SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two Northern Californians will proudly represent the Sacramento area Thursday night on the ABC game show Press Your Luck with host Elizabeth Banks.
Gina Mertz from Roseville and Jordon Friend from Sacramento are joining a woman from Tacoma, Wash. as the three contestants in the season four premiere.
It's a revival of the Press Your Luck game show that ran in the 80s.
ABC10 caught up with Gina Mertz, who said she was a fan of the original show.
“Years ago, as a kid in the 80s, my family and I loved ‘Press Your Luck,’ and like many of us during the pandemic, I was binge-watching game shows and literally came across the reboot of ‘Press Your Luck,’” Mertz said. “I randomly applied…I get a phone call from one of the producers at ‘Press Your Luck’ going, ‘We're curious if you're still interested in being on the show.’ And I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, yes!!’”
She said she is excited to represent the Sacramento area in this nationally televised game show.
“Being a Sacramento native and growing up in Sacramento, I just am, like, honestly blessed to be able to represent our great hometown in the heartland of California,” said Mertz. “I really hope that everybody tunes in and watches because, honestly, it was a blast.”
Each episode has a unique name, and the name of the premiere episode is “It’s Getting’ Hot in Here.”
“There is a reason why they labeled it that because it definitely gets warm at times," Mertz said with a laugh. “Sacramento: Don't miss the premiere.”
She called her experience on the show “exhilarating.”
“I kind of felt like a movie star for a day,” Mertz said. “It's like having hair and makeup follow me around, making sure that I looked glamorous on screen, and each one of us had someone that was doing that for us.”
Watch the season 4 premiere of Press Your Luck at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 7 on ABC10.