Jeannie Mai on ‘Raid the Cage’.Photo:Toni Francois/Sony InternationalJeannie Maiisn’t shy about providing input when it comes to the prizes on her new game show,Raid the Cage.Speed is the name of the game on the CBS series. Two teams compete to grab prizes from the cage before the timer runs out. More seconds are added when contestants answer trivia questions correctly, allowing them to pick up more coveted prizes, varying from exciting trips to luxury items. The team with the highest total dollar value wins the game, as well as their selected items and the chance to win a larger prize.The 44-year-oldtelevision hostexclusively tells PEOPLE that she “definitely threw in my request for more Birkins, and I want more shoes because every woman needs a good pair of Louboutins, Jimmy Choos [and] Alexander McQueens.”“I think the producers have stopped answering my emails after I’ve put in so many requests because I don’t hear from them anymore,” she jokes.Damon Wayans Jr. and Jeannie Mai from ‘Raid the Cage’.Pepe Molina/CBSMai — who co-hostsRaid the Cagewith actor and comedianDamon Wayans Jr.— also shares what prizes she would pick as a contestant on the show.“My first pick would be the trips. I’m a big traveler. I would hit up all the challenges to have these great trips,” she says. “And my second one would be I like all of the fashion. I would get the mannequins because people didn’t realize that the mannequins were stacked head to toe in amazing luxury brands. And then, obviously the mystery boxes.”She adds: “Always, always exit the cage with a mystery box. When Coco Chanel would tell you to take one thing off before you leave the house, that is one thing we would add on before leaving the cage.”Jeannie Mai on ‘Raid the Cage’.Toni Francois/Sony InternationalWhen it comes to her strategy on the show, Mai believes she’d be “the grabber.““I would look for anything that I can just rack and stack things up on. That would be my number one goal is to just rack it up,” she explains. “I would make sure to pile things on each other. I would wear pants with lots of pockets.”“I would be really clever about finishing the challenges because the challenges in our cage are what really stack up the prize money,” she adds. “And I would get everything towards the door, and then give that one final push of everything out before the buzzer hits.”Ultimately,Maiadmits she would do whatever it takes when it comes to raiding the cage.“I’m that person who refuses to make more trips than I need to to take the groceries into the house,” she says. “So I will stack things in my mouth and around my neck, I’m using all the armpits, all the crevices, I’m using everything. So I definitely think that I have the tactic down when it comes to raiding that cage.”A contestant on ‘Raid the Cage’.Toni Francois/Sony InternationalThough she won’t actually be competing, the television personality has some practical advice for winning on the show.“When it comes to actually raiding the actual cage, I think it’s important to make sure that you don’t have any lotion on your hands. You want to have a nice good firm grip on things,” she shares.“I think that you’ve got to have your eye on lock. Don’t be grabbing things that are heavy and useless,” Mai continues. “We had at one point we had a Roomba, and as much as I love cleaning your house, having this big circular object you can’t stick under your armpit is not going to help you out. So I would put that down and instead replace it with getting a good old challenge to, you can grab some tickets to Antigua or maybe a remodel for your backyard.”“So I definitely think just having strategy is the most important way to win Raid the Cage,” she adds.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Raid the Cageairs Friday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
Jeannie Mai on ‘Raid the Cage’.Photo:Toni Francois/Sony International
Toni Francois/Sony International
Jeannie Maiisn’t shy about providing input when it comes to the prizes on her new game show,Raid the Cage.Speed is the name of the game on the CBS series. Two teams compete to grab prizes from the cage before the timer runs out. More seconds are added when contestants answer trivia questions correctly, allowing them to pick up more coveted prizes, varying from exciting trips to luxury items. The team with the highest total dollar value wins the game, as well as their selected items and the chance to win a larger prize.The 44-year-oldtelevision hostexclusively tells PEOPLE that she “definitely threw in my request for more Birkins, and I want more shoes because every woman needs a good pair of Louboutins, Jimmy Choos [and] Alexander McQueens.”“I think the producers have stopped answering my emails after I’ve put in so many requests because I don’t hear from them anymore,” she jokes.Damon Wayans Jr. and Jeannie Mai from ‘Raid the Cage’.Pepe Molina/CBSMai — who co-hostsRaid the Cagewith actor and comedianDamon Wayans Jr.— also shares what prizes she would pick as a contestant on the show.“My first pick would be the trips. I’m a big traveler. I would hit up all the challenges to have these great trips,” she says. “And my second one would be I like all of the fashion. I would get the mannequins because people didn’t realize that the mannequins were stacked head to toe in amazing luxury brands. And then, obviously the mystery boxes.”She adds: “Always, always exit the cage with a mystery box. When Coco Chanel would tell you to take one thing off before you leave the house, that is one thing we would add on before leaving the cage.”Jeannie Mai on ‘Raid the Cage’.Toni Francois/Sony InternationalWhen it comes to her strategy on the show, Mai believes she’d be “the grabber.