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Making it to 'Millionaire' More than a year ago, Bob Combs, MSJ '92, launched a campaign to become a millionaire. In April, after 100 phone calls, two auditions and some careful strategizing, he won $250,000 on ABC's "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"   Bob Combs   A fan of the show, Combs of Bethesda, Md., spent months trying to qualify for "Millionaire" via phone. Though he frequently answered the questions correctly, he never was selected as a contestant. After the show changed its selection process to include an audition with producers, Combs qualified for a tryout in Chicago. He didn't make the cut but later was invited for another audition in Philadelphia. Then Combs discovered he was chosen for the April 11 taping, which aired April 30. "I learned from the first audition," says Combs, who was a contestant on "Jeopardy" in 1997. "They want something they can use on TV. So I played up the fact that I was once an age-and-weight guesser at an amusement park and the fact that I'd bring my mother-in-law as my guest." As part of his campaign to get on the show, Combs changed his reading and television viewing habits to broaden his knowledge base. He began scanning reference books and reviews of books he'd never read as well as watching TV shows outside his usual lineup. His work paid off. Combs' foray into Food Network programming helped him answer his $64,000 question, which asked about the home country of the Food Network's "Naked Chef." He knew it was England. Combs implemented other personal strategies. Before the show, he and his wife, Issa Lara Combs, MSJ and MA '91, decided he could be risky up to $500,000. She served as one of Combs' "phone a friend" resources. Set up with an online search engine at work, she helped him answer his $125,000 question, which asked where the epicanthic fold is located. She quickly determined that it's part of the human eyelid. A copy editor at a business newsletter in Washington, D.C., Combs plans to save his winnings for his 5-year-old son, Wil, and pay off some debts. Some early purchases included a tuxedo for a White House media correspondents dinner and a first edition of "The Great Gatsby," his favorite book. "It's been fun," he says. "We've also hired a dog walker." -- Sara Groves Back to Bobcat Tracks