big brother

Could one of the people you see in these photos be the next Steve Moses, the 2015 winner of the CBS reality series Big Brother?

More than 300 people turned up at Batavia Downs on Wednesday to try and repeat what Moses did in the show's 17th season when Moses won slot as a constant through an audition at Batavia Downs.

"He was from the Fredonia area, but he was going to college in St Lawrence up by Alexandria Bay. and of course, we're on the way right. Batavia is right on the Thruway, so he timed his run after spring break to be here for the audition," said Ryan Hasenauer, vice president of business development for Western Regional Off-Track Betting.

Channel 8 out of Rochester, a CBS affiliate, ran the auditions, which involved potential contestants waiting their turn to step into a black-curtained booth to be filmed making their pitch to the show's producers. The video will be screened by the producers and the finalist selected.

"Some people are very reserved, and a lot of people are Type A's like me, where they're very loud about it," Hasenauer said. "They get excited, and like that young lady was saying that you were talking to earlier, she was somebody who's watched the show for a long time, 12 years. Some of these people are geared up to do it. It's an exciting thing for us."

That young lady was Chelsea Dezuko, from Buffalo.

"I've been watching Big Brother since I was maybe, like, 13," Dezuko said. "It's something that me, my mom, my sister, we would do together. We would get together, sit on the living room couch. It was like the one excuse that we got to stay up late for school, like past our bedtime."

Big Brother is really the only reality TV series she's watched.

"Honestly, I'm not a huge reality TV person, but Big Brother just feels different," she said. "I feel like there are people of all walks of life who enter the Big Brother house. I love the competitions. Like one of my Big Brother idols is probably Nicole F. She's won the show before."

Tacido Curry, from New York City, was in Batavia to take his second shot at auditioning for Big Brother. He returned from a trip to Brazil to make it to the audition. 

"I'm one of a kind," Curry said. "I'm a little bit different, so I needed to be on the show."

And he likes his shot.

"I've watched all the seasons, so I wish I were there all the time," Curry said. "I have a very strong personality. I lived in many countries. I am a world survivor. I survived lots of crazy things in my life. I was kidnapped three times. I was in the World Trade Center. I survived the tsunami and the fires of Notre Dame. I'm sure I can survive in the big house. I have a big resume, you know, to share with people and provoke people, too."

Chris Hadlock, from Victor, thinks he's got the resume for a slot on the show as well.

"I've been doing this stuff my whole life," Hadlock said. "I was a professional musician for 30 years. Now, I'm a helicopter pilot. I kind of miss the limelight a little bit, so if I can entertain the crowd, you know what I mean, on a national level, let's do it."