had said it possessed some of the same appeal as Silkwood. She failed to mention that the agent had turned it down for being “awkwardly written,” because we’d portrayed Betty as an “arrogant and unsympathetic character,” and because “the authors seem inexperienced in mapping out dramatic framework.” She said, “I’m writing my book in a suspense format. I want it to be a best seller.” “I don’t read best sellers,” McCarthy said. Feeling responsible for the latest direction the book had taken, I explained, “What she means by ‘best seller’ is that she wants the facts of the casino scam to reach as many people as possible.” With a curt nod McCarthy indicated that he had understood that to be Betty’s meaning. He acted friendly yet cool toward me, a stranger. McCarthy asked if there was a particular author that Betty was patterning her novel after. I mentioned Ken Follett. McCarthy nodded and said that Follet (sic) was good. He mentioned also that Stephen King was a good writer. From his earlier comment on best sellers, I wasn’t sure if McCarthy had read these authors or if he was speaking from hearsay. “What do you read?” I asked. McCarthy said he read mostly nonfiction, although he did enjoy Hemingway. Betty and I had a conversation the day before with Irving Brown and his wife, proprietors of a used and rare book store on Mesa Avenue. An acquaintance of McCarthy as well as a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, El Paso, Brown told us that McCarthy—an unpretentious man who often did his laundry right next door—considered Melville the greatest author, and that he read books about astronomy and physics. Brown especially liked the part in Suttree where Cornelius sees his reflection in the glass door and thinks, “Suttree and anti-Suttree.” Brown said that in his opinion McCarthy had over-read Plato. Betty mentioned how hard it was to find the time to write. When I said, “You have to be selfish,” McCarthy agreed, but substituted the word “ruthless.” Betty listed a few of the interruptions she had to put up with, eliciting McCarthy’s remark that he could write in a train station if he had to, but not if somebody kept asking for directions. McCarthy said that he wrote in the morning, every morning. “Why not write every day?” he asked rhetorically. “In the afternoon I visit friends. You can’t write all day long.” When Betty said she wished she could just run away from her obligations and be free to write, McCarthy recalled that once he had spent an entire year doing little more than playing pool with his friends. Betty and McCarthy talked about their lives, the consequences of their successes. Betty said that no more would she consent to interviews because so often they changed the story, often sensationalizing her life beyond reality. McCarthy agreed, saying that he would not do interviews.1 He told Betty that J. D. Salinger had given only one interview throughout his career as a novelist, to elementary children. “Do you teach?” I asked. Looking at me sternly, McCarthy said that he did not, and he seemed not to want to discuss it further. He mentioned an author, Robert Fulghum, who had published a somewhat humorous book about learning all you need to know by the time you graduate from kindergarten. McCarthy gave a few examples: “To tell the truth. Not to hit each other. To be fair.” Betty laughed. “I like that,” she said. From the things McCarthy said about academia, I understood him to believe that many of human beings’ problems arose from pursuits in education. In a later conversation about spiritual experiences, McCarthy said that education often got in the way of understanding. He added that in certain Eskimo cultures, art, of both high and low quality, was seen as good. Art was a personal expression. Nobody went around telling children how to do theirs differently. Betty said she felt different from most people in our society, that she was very much a loner and that her friends would not be considered mainstream. McCarthy referred to himself and Betty as “outlaws.” He gazed at her and said, “Look who we are. We’re desperate people.” They had both lived such uncommon lives that their spirits were easily kindred. I felt that my own life had been too sheltered. Again I asked McCarthy if he could recommend any good books or authors that a beginning writer should read. He said, “All great writers read all other great writers.” Upon further prodding, he mentioned several of John McFee’s books and The Song Lines by Bruce Chatwin. McCarthy said that he knew Larry McMurtry; because McCarthy loved the television movie “Lonesome Dove” so much, he said that he would never read the book. Betty mentioned her love of traveling and said that some people had suggested she write a book about her travels, or a how-to-on poker, and forget the nonsense about exposing the alleged casino scam that had cheated her out of many thousands of dollars. Betty asked about what she could and could not write about other people. McCarthy said that writers had great latitude in their writing and, on a question about other people’s ideas, said, “If you like it, use it.” I believe this came under the axiom that everything had already been written and that most ideas were neither unique in themselves nor original. Brunch ended and the coffee pot went dry. I picked up the bill. Betty and I drove the camper back to the motel with McCarthy following in his old beater. The exterior of his car had been sandblasted to the metal and touched up with primer paint. It looked prepped for the body shop. Even with my untrained ear, I could tell the engine ran well. At the motel Betty dug into her briefcase for her most recently drafted chapter, which she handed to McCarthy, apologizing for its not being typed. McCarthy said, “That’s all right. We’re friends. We do things like this for each other.” The next day, Betty and I met McCarthy at an out-of-the-way health food store that served frozen yogurt and sandwiches. We ordered at the counter and took seats at a small table next to the front window. After we were served, the conversation turned to writing. Betty asked which person it would be best to write her story in, and McCarthy said that was always a hard question to answer. He asked which person she felt most comfortable writing in, and Betty said that both the first and third had their benefits, but that she just couldn’t decide. She wanted McCarthy to tell her which to use, and he could not do that. He offered suggestions quite sparingly. To a question about how descriptive to make Betty’s book, McCarthy said that the point of most novels could be told in a paragraph. The reason they’re longer is so the author can tell a story. And he said, “Don’t ever treat your audience as if they’re stupid. Your reader is smart.” “Have you read Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying?” McCarthy asked. She had not. He explained that each chapter of the novel had been written in the first person from the perspective of each of the different characters. When he suggested that Betty might try something like that, I could see hopelessness on Betty’s face. She had been working on her book for over three years. McCarthy mentioned that