'Band of Buds' casting call party

'Band of Buds' casting call party

On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Columbus was the final stop in the Budweiser "Band of Buds" casting call. Dedicated groups of friends (aka "Buds") braved tornado warnings to travel from all over Ohio and converge on the LC Pavilion for their chance to head to Las Vegas and compete for the $100,000 national prize.

Fourteen teams competed for the top spot in Columbus, with the winner moving on to Vegas. A celebrity panel of judges—including NBC 4 news anchor Monica Day, OAR sax player Jerry DePizzo, Olympic gymnast Blaine Wilson and Columbus Crew member Robbie Rogers—fielded some tough questions to the contestants in one part of the challenge. The "Buds" then had to amass points with a game of "Rock Band," test their networking skills by charming the crowd out of their Boxers and Skirts cards, and finally put their Bud knowledge to the test during the Bud-Wise competition.

In a tight battle that was only separated by 6 points, the down-home small-town boys "The ChillBillies" beat out the self-professed "nerds" of the TK Bear Crew.

Click through the gallery to see all our photos from the event.

More photo galleries: Paint party at The Mansion | Easton Pet Parade | Tailgating for the Purdue game | Crew charity bar crawl | Jackets' pre-game party at new 343 Front Street Tavern | Columbus Young Professionals Fall Mixer | Fashion Week Finale |  Bud Light 'River Jam' tailgating party | Watching the Illinois game at Eddie George's Grille 27 | Checking out two new campus bars | Behind the scenes at The Scare-a-torium | Oktoberfest 2010 | The Microbrew Festival | Old School Beer Night | Sugarland rocks Nationwide | Park Street Saloon grand opening | Tinygate at The Little Bar | Halfway to St. Patrick's Day party | Slice of Columbus 2010