Sam was 14 and a Freshman in High School in November 1982 when Show #16 was taped. He wanted to be on STARCADE! to "enjoy myself, have a good time, experience something new. It would also be nice to win."

In the short bio Sam wrote for his audition, he said, "I love STARCADE! ... I enjoy watching people play ... I answer the questions at home ... It also keeps me up to date on video game trivia and new games that have come out ... I am very excited about being a contestant ..."

Sam got pulverized on the first game, Ms Pac Man, but made it up on the second game, Donkey Kong Jr, and again on the last game, Lost Tomb, winning the opportunity to try for the Grand Prize: Q*Bert Video Arcade Game.

In 2003 Sam checked in to tell us that ... "I'm a Research Scientist at Bayer Pharmaceutical ... I received my MS in Biochemistry from UC Riverside in 1991 ... I also play drums in a jazz quartet ... I still enjoy video games to this day."

Still agonizing over his loss of the video game, Sam said, "If you see how well I was doing, there was absolutely no way I wasn't going to win the Q*Bert video game. I had a pretty modest score to beat on Pac Man, and I was pretty skilled at that game. Take a look at what happens when I tried to grab the first energizer. I had led the monsters so that they were following really close to my Pac Man. When I entered the space where the energizer existed, it wasn't there! This is because they 'blink out' in a repeating pattern, and I was so quick that I actually breached the space and retreated before the energizer could blink back into existence! I was actually too quick for my own good! I always felt that my performance was good enough to win the video game, and when I examined the tape closely I felt sort of vindicated."

"The blow of losing the game when I was really doing such a good job was very disappointing, but the bicycle and computer were still fantastic gifts that were very much appreciated! I have nothing but positive thoughts about my STARCADE! experience ... If you ever need a host for a revival of the show, I'd love to audition for you!"

Sam loved STARCADE! in the '80s and obviously still does. We think a Research Scientist as host is an interesting idea. Sam's accomplishments certainly say a lot about video games ... and their influence on the players. In Sam's case, for sure, video games and STARCADE! was good thing. Sam, you're on the list.