““I would look for anything that I can just rack and stack things up on. That would be my number one goal is to just rack it up,” she explains. “I would make sure to pile things on each other. I would wear pants with lots of pockets.”“I would be really clever about finishing the challenges because the challenges in our cage are what really stack up the prize money,” she adds. “And I would get everything towards the door, and then give that one final push of everything out before the buzzer hits.”Ultimately,Maiadmits she would do whatever it takes when it comes to raiding the cage.“I’m that person who refuses to make more trips than I need to to take the groceries into the house,” she says. “So I will stack things in my mouth and around my neck, I’m using all the armpits, all the crevices, I’m using everything. So I definitely think that I have the tactic down when it comes to raiding that cage.”A contestant on ‘Raid the Cage’.Toni Francois/Sony InternationalThough she won’t actually be competing, the television personality has some practical advice for winning on the show.“When it comes to actually raiding the actual cage, I think it’s important to make sure that you don’t have any lotion on your hands. You want to have a nice good firm grip on things,” she shares.“I think that you’ve got to have your eye on lock. Don’t be grabbing things that are heavy and useless,” Mai continues. “We had at one point we had a Roomba, and as much as I love cleaning your house, having this big circular object you can’t stick under your armpit is not going to help you out. So I would put that down and instead replace it with getting a good old challenge to, you can grab some tickets to Antigua or maybe a remodel for your backyard.”“So I definitely think just having strategy is the most important way to win Raid the Cage,” she adds.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Raid the Cageairs Friday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
Jeannie Maiisn’t shy about providing input when it comes to the prizes on her new game show,Raid the Cage.
Speed is the name of the game on the CBS series. Two teams compete to grab prizes from the cage before the timer runs out. More seconds are added when contestants answer trivia questions correctly, allowing them to pick up more coveted prizes, varying from exciting trips to luxury items. The team with the highest total dollar value wins the game, as well as their selected items and the chance to win a larger prize.
The 44-year-oldtelevision hostexclusively tells PEOPLE that she “definitely threw in my request for more Birkins, and I want more shoes because every woman needs a good pair of Louboutins, Jimmy Choos [and] Alexander McQueens.”
“I think the producers have stopped answering my emails after I’ve put in so many requests because I don’t hear from them anymore,” she jokes.
Damon Wayans Jr. and Jeannie Mai from ‘Raid the Cage’.Pepe Molina/CBS
Pepe Molina/CBS
Mai — who co-hostsRaid the Cagewith actor and comedianDamon Wayans Jr.— also shares what prizes she would pick as a contestant on the show.
“My first pick would be the trips. I’m a big traveler. I would hit up all the challenges to have these great trips,” she says. “And my second one would be I like all of the fashion. I would get the mannequins because people didn’t realize that the mannequins were stacked head to toe in amazing luxury brands. And then, obviously the mystery boxes.”
She adds: “Always, always exit the cage with a mystery box. When Coco Chanel would tell you to take one thing off before you leave the house, that is one thing we would add on before leaving the cage.”
Jeannie Mai on ‘Raid the Cage’.Toni Francois/Sony International
When it comes to her strategy on the show, Mai believes she’d be “the grabber.”
“I would look for anything that I can just rack and stack things up on. That would be my number one goal is to just rack it up,” she explains. “I would make sure to pile things on each other. I would wear pants with lots of pockets.”
“I would be really clever about finishing the challenges because the challenges in our cage are what really stack up the prize money,” she adds. “And I would get everything towards the door, and then give that one final push of everything out before the buzzer hits.”
Ultimately,Maiadmits she would do whatever it takes when it comes to raiding the cage.
“I’m that person who refuses to make more trips than I need to to take the groceries into the house,” she says. “So I will stack things in my mouth and around my neck, I’m using all the armpits, all the crevices, I’m using everything. So I definitely think that I have the tactic down when it comes to raiding that cage.”
A contestant on ‘Raid the Cage’.Toni Francois/Sony International
Though she won’t actually be competing, the television personality has some practical advice for winning on the show.
“When it comes to actually raiding the actual cage, I think it’s important to make sure that you don’t have any lotion on your hands. You want to have a nice good firm grip on things,” she shares.
“I think that you’ve got to have your eye on lock. Don’t be grabbing things that are heavy and useless,” Mai continues. “We had at one point we had a Roomba, and as much as I love cleaning your house, having this big circular object you can’t stick under your armpit is not going to help you out. So I would put that down and instead replace it with getting a good old challenge to, you can grab some tickets to Antigua or maybe a remodel for your backyard.”
“So I definitely think just having strategy is the most important way to win Raid the Cage,” she adds.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Raid the Cageairs Friday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
source: people.com