Faulkner had written the novel during his spare moments while working on a manual labor job at night. He said that Faulkner had even used a wheelbarrow on which to compose the story. McCarthy said that Faulkner never expected the novel to become great, and that the novel had a certain amateurish quality that gave the book its great appeal. He said that Betty should not be overly concerned if her writing was not professional, and that she should try to retain the natural quality that her writing had, as that was often the mark of literature. Because Betty was having trouble getting the most recent draft of the novel started, McCarthy suggested that she could try writing the ending of her story first, then the beginning. He told her to get a tape recorder and tell her stories into a microphone and then play them back. Betty talked about the most recent developments of her story, but even with McCarthy she was hesitant to reveal many of the specifics. McCarthy became curious when Betty described the four levels by which she categorized poker players. She explained that the top two levels involved the reading of “tells” (short for “telegraphing”), and the ability to send out misleading “false tells.” She mentioned how she tested people by asking “set up” questions and viewing their responses. She would often ask questions to which she was sure a person would lie, and then remember what behaviors accompanied those responses. “Fascinating,” McCarthy said. “Do I have any tells?” Betty laughed and studied him more closely. “I haven’t noticed any yet.” That night, in a freak blizzard, Betty and I drove to a motel across town where Frank Morton was spending the night on his way home from Los Angeles. Frank was the classic itinerant gambler, as well as a somewhat unorthodox evangelist. He was the liaison who had initially brought McCarthy and Betty together. A tall man with graying hair, Frank spoke with a voice that was garbled with years of cigarette smoking, and his breathing was labored. I found him friendly and rather opinionated, but he would listen to your ideas if you could break into the stream of his talk. After McCarthy arrived, we all climbed into Frank’s car. The snow and sleet moved on, leaving a violent sand storm in its wake. Frank followed McCarthy’s directions to a Mexican restaurant, and by the time we got there, the wind had died. Frank talked on about the hate among the races in L.A., about people’s lack of trust and the general downfall of the human condition. Each of us added opinions now and then, but it was Frank who monopolized the conversation and filled the air with smoke. We were his congregation. McCarthy sat and listened, offering few observations of his own. Back at his motel room, Frank related a number of personal religious experiences that he had had over the years, pointing out the flaws in other people’s lack of faith. I challenged him, saying that one day science would understand these unexplained phenomena for what they really were. McCarthy commented that some cultures used drugs to enhance the spiritual experience, and that he had tried LSD before the drug was made illegal. He said that it had helped to open his eyes to these kinds of experiences. Betty recounted having seen the image of Christ on a bus while in Costa Rica. This had been at a time following the casino scam when Betty had been on the run. She said that her experience was as real as our sitting together in the motel room. It had not been a dream or hallucination. Always the skeptic, I said, “But how does that prove Christianity? Why not Buddha or Allah? You saw Jesus because you were raised in Jesus-land.” I looked to Frank and McCarthy. Their expressions were sympathetic. McCarthy was slumped into one of the chairs with his left leg slung over the arm rest. He appeared a very patient listener. He said that he felt sorry for me because I was unable to grasp this concept of spiritual experience. He said that people all over the world, in every religion, were familiar with this experience. He asked if I’d ever read William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience. I had not. His attitude seemed to indicate that in this book were the answers to many of the questions posed during our evening discussion. I was nonplussed. “Truth,” McCarthy said about what writers must accomplish in their writing. “But what exactly is truth?” I asked. “Truth,” he repeated, his implications tacit. The next morning, Betty and I were at the motel when McCarthy arrived to go over his response to Betty’s chapter. He had written his critique on separate, smaller pieces of paper. Point by point, he went over his comments, offering occasional praise while not sparing the rod. Afterwards, I listed the three qualities I believed necessary for a person to become a successful writher: “To read a lot. To write a lot. To experience a lot.” McCarthy said that we all had experience enough from which to write. Months after our visit, I wrote McCarthy, completing a few thoughts I’d been unable to that night we discussed spiritual experiences. Some time later, I received his reply. He said that the religious experience is always described through the symbols of a particular culture and thus is somewhat misrepresented by them. He indicated that even the religious person is often uncomfortable with such experiences and accounts of them, and that those who have not had a religious experience cannot comprehend it through second-hand accounts, even good ones like James’s Varieties of Religious Experience. He went on to say that he thinks the mystical experience is a direct apprehension of reality, unmediated by symbol, and he ended with the thought that our inability to see spiritual truth is the greater mystery. NOTES 1 He has recently made an exception to this rule, granting an interview to the Richard B. Woodward of the New York Times Magazine on the occasion of the publication of All the Pretty Horses. My account of our visit with McCarthy, neither intended nor conducted as an interview, is published here with his knowledge.
There have been many mistakes that have been made, and someone needs to reverse the curse... Swoldow's Survivor has undergone 35 seasons of amazing plays, but sometimes, a few mistakes were made, and as a result, someone gets sent home. However, 20 new castaways have a chance to nullify that bad decision. A new twist, entitled 'Ghost Island' is an island someone can visit in exile, and bid their vote on a chance to get an advantage that has been misused by someone who has played prior to them. MEET THE CAST: Malolo Tribe:
Armando grew up learning how to cook from his mother, and knew that he wanted to do that as a career someday. He now runs a successful restaurant, and believes that his organizational and leadership skills can help him not only go far in this game, but to even possibly win as well.
Breadfruit is a very mysterious fellow. He rarely ever speaks and is extremely useless in every aspect of life. Allegedly, he is a genetic experiment gone wrong when scientists combined a human with the properties of breadfruit and has been locked up in a lab for his whole life. He came on the show because why not.
