The time is right to win a slot on "The Price is Right."

For the first time in the long-running show's history, producers are hosting a national casting call for contestants. Three hopefuls from each market - including Greater Chicago -- will be flown to Los Angeles for a taping and one will be invited to "Come on down."

If you're over 18, good at pricing merchandise and could put luxury prizes to good use -- (Chicago Scene will take that new Mustang off your hands, thank you very much) -- tryouts are from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond. Bring an ID and a completed registration form found online at cbs2chicago.com/community. Park in the Marina Garage.

Tip: CBS is "definitely not looking for wallflowers," casino spokeswoman Leah Eisenstein said. "Enthusiasm counts."

Candidates will undergo quick, 30-second video interviews -- they'll be asked questions like "What was the best day of your life?" -- to test their small-screen charisma. The Horseshoe is at 777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond.

Quotables

"Everybody knows I'm a White Sox fan and my wife thinks I look cute in this jacket."

-- President Obama, who donned a Sox jacket to throw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game

Name game

An iconic city landmark has a new moniker.

The Sears Tower is now the Willis Tower. London-based insurance brokerage Willis Group dropped a fortune on naming rights.

Comiskey Park has a new name that never stuck, either.

Pop go the heartstrings

Pop artist Peter Max is as easy-going, cheerful and accessible as his signature neon-bright paintings of hearts, flags and the Statue of Liberty. See for yourself: meet the German-born painter from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Wentworth Gallery in Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, hosting a retrospective of his works. The genial '60s icon loves to talk -- about Woodstock, contemporaries like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring,and his work with the Beatles on "Yellow Submarine."

But his favorite topic, endearingly, is his Muse -- wife Mary Max. "She's so stunning," he sighed, sounding 17 instead of 71. How'd they meet? Max exited his New York studio one day about a decade ago and spotted one Mary Baldwin chatting with friends on the sidewalk. She was no stranger: he'd doodled her exact profile for years. Max rushed into his studio, returned with a drawing and handed it to the stranger, blurting, "I've been drawing you all my life." His crush was politely unimpressed. "Her friends said to her, 'That's Peter Max!' And she said, `Who?'" He gave her his number, fretted until she called, then coaxed her to go to lunch. And that was that.

"I remember reaching over the table, kind of clumsy, and putting my palms on each side of her face and saying, 'I'll take care of you for the rest of your life,'" he said. "And she put her hands on my hands and said, `You're in good hands with me.'" They married the next year.

Grapevine

Spotted: Food Network's "Dinner Impossible" star Robert Irvine noshing at Timothy O'Toole's Pub in Gurnee ... Hometown girl-ex-child star Anna Chlumsky ("My Girl") is gunning for a comeback. Look for the University of Chicago to play an aide to an embattled politician in the British war farce "In The Loop," arriving at select theaters July 24. The role may not be a stretch for the 28-year-old actress: she has a degree in international relations and is married to a soldier ... She knows when to fold' em. Cardshark Annie Duke ("Celebrity Apprentice") hosts a World Series of Poker Academy Aug. 29-30 at the Horseshoe in Hammond ... .. Mayor "Off the Rack' Daley has tapped Tommy Hilfiger as head of the Chicago Fashion Incubator, designed to help local designers launch their careers .... Tickets are available for the Rascal Flatts/Vince Gill/Darius "Hootie" Rucker triple bill Saturday at Wrigley Field.

The opinions expressed are solely the writer's. Reach her at molly.woulfe@nwi.com or 219.852.4329