Student wins on 'Regis and Kelly'

A JMU graduate student won a trip to Mexico yesterday after correctly answering a trivia question on the "Live with Regis and Kelly" television show.

Chris Tarbell said the show was holding a travel trivia game and he entered to be a contestant through the Internet. He received a call yesterday at 7:50 a.m. from one of the "Regis and Kelly" show's staff saying he was chosen to be a phone-in contestant.

He agreed to participate and received another call around 9 a.m.

Tarbell was asked the question, "Name one of the two movies that Tom Hanks made with Steven Spielberg?"

He answered "Catch Me If You Can" and, as a result, won a trip to Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay Resort in Mazatlan, Mexico, valued at $5,000.

"I hope to go after graduation [to Mexico]," Tarbell said.

"I'll probably bring my wife, but I haven't decided for sure yet," he joked.

He also won a $500 gift certificate to Staples.

During the contest, Tarbell was able to talk to both Regis Philbin and Donald Trump, who was the guest host filling in for Kelly Ripa.

"I asked Donald Trump for a job," Tarbell said.

While he does watch "Live with Regis and Kelly," Tarbell said he missed the Tuesday show from which the trivia question was based.

"I see it often, but I didn't see the day [the trivia question was coming from]," Tarbell said.

However, he wasn't too nervous about not knowing the correct answer.

"In the past, though, I've been able to answer the questions without seeing the show," he said. "They tend to be common knowledge."

With a large fan base, and many who entered the contest, Tarbell beat the odds by being selected to participate.

"I've been told I'm very lucky," Tarbell said. "I've been told I need to go to [Las] Vegas."