Growing up in Las Vegas, Devon learned first hand how to enjoy life in Sin City, and also how to live big in Sin City. In his early teens, Devon learned how to play gambling games from his pro poker player dad: Texas Hold 'em, Blackjack, Roulette. He also learned about people's tells and whether they are bluffing or not. Now grown up, he not only knows how to win big, he also has the skills for his job when not in Vegas, convincing people to purchase a house. He's going into Survivor with the same expectations as he does when he plays in a casino, Winning Big!
A notorious idiot with who has replaced any form of intelligence with good vibes instead. He is a proud weed addict, (420 for grubs and life), and has invented a yoga technique he refers to as 'the chill session'. Will his idiocy get the best of him, or will people want him around as an easy vote and goat?
Kathy has had the dream of being a movie star since she was a little girl, but unfortunately for her, she hasn't gotten her big break yet, and is financially struggling. She hopes Survivor can get her name out there, and someone takes notice how impressive she is at lying on the show, and take her in for a role.
Madelyn was born into a family that didn’t love her for who she is due to her gender transition. So she decided to create her own family. Welcome to the stage Haus Swann! She was bullied at first by other LGBT individuals when she first made an appearance on the ball scene. However, she quickly rose to fame because of her beautifully made gowns. She is quite the seamstress. She can make a dress in 3 minutes. She gives back to her community by taking in LGBT youth and giving them a home.
Ray grew up in a very conservative town where he couldn’t express himself openly. After getting accepted into college, he decided that he would leave his family and friends and be his true self. Right now he’s a very impulsive young man trying to get a security blanket with the money. Ray believes that anything that breathes is most likely attracted to him, which mean he’ll flirt with anyone or anything to get his way.
Roxy has always been the most popular at school. She loved being popular because people are intimidated by her and she runs the school. After leaving high school, Roxy didn’t want to go to college and decided to be a waitress. Roxy is willing to flirt with all the guys if that is what it takes for her to run the game like her high school and win.
Snow Kong has lived the majority of her short life thus far with everything being served to her on a silver platter. As a child and throughout high school, due to being the daughter of the CEO of a widely established professional services network, Snow attended a high-end boarding school where she stayed while her parents remained focused on their work rather than having to worry about their child. Because of her lack of parental involvement, Snow often acted out and was the notorious “mean girl” at her school. She was incredibly popular but also incredibly mean and arrogant. Rather than gaining her popularity from a large social circle, Snow’s popularity came from her family, her money, and the aura that she carried herself with; one that caused others to avert their gaze from her if she caught them staring or move out of a seat if she wanted to sit there. Currently, being 23 and out of high school now, Snow has opted to carry on being a socialite and makes her income by being booked for appearances at clubs and attending runway shows, movie premieres, and launching a perfume line or two. She loves making money by having fun and her lifestyle suits her well. Snow hopes she can use her effortless skills of persuasion and her threateningly charming aura to get her fellow castaways to hand her another easy million dollars.
Tea has always been a very eccentric and bubbly woman! When she was young she graduated at the top of her class and decided to go into the air force as she wanted to help others and serve for her country! She later had a major Injury when she lost her leg and was rushed to the hospital. She wasn't supposed to survive but she miraculously survived. She has been a huge fan of Survivor since the first season and she wants to compete herself and prove ANYONE can win
Brazilian-born Aline came to the U.S when she was 12 years old. She was born in the Brazilian favelas and for her to live in the U.S and get the work opportunities she has right now is the true definition of the American dream. She comes to Swoldow's Survivor with a fun attitude and hopes to bring her Brazilian essence to the show.
To sum a long story short, Brant is the definition of a psychopath. You can tell by just looking at him that there is something not right in his head, that there is some dark thoughts up there. He was always shy and weird, as he liked to kill insects and talk about death. That lead to a phase of him killing animals and keeping their organs in a jar, and having a large collection of fake blood to scare his family and friends. One day there was a triple homicide in his town with people suspecting it’s Brant, but there was no evidence it was him, although he says he knows whether he did it or not, but refuses to answer. After that he moved away, he brought a graveyard and changed his name. He likes working in the graveyard as he gets to live a private life alone, and look at the corpses, as he says they look so peaceful and beautiful. He wants to win that money to expand his graveyard, and will do anything to get it. Brant will just kill for that money.
Damon has been competitive his whole life, his family is a long line of professional athletes. He grew up in love with basketball. He is coming off an MVP season and a championship. He fills on top of the world. What's next... Survivor! He wants to play the best physical game there ever was.
Hope had a really bad childhood. She never saw a full plate of food, and her poverty led her to meet the wrong people. Passing out at a party, someone snuck a tattoo of her name on her face, and since then has tried to get herself out of her living situation. She wants to win to get a good life for her, her family, and end all of the financial problems that have plagued her.
Juliette has been a hard-worker from a very early age. Always intelligent and promising, Juliette was always the smartest kid in school. The class president and the one voted most likely to rule the world one day. Juliette's life has been rather charmed, but she's always been ambitious and eager to succeed. Becoming a therapist was exactly what she wanted to do with her life. Now, getting older, Juliette is in a comfortable place. She's happily married to a wonderful man, has kids, and a very successful job. But she still wants to do something new and interesting and Survivor is just the thing to be that for her. Juliette believes her intelligence will serve her well in the game and that her skills as a therapist will help her even more when it comes to relationships. With a big mind for strategy, she'll do whatever she has to in order to advance herself. If she needs to be loyal to get far, she will, but she'll just as easily break those bonds if it means getting to the end.
