TV show prize helps U.S. curler's parents travel to Games

U.S. curler Chris Plys will be treating his parents to a trip to the Vancouver Olympics, thanks to some cash he earned on a new reality show.

Plys received $6,500 to fund his parents' trip to Canada from Duluth, Minn. His father, Patrick, has recently overcome brain cancer.

An alternate on the men's curling team for the 2010 Games starting in February, Plys took part in "Bank of Hollywood" on the E! network and was featured in Monday's episode. The eight-episode show, produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, features celebrity judges awarding their own money to the participants seeking it. There's a minimum of $2,000.

Several months ago, Plys worked up a budget sheet of what he expected the costs to be to get his parents to Vancouver.

"That's exactly what I asked for, so I guess that's exactly what I hoped for," Plys said in a phone interview Wednesday from Duluth. "It turned out really good. That should pay for pretty much everything."

While his parents might have to pay for a few things out of pocket, Plys believes the money he received will cover flights, housing and meals. They were surprised with the amount, having to wait to watch the show to find out. He said they called him right away, thrilled with the news.

"It still might be a little bit of an expense up there but it should be minimal," Plys said. "They're super happy. It's nice. It is kind of one of those things where they've bailed me out of tons of situations over the years. So I'm just giving back a little and show them I appreciate everything they've done for me in the past."

The 22-year-old Plys, who won the world junior title in 2008 and was the youngest skip in the field at the curling trials in February, wasn't sure his folks -- his mother Laura -- would be able to travel to the Olympics otherwise. Plys' dad has been battling brain cancer for several years but has received all clean scans of late, including one just about two weeks ago.

"That's super exciting," Plys said. "It's nice to know we don't have to go through it again as a family. It's more exciting for him after a couple years of treatment and going through that twice."