November ’09 Entertainment—Nikki Artale Column

Big Brother Bash 2009

THE SECOND ANNUAL Big Brother Bash was held on September 18–20 at the M Resort in Las Vegas. It was three days of parties and events with hundreds of fans and cast members from BB11. Previous houseguests from other seasons also attended. It was a grand reunion of the best of Big Brother and cast members of Survivor. Niki Congero of Live at the Studio hosted the event and the stars of the BB Bash were Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd, who won $500,000. America voted Jeff as the most popular houseguest, which won him the $25,000 prize.

Jordan is known as America’s Sweetheart and she deserves that title because she is the sweetest person I have ever met. She is exactly as she was on the show, authentic, kind, honest and truly beautiful. It is heartwarming to watch her with Jeff, who I think are now a couple. I told Jeff that I have been hearing from the fans that they would like to have a reality show of Jeff and Jordan in Hawaii. I would love to see that show. Words cannot describe how handsome Jeff is. One of the fans told Casey he was good looking, but Jeff is OMG.

Jeff was so gracious and kind to all the fans that stopped him to take pictures. It was nonstop smiles from Jeff, who loved all the attention he was getting and he so deserves it. His handsome looks take your breath away. Jeff had many kind words about Jordan. Jeff said she was a friend from the beginning and he saw her big heart and she was a breath of fresh air that kept him calm. Jeff appreciated the coup d’état that America gave him and that changed the game. He knows he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did without that power. As for Jordan winning, he said she needs the money and deserves it and it was all a game and he is okay with whatever happened.

I see a very promising future for both Jeff and Jordan, everyone’s sweethearts. I am looking forward to seeing them again when they return to Las Vegas.

The M Resort provided a beautiful suite for the meet and greet. The excitement was building as each guest arrived and they were greeted by fans and fellow houseguests. Everyone looked stunning and some even better then when they were shown on TV.

It was good to see Sheila Kennedy and Adam Jasinski together and sharing their thoughts about BB9. If you recall, they were shackled together as a couple in their season.

Sheila looked young and gorgeous as usual. Sheila was Penthouse Pet in 1983. She is writing a book “No One’s Pet” and we are anxious to read it. Adam was a ray of sunshine with his great big beautiful smile.

I spent time talking to Chelsia Hart and Missy about their BB Lunch Break talk show, where they would cover the daily events in the BB house and in the chat room every day at noon. Missy is known as the number one BB fan and in this season she loved Russell Kairouz. Everyone I talked to loved Russell and when I met him for an interview I knew why he was so well loved.

Charming, handsome, humorous, intelligent and soft spoken are some of the words to describe Russell. I met Russell and his sister Yolla at the pool for an interview and I was impressed with his gentleness. He shared how he was approached in a bar and asked to audition for BB11. He had the look CBS was looking for and after two auditions he was picked for the show. Russell only saw BB1, so he researched the other shows and saw that it would be a challenge and he would need a strategy and a good plan in place. He knew he couldn’t be the guy he usually was so he chose to be both a villain and a charismatic guy to balance it out.

Russell said all twelve houseguests were good people and he liked Casey and Michelle the most out of everyone in the house and yes he is friends with Jeff as you can see in the picture. Russell played the lone wolf at times and then there were times when he needed support because he was the most feared player in the game. Russell had a ranking order of who would win and he was first, then Ronnie, then Michelle.

I asked Russell how he felt about all the attention he was receiving and he said he was surprised, excited and grateful. He did not expect it and he was thankful and flattered. Yolla said his family was very proud of Russell. He goes back to his home in San Francisco after the BB Bash and I know he will be very successful and we will be seeing him in the movies and on TV.

Ronnie Talbott was a BB expert because he has watched every single season. He didn’t want to lay low so he played too hard and too much and became the most dangerous and smartest player. Ronnie said at times he was playing for his life and didn’t know he was making head way in the game. There was a moment in the game when he missed his wife Michelle so much, he was moved to tears. We all cried with him too. After his elimination he watched it from home and predicted that Jordan would win.

Everyone loves Howie Gordon from BB6 and the All Stars

The room rang out with the sound of “Boobies” and you knew that came out of the mouth of Howie. He is so funny and the life of the party and no one takes offense when he calls out “Boobies.”

Erika Landin was in BB4 and All Stars and she met Adam Gentry when she was casting contestants for Survivor 13. Adam lasted for 37 days. He lost the game of Survivor but he won the heart of Erika and they are now engaged. Erika has gone on to cast the players for “The Amazing Race.” She has done an excellent job of casting because the participants are outstanding.

All the women were absolutely gorgeous and all the men looked handsome. Libra said her season was wild and a once in a lifetime experience.

Chicken George is working in an auction house and said he was working for awhile in poker tournaments in Oklahoma City with Boogie. Chicken George said he doesn’t consider himself famous or a celebrity, but a lot of people think so.

Everyone met at the pool and had a great time meeting everyone. Later that evening the party got into full swing with the fans who were so excited to be with their favorite players. As you can see Russell was having a great time.

I couldn’t resist touching and holding Jessie’s muscles which are for real. Jessie is handsome, has a great personality and is such a sweetheart.

Big Brother Bash was a success because of Niki Congero from “Live at the Studio.” Niki and Andrea had a BB hour every Wednesday on Real Player Super Pass and chatted on the Internet to let us all know what was happening in the house and answering questions from the callers in the chat room. www.liveatthestudio.net

This is the second annual Big Brother party and it keeps getting better and bigger and we have to thank Niki for all the time and effort in putting this event together. Mystic Mona was a highlight at the pool party with her tarot card readings.

A lot of prizes were donated and T shirts were signed by the houseguest which were auctioned off. The proceeds will be donated to two charities, R.A.G.E. for the disabled and the Poppy Foundation to help cats in need.

Where would the BB houseguest be without the fans? I have selected Marcus Williams and his mother, Linda to represent the fans of America. They have watched Big Brother from season one and are big fans. They thought that Russell would win and when he was eliminated they wanted Jordan to win. Marcus has an application for BB12 at home and plans to send it in. I think he would make a good houseguest.

What a joy it was to see them mingling and taking pictures with everyone. They had the time of their life and will take back many memories of the time they spent at the party.

I will end this story with my favorite picture of Jeff kissing me on the cheek. All my family and friends are so envious and jealous that I got a kiss and they didn’t. Thank you Jeff, you made my day.