Mary is a struggling office worker hoping to get further by winning money on Survivor. She plans to use her wits and determination to get further in the game than people expect and become an unseen threat.
At a young age, Meg was mentally abused by her dad, causing her to cling to every man who came in contact with her. Unfortunately, all the men did for her was use her and kick her to the curb. Meg is out here to prove that she isn't a tool and can kick butt!
R2's parents moved to America and had him a year later. They've always taught him about the importance of hard work. He's quiet and introverted, but can be very charming once he finally opens up to people.
Taken from his parents alongside his brother and fellow player Ryan, Trey opted not to join Ryan's band and instead help produce for him. He wants to be known for his own game and not be judged on how his brother played in China and FvF.
Troy has a rough exterior and looks like he would be tough but deep down he is very sensitive and caring. He married his high school sweetheart and found out that she is pregnant two weeks before leaving for the show. Now he not only has himself and his wife to play for but also his unborn child.
THE SEASON: https://brantsteele.com/survivo36/r.php?c=KdpJKr3d Episode 1: Two tribes of ten are cast away in Fiji, and they are told the theme of this season is making failed decisions. The tribemates are immediately put to the test when they must pick a leader. Breadfruit volunteers without anyone's consent for Malolo, and Mary, being the oldest person on Naviti, is picked for them. They are then told to pick two people to compete in a challenge. Breadfruit picks Snow and Tea and Mary picks Troy and Juliette. Despite their... questionable pick for a leader, Malolo wins the challenge and get a shelter building kit. At Malolo, Snow immediately starts trying to make a move. She starts to flirt with Ray and the two naturally want to control the game together, forming a showmance they manage to keep well hidden. Wanting to form a group of all people that would be deemed as day one threats, Devon and Kathy are also roped into this new four-person group due to their occupations. The four of them have the strategic ability to pull off many crazy moves. Surf begins to notice the group forming, and doesn't really see that as very tubular so he tries and get Devon to align with him by introducing him to his 'chill sessions.' Unfortunately, Devon hates them, prompting a fight between him and Surf. At Naviti, Damon immediately wants to take charge of the tribe and starts to build trust with Hope, who he really likes. Trey introduces himself, and people are taken aback about him being a Durante. Trey knows that as soon as people knew his last name, he'd be seen as a threat, so he immediately starts painting targets on the backs of others, getting into a fight with Damon and accusing him of playing too hard, too early. Everyone knows that despite Trey's heritage, Damon is playing way harder than him, and everyone wants to naturally align with Trey. Juliette and Meg bond and open up to eachother, and Juliette sees Meg as an easy vote she can manipulate how she wants. Even Hope is starting to not trust Damon, so she starts to build an alliance, bringing in Trey and Juliette initially. Juliette then adds in Meg, the group decides to bring in Troy as well, and Aline and Brant sneak their way into the group too. Damon, Mary, and R2 are on the outs, as Mary screwed the challenge, Damon is a threat, and R2 has been nervous and hasn't cultivated a relationship. Naviti wins the first immunity challenge, and they have to pick someone to go to Ghost Island and be absent from tribal. They pick Tea. Upon arriving, she is given the opportunity to wager her vote for a secret advantage, and she manages to win it, as it is an idol clue. Malolo now has to go to tribal, and the tribe isn't very happy with Breadfruit's performance in the challenge, as he stood and did nothing for the majority of it. Everyone on Malolo agrees Breadfruit has to go, except for Surf, who sees Breadfruit as a chill dude and would much rather vote for Madelyn who he doesn't sense good vibes from. Breadfruit wants Roxy out for being a social threat, but nobody wants to work with him. Breadfruit is sent home in a 7-1-1 vote. Tea gets back from Ghost Island, and scared she hasn't formed any bonds due to being absent from tribal, she shares the idol clue she won with Roxy, who immediately stabs her in the back, finding the idol on her own. This idol was the one Connor never got to play in Blood vs Water. Tea realizes what Roxy did and has a meltdown, not expecting to be lied to, and wanting someone to vote with her alliance as a number, Kathy goes to comfort Tea and the two form a strong connection. Armando, wanting to make bonds starts cooking for everyone, and Roxy takes a liking to him, and the two grow close. Roxy says she'll vote for him if he gets her extra rice servings and Armando, immediately agrees, knowing he can use his skills to make there seem like more rice. At Naviti, Troy finds the legacy advantage Penelope misplayed in Egypt. Troy, wanting someone on the outs as a contingency plan talks to R2 and tells him of the idol to gain his trust. Mary, meanwhile, impresses the team with how much she works around camp. Brant, meanwhile, does the opposite, rubbing everyone the wrong way when he tells them about his gruesome pass-times as a child. He is promptly kicked from the alliance as everyone is disgusted by him. Malolo wins immunity, and Brant is sent to Ghost Island. He is at peace with the island as it is themed around death, but the advantage isn't available so he just lives in isolation for a night. R2 and Mary want to break up the duo of Juliette and Meg by voting Meg, and Damon wants R2 out for being weak in challenges. Aline has a strategic plan, but she wants to use her Brazilian charms to lay underestimated, so she tells Trey her plan, asking him to propose it to the group, promising she will look out for him if anyone tries to gun for him. Trey agrees. The two propose doing a 3-2-1 split vote between R2, Mary, and Damon, and everyone agrees. Troy is mad R2 plans to be the one everyone plans to send home, as he made a bond with him, but he doesn't want to anger anyone immediately so he goes with the plan. R2 goes home in a 4-2-1 vote. Episode 2: The tribes are told that they are swapping really early. The new Malolo tribe has Aline, Armando, Brant, Devon, Surf, Juliette, Kathy, Tea, and Trey, while Naviti has Damon, Hope, Madelyn, Mary, Meg, Ray, Roxy, Snow, and Troy. The only Malolo alliance is cut in two, with Devon and Kathy hoping Ray and Snow can make it out alive on the other side of things. Malolo has majority, but Surf and Tea haven't voted with them, and would flip if given the option. Trey, Aline, and Juliette retain their original alliance, with Brant as the final Naviti member. Trey starts bonding with Devon, hoping the two could work something out, and they get along nicely. Trey throws Brant's name under the bus, as he is a creep, and Devon also already feel uncomfortable by him. Both the idols are at Naviti camp, and Troy, Mary, Meg, and Hope run the tribe. Damon doesn't want to work with any of them, as they left him out of the conversation, so he starts to bond with Madelyn. Both were on the bottom of their tribes and they plan to work together. Snow and Ray immediately want to throw Roxy under the bus for being untrustworthy, as they know that they have to convince Naviti to spare them and cut Madelyn and Roxy first. Malolo wins immunity, and Devon, wanting his alliance to have safety, sends Snow to Ghost Island, where there is no advantage for her. Hope, Mary, Meg, and Troy get together and discuss who they want to vote, and they all see Roxy as the least trustworthy. Ray continues to fuel the fire, by spreading lies about her to the women of Naviti. However, Ray hopes an idol gets played, and he plans to vote for Meg. Madelyn, however, knows what Ray is up to, and is sick of it. She tells Damon to vote for Ray, and then tells Roxy she is being targeted by Naviti. Roxy gets extremely paranoid but knows what she has to do. She plans to vote for Hope, because she sees her as the biggest threat, and at tribal, Roxy plays her idol, negating 4 votes. Her jaw drops, however, when Ray is sent home in a 2-1-1-0 vote. Episode 3: Hope and Troy celebrate getting through the vote without anyone from Naviti going, and Mary notices how close Hope and Troy are getting, believing she is the third wheel. She immediately wants more power, so she approaches the outsiders, Damon and Madelyn, and a new alliance is formed. Snow gets back from Ghost Island and is appalled that her showmance was did dirty. She assumes someone from Naviti did it, and wants revenge, so she starts spreading lies about Meg to this newly formed alliance. Kathy continues to try and form as many bonds as possible and makes one with Aline, who she finds interesting due to her culture. Aline continues to play dumb, while secretly running things behind the scenes with Trey. Surf starts eating more and more rice daily, which angers Armando and Tea. Tea gets into a fight with Surf as a result. Naviti wins reward and Armando is sent to Ghost Island. He gets an available advantage, but doesn't want to wager his vote. Malolo wins immunity, and Naviti goes back to tribal. Snow wants everyone to pay for what happened to Ray, so she starts to have side conversations with those on the bottom to make a majority. She talks to Roxy, telling her they have to vote Meg, and then separately talks to Damon, Madelyn, and Mary. A new majority is formed, and Hope starts to get nervous. She talks to Troy about why nobody is talking to them, and Troy's intuition as a cop is to play his idol. He plays it on Meg, negating 5 votes, and sending Roxy home in a 3-0 vote. Episode 4: Despite the original alliance's victory, they are still at a minority, and Snow wants to make sure nobody flips back onto them. She uses her charms to make everyone believe she is an asset to tribal life, and Mary, Damon, and Madelyn still want to work with her to vote out Meg. Trey starts to try and convince a Malolo to flip on his tribe, and believes it is best to try and work Tea to his side. The two talk, but Kathy notices what Trey is trying to do and wants Tea to herself. She continues to bond with Tea as well. Malolo wins reward and they sent Troy to Ghost Island where he finds nothing. Malolo also wins immunity again, sending Naviti back to tribal. Hope doesn't feel comfortable in her alliance anymore, as it is in the minority, but doesn't want that to be apparent, so she plans to calmly morph into a free-agent while being unnoticed. Snow continues to keep the new trio of Damon, Mary, and Madelyn loyal to her interests, and they see her as a shield. As a result, they all want to stick together and keep the majority. Hope, Meg, and Troy want Mary out next due to being super social, so they gun for her, but Meg is sent home in a 4-3 vote. Episode 5: The tribes are told that they are swapping again, but this time, into three tribes. Malolo now has Brant, Damon, Kathy, Madelyn, and Snow. Naviti has Armando, Devon, Surf, Tea, and Troy, and the new Yanuya has Aline, Hope, Juliette, Mary, and Trey. Damon and Madelyn immediately find out that Snow no longer wants to work with them, as she is finally reunited with her alliance member Kathy, and the two girls spend the whole day talking together. Damon wants to pull a fast one on Kathy so Snow can be loyal to their interests, so he starts to bond with Kathy to lull him under a false sense of security, while continuing to bond with Madelyn. Kathy sees through Damon completely, and tells Snow she wants him gone. Snow and Kathy go looking for an idol and Snow finds it, willing to use it on her ally. At Naviti, Troy is the easy vote, as he is the only Naviti on the tribe, but Devon still gets paranoid, knowing his alliance wont be there to help him. He immediately starts looking for the idol and finds it. After, he begins to smooth things over, and forms a bond with Armando that could potentially help him down the road. At Yanuya, Trey does the most when building the shelter and everyone is impressed by him. Using this to his advantage, Trey immediately starts painting a target onto Mary's back, for flipping on her tribe, to his old allies, and both Aline and Juliette continue to want to work with Trey as a result. Naviti and Yanuya win immunity and Malolo goes to tribal. Damon immediately ropes Brant into his plan to get Kathy out, and Brant is all for it. Neither Snow or Kathy want to talk to Brant as he scares them, so Snow decides to resort to playing her idol to get her out of this mess. They plan to stick to their plan to vote Damon, despite him being needed to be kept around for challenges, and hope this move turns the tribe on it's head. Snow plays her idol on Kathy, negating 3 votes, and Damon is sent home in a 2-0 vote. Episode 6: Madelyn begins to get desperate as her number one ally got idoled out, so despite not wanting to talk to him at all, Madelyn makes an alliance with Brant, just to get past one more vote, hoping he would go to rocks for her. At Naviti, Troy tries to find a way to get out of being on the bottom, and starts to bond with Armando. Troy didn't want to have to play dirty, but he decides to, telling Armando that Tea approached him, telling him she wats Armando out. Armando is shocked, and wants Tea gone. At Yanuya, Hope knows that the plan is to vote Mary, but is starting to get extra worried, especially since Trey and Aline are close. She goes looking for the idol and finds it. This is the idol that Art didn't use in Heroes vs Villains II, that he went out with in his pocket. Malolo and Yanuya win reward, and they send Surf to Ghost Island. Surf decides to test his luck and wager his vote, but ultimately loses the chance game and has no vote at tribal anymore. Yanuya and Malolo win immunity, sending Naviti to tribal. Surf tells everyone he lost a vote on Ghost Island and everyone is intrugued. With Surf being unable to vote, hope is restored to Troy. Devon wants to make a move on Surf because he is vulnerable, and a physical threat as well, and proposes this plan to Troy. Troy however, still wants Tea and Armando to turn against eachother. He then tells Tea that Armando is gunning for her, and now both Tea and Armando want eachother out. Troy can now vote however he wants to, and Tea ends up being the one who gets the short end of the stick, in a 2-1-1 vote. Episode 7: The tribes merge, but tribal lines are already dissolving. Naviti has one extra person over Malolo, 7-6, but Mary doesn't want to work with her tribe, and would much rather play with Madelyn. She makes it apparent to her tribe that she is not with them, and this angers the rest of Naviti, who all want to work as a group. Aline receives a note in her buff, allowing her to sneak to Ghost Island at night, and when she gets there, she has the opportunity to wager her vote for an advantage but doesn't take it. Snow wins immunity, and immediately bring the alliance of her, Devon, and Kathy together. They all want Mary out, as she is the least trustworthy naviti left in the game, due to flipping. Mary suddenly realizes the error of her ways, and tries to make it up to her old tribe by doing more around camp, and attempting to establish an alliance between her, Aline, Hope, and Surf, but neither Aline or Hope plan to stick with it, and instead those two girls start to flirt with Surf, manipulating him to vote with their tribe. Wanting to get the hot babes and not really caring about his tribe, Surf gladly accepts. Madelyn attempts to try and flip Brant, trying her best to socialize with him but he doesn't budge. Trey and Troy propose the first vote, and they believe that Armando should go first as he is the biggest physical threat of the tribe. Mary talks with her old ally Madelyn about potentially voting Troy, and begs her new alliance do the same, but Aline, Surf, and Hope already have made their choice on who to vote. Armando becomes the first juror in a 7-4-2 vote. Episode 8: With the biggest physical threat out of the way, Naviti now wants to shift their focus to the biggest strategic threats. Troy starts to get a read on the Malolos and doesn't trust Devon at all, so he proposes voting for him. Meanwhile, Mary is fuming mad her new alliance voted against her wishes, and straightup leaves it. Hope also starts to try and become more social. She forms a relationship with both Troy and Trey, two of the bigger threats of the tribe. Brant, Devon, Hope, Madelyn, Mary, and Snow win reward, and they choose to send Trey to Ghost Island. He doesn't find a secret advantage. Aline wins her first immunity challenge, and everyone begins to strategize. Since the Malolo tribe is fractured, Juliette suggests splitting the votes 4-3 between Devon and Madelyn, knowing that someone has to have gotten the Naviti idol during the second swap. Kathy, Snow, and Devon start to feel like their days are numbered, but Devon tells his allies of his idol and plans to play it. The three plan to vote for Mary. Meanwhile, Mary and Madelyn plan to vote Devon, as they always saw him as shifty. At tribal, Devon plays his idol, negating 6 votes, and forcing a 3-3 tie between Mary and Medelyn. A revote occurs, and everyone believes Madelyn will be the one to go home, but Aline, Hope, and Surf are still mad at how she treated them after last tribal. They convince Brant to vote Mary, and Mary becomes the second juror in a 7-3 revote. Episode 9: After that tribal, Devon is now public enemy number one, and Madelyn is incredibly mad at him for being the reason his closest ally is now out of the game. She talks to Trey and tells him she wants Devon out at all costs, and Trey plans to use her vote to get Devon out. Brant, Surf, Juliette, Kathy, and Trey win reward, and Hope is sent to Ghost Island, who can wager her vote, but chooses not to. Madelyn wins immunity, to make sure she isn't targeted. The plan seems set to vote out Devon, but Juliette and Aline both are starting to get super uncomftorable around Brant, who they believe could strangle them in their sleep. They both have different options in trying to turn everyone against Brant. Aline starts getting to know Kathy, hoping her and Snow can be the ones to help her, but that backfires, when Kathy tells Snow that Aline is trying to manipulate them, causing both to want to vote for her. Juliette meanwhile does more around camp, so everyone trusts her more. Troy believes that Hope came back with an idol, as she told him she didn't lose her vote, and that makes him super suspicious of her. Juliette tries to convince Trey to help her get Brant out, but Trey tells her it would be foolish to give up the majority to Malolo. Trey, Madelyn, Hope, Surf, and Brant still are voting Devon. Devon becomes the third juror in a 5-3-2-1 vote. Episode 10: In this episode, the tribes are told that there will be two different tribals, with two different immunity winners. The first group consists of Hope, Kathy, Madelyn, Snow, and Troy, while the second group has Aline, Brant, Surf, Juliette, and Trey. Kathy and Aline win immunity for their separate groups. In the first group, there are two duos, of Madelyn and Hope, and Snow and Kathy, and both duos want Troy as their swing vote to get the other duo out. Madelyn tries bonding with Troy, but he already doesn't trust her, and also doesn't trust Hope, who he thinks may have an advantage. Kathy takes a different approach, and actually makes an alliance with Troy to get them through the vote. Naturally, Troy would much rather work with Kathy, and Madelyn starts to believe this, so Hope tells her about her idol. Troy, Kathy, and Snow all agree to vote Madelyn together, as she's been on the outs. At tribal, Hope plays her idol on Madelyn, negating three votes, and making Troy the fourth juror in a 2-0 vote. In the second group, all five members are aligned, and Trey doesn't want to pick off anyone that is loyal to him, so he recommends going for Surf, but both Juliette and Aline still try to get him to vote off Brant, telling him he gutted a fish and scared them with it once. Trey is immediately weirded out, and agrees Brant is way too unpredictable to keep around. Aline and Juliette promise that the three of them will stick together, and a final three deal is made. Quickly roping in Surf, Brant becomes the fifth juror in a unanimous 4-1 vote. Episode 11: With that tribal, Malolo and Naviti are now both even, with four players each. Hope starts to regret her decision of idoling out Troy, and believes that her tribe is now against her. She wants to make a move, and go against social threat Aline, so she talks to Kathy and Snow to see if they're on board, and they are surprisingly compliant. Kathy, wanting Hope to get an advantage to help them, wins reward, shares it with Snow, Trey, and Madelyn, and sends Hope to Ghost Island hoping she gets an idol. Hope, however, decides not to wager her vote, believing that it is too big of a risk if she wants her move to work. Madelyn wins her second immunity, and talks to Trey and Juliette about wanting Snow gone, as she is a social threat. Meanwhile, Hope starts to try and get Surf on board with her plan to vote Aline, but Surf, thinking Aline is hotter, tells Aline of Hope and Kathy's plan. Wanting Malolo numbers down, Aline tells Surf to vote Kathy, and she purposefully defies Juliette and Trey's plan to vote Snow. Juliette tries to enforce the vote to Surf but he argues with her, not wanting to be told what to do. At tribal, voted between Snow and Aline tie, 3-3-2, and on the revote, Surf switches his vote to Snow. Snow becomes the sixth juror in a 4-2 revote. Episode 12: Hope continues to drift away from her tribe, and starts to bond with Kathy, who is extremely desperate after losing her closest ally. Juliette and Trey are mad at Aline for defying them, but are still glad they got their desired outcome in the end. The two agree they have to break up Surf and Aline so Aline can be loyal to them. Juliette gets into a fight with Surf and this leads Surf to have a meltdown, wondering why this game is no longer chill anymore. Trey also wants to take extra precaution, and goes looking for an idol. He finds the idol, which is the idol Evan used in Game Changers that accidentally sent Astrid, his ally home. Aline and Juliette win reward and share it with Surf, sending Madelyn to Ghost Island. Madelyn wagers her vote and loses. She wins immunity, however, to make sure nothing goes wrong. At reward, Juliette and Surf make up, and Aline and Surf convince her to vote Hope. Trey, however, comes prepared. He tells Kathy that Surf and Aline want her gone, and it is best to vote Surf. He also ropes in Hope. Surf becomes the seventh juror in a 3-2-1 vote. Finale: With Surf gone, Aline has no choice but to work with Trey and Juliette, and Trey tells her that he has an idol to gain her trust. Hope wins immunity and shares reward with Trey and Kathy. Hope and Kathy need eachother and form an alliance on reward. Juliette and Hope also bond, but Hope knows she's closer to Trey than to her. Aline, Juliette, and Trey plan to split votes between Madelyn and Kathy in case someone from Ghost Island has an idol. Hope and Kathy want Aline out for winning lots of challenges and being super social, and Madelyn wants Juliette out. Trey, believing Aline is getting targeted, plays his idol for her, and two votes are successfully negated. Madelyn becomes the eighth juror in a 2-1-1-0 vote. Aline wins the next immunity, and it becomes more and more evident to Hope and Kathy that Aline, Trey, and Juliette have a final three deal. Trying to get in on that action, Kathy, now the last Malolo standing, talks to Aline and tries to make a last-minute alliance with her, but Aline wants nothing to do with it, as every Malolo on the jury would vote Kathy. Despite this, they see Hope as the bigger threat between her and Kathy, and a straightforward vote occurs. Hope becomes the ninth juror in a 3-2 vote. Aline wins the final immunity and now gets to pick who she takes to the top three with her, and who has to make fire. Out of everyone, she knows that Juliette is likely the least likely to win between anyone else, as Trey ran the whole game, and Kathy is the final Malolo standing, so it is pretty obvious who she picks. Kathy and Trey now have to face eachother in the firemaking challenge for the final spot in the final three, and Trey beats Kathy, eliminating the final Malolo from the game. Aline, Juliette, and Trey face the jury and deliver their closing arguments. Aline talks about how she won four immunities, and also played a great social game, using her charms to manipulate Surf into flipping to give Naviti the edge on the first few merge tribals. Juliette tells everyone that she masterminded the strategy behind the votes, voluntarily splitting in anticipation of Devon's idol play for example. Trey tells everyone about how he went into the game with a huge target on his back, especially since his brother played before and was a huge villain, but he put targets on other people, and ran the votes from start to finish when the merge hit. It was a hard decision, but it the jury ultimately put their votes on who was in on most votes. Aline spent many votes trying to get Kathy out to no avail, and Juliette did the same with Madelyn. As a result, Trey Durante is crowned the winner of Swoldow's Survivor: Ghost Island in a 5-4-1 vote. Hope is crowned fan favorite due to her idol play on Troy, and her underdog game. Potential Returnees: Trey, Juliette, Aline, Kathy, Hope, Madelyn, Surf, Snow, Troy Now that that's done, we will be moving onto a season I've been wanting to simulate for a long time. People from different walks of life will be categorized based off of their stories. One tribe of people who have overcame adversity, and the other, with people with some form of privilege. Signups for Swoldow's Survivor: David vs Goliath coming soon!
Free hotel pick-up is provided from select Las Vegas hotels 2 hours before the shuttle bus makes its journey for the dam. If for any reason you need to cancel your plans, tickets can be canceled for a full refund up to 24 hours before the tour. Place a bet at a casino; See one of the many concerts/shows; Everyone has their one Vegas story – it’s time for you to craft yours. Las Vegas provides an electrifying downtown area along the strip with plenty to see and do within walking distance. If you’ve never been to Las Vegas, you owe yourself a proper adventure of exploring the strip and the very unique culture it provides In Las Vegas, Greyhound arrives at Bus Terminal - 200 S Main St and one other station. An average trip on Greyhound from Los Angeles to Las Vegas takes 6 hours and 35 minutes, while the fastest available Greyhound trip will get you to Las Vegas in 5 hours and 0 minutes, On weekends, Greyhound offers 13 trips per day. A one way ticket costs for a weekend trip to Las Vegas. Book Tufesa Book a trip from San Diego to Las Vegas with Busbud and you'll find an average price of $55. Booking early helps you find the best deals. 4 buses connect San Diego to Las Vegas every day. The first bus going to Las Vegas leaves at 5:45 AM and the last bus leaves at 8:20 PM. On average, it's a 11h 15m bus trip. Find your bus schedules & stations for Las Vegas, NV Free Wi-Fi on board 14 direct connections Book your bus tickets now! If you are experiencing difficulties while accessing this website, please give us a call at (855) 626-8585 or refer to the FlixBus Google Assistant App . The only catch for most of the free trams listed here is that they leave from one casino to a sister casino. However, if you know what Las Vegas attractions are close to these casinos, you can use the free Vegas tram to your advantage. Also if you plan to go to any of these casinos, then this is a nice way to get to them. The Las Vegas Free Trams Bus service from Las Vegas to Laughlin will be provided by the most trusted bus companies. Whether it is cheap bus tickets or more luxurious buses going to Laughlin from Las Vegas, we help you find what you're looking for based on how much of a budget you have. Book your next Greyhound bus from Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Save big with Greyhound cheap bus tickets from $35! Save big with Greyhound cheap bus tickets from $35! By continuing to use this site, you agree to the use of cookies by Greyhound and third-party partners to recognize users in order to enhance and customize content, offers and advertisements, and send email. Las Vegas Free Shuttle Service. How to Get a Free Shuttle Ride in Las Vegas. If you don't want to walk, you don't want to pay for a taxi and you really don't want to rent a car and deal with the crazy traffic, then your next best bet is one of Las Vegas free shuttles. The only catch for most of the shuttles on the list is that they leave from See a free show. Many of Las Vegas' world-famous, spectacular shows are free, staged inside public areas or outside the casinos or hotels. Must-sees are the Fall of Atlantis show at Caesar's Palace and the famous fountain show at the Bellagio.. Pose next to global landmarks without leaving Nevada – explore the Egyptian pyramids, the waterways of Venice, and the Eiffel Tower, all immaculately
A complete guide to the BEST FREE THINGS in LAS VEGAS ...
UPDATE: As of 2020, Mandala Bay parking is CLOSED. The lot is marked For Sale.To find more info on free parking check:https://freecampsites.net/https://www.c... Las Vegas Nevada is one of the entertainment capitols of the world. I show you some of the best free shows and free entertainment around the Las Vegas Strip.... Learn how to make the most of your trip to Las Vegas. Get into concerts for free. Learn how to get your money back from gambling. Free room upgrades and more. Las Vegas is jaw dropping place. Everything is worth to see , every hotel , every casino , every shopping center , every entertainment and Grand Canyon. One ... Las Vegas, the largest city in the state of Nevada is well known as the Entertainment Capital of the World. It is a home to many places that one would love t... Never pay entry to any club on the strip, use this tip to get in for free.. What I use to make my videos: Camera Gear: https://amzn.to/2SaLI2V Peak Design Pr... Take a luxury LAS VEGAS vacation on a budget with our tricks for getting free rooms, drinks, & comps! Get cash back with Ebates/Rakuten: https://www.rakuten... Las Vegas Monorail Ride Along - Sky Train in Las Vegas Las Vegas Monorail Alternative to Shuttles, Taxis and Trams Las Vegas Monorail - "the whole trip fro... This is a COMPLETE LIST of FREE activities on the Las Vegas strip. Enjoy Vegas without breaking the bank! Get 3 months free with code "tangerine" at: http:/... Walking through the New York, New York Hotel and Casino on the main strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.PLANNING A BUDGET TRAVELING TRIP? "Gabe's Guide to Budget Trav...
