The Apprentice Party

Lee Bienstock and Lenny Veltman got together recently, with friends & family, for The Apprentice Party.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Future Episodes & Finale Details

[MAY 6 UPDATE: Details added below for Episode 13]


Episode 11: Monday, May 8, 9:00 ET/PT

The candidates relive their younger days by putting on a tailgate party event featuring blooming onions and other items from the Outback Steakhouse menu. The team that generates the greatest revenue from the sales wins. One team creates a spectacle with an eating contest while members of the other team dress up as cheerleaders. The winners travel via helicopter to Raphael Vineyard on Long Island to blend and create their own private label wine. The losers go to the boardroom. One candidate will be fired.

This task took place on Saturday, October 29, 2005, at the Rutgers University homecoming football game against Navy. Sean Yazbeck switches sides to join (Orthodox Apprentice candidate) Lee Bienstock's Gold Rush team. Roxanne Wilson leads Synergy's Allie Jablon and Tammy Trenta.

Randal Pinkett (winner of Season 4) attended the game. He's a Rutgers graduate and his wife works for the university's Alumni Association. The big question is if Randal's appearance at the game makes it into the episode. Season 4 was airing while Season 5 was filming. Last fall, Randal knew he was in the final two, but he hadn't been hired by Trump yet. The Season 5 candidates wouldn't know anything about Randal since there's no television in the suite.


Episode 12: Monday, May 15, 10:00 ET/PT (special time)

The final five Apprentice candidates are challenged to assemble the perfect home theater display at a Wal-Mart store for the Microsoft Xbox 360 videogame console. The display will highlight the game system's features for potential customers. One candidate feels they are being undermined by their team, while the other group worries that their display will not be completed in time. The winners take a private jet to Hollywood and get a chance to appear in a movie, while the losers face off in the boardroom. One candidate will be fired.

We suspect that the "undermined" candidate is on the three-person team and the "worried" team has two candidates. (Could an individual be undermined by a team with just one teammate?)

Tammy Trenta will watch this episode at her high school, Bishop George Ahr HS. Advance tickets are $10 each ($5 for current students). All proceeds go directly to the high school's alumni association and to Tammy's Theresa Kathryn foundation.


Episode 13: Monday, May 22, 9:00 ET/PT

The final four candidates create a new line of uniforms for Embassy Suites hotels. One team uses its love of fashion to try to stitch together a win, while the other team models its designs on market research. The winners hit the town with Trump's favorite apprentices, while the losers struggle to survive the boardroom.


Season 5 Finale: Monday, June 5, 9:30 - 11:00 ET/PT

The 15-week job interview culminates as the final boardroom begins on The Apprentice and two candidates vie for the $250,000 year-long 'apprenticeship' during the live season finale. After four seasons in Manhattan, the finale moves to the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, California, where Donald Trump will hire his new Apprentice. Trump's newest employee will join the ranks of the previous winners - Bill Rancic, Kelly Perdew, Kendra Todd and Randal Pinkett.

Special guest appearances during the final task include Michael J. Fox, Jaime Pressly, Denis Leary, Jason Priestley, Stephen Baldwin and the Barenaked Ladies, among others.

For the first time in the show's history, fans will have the chance to advise Trump on who should be the next "Apprentice." In the penultimate week, viewers will be able to vote for one of the final two candidates via phone and on-line. The results of America's favorite candidate will be presented to Trump during the live finale before he makes his final decision. "I'm very anxious to see who the fans choose for their favorite finalist -- their decision could have a big effect on my ultimate decision," said Trump.

Viewers will also be able to log onto www.nbc.com to write in questions for Trump to ask the final two candidates during the live boardroom finale.

One of the final tasks will include the debut of SLS International's Q Line Gold Home Theater Surround Sound System.


Tickets to the finale and after-party

A limited number of tickets to attend the live finale and the after-party are available through VIPGetaways.com. Tickets are $1,750 each.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has been trying to auction off tickets to the finale and the after-party. Auctions for four separate pairs of tickets -- at $1,500 a pair -- ended on April 25 with no bids. The eBay auctions were re-submitted at $1,000 a pair and ended on May 2 without any bids.


Scheduling of the finale

The final boardroom was originally scheduled to take place over two hours, in New York City, on Monday, June 12. No episode was scheduled to air on May 15. The official rules for the Excedrin sweepstakes still include the original schedule.

However, Mr. Trump (and The Apprentice production crew) is leaving New York on June 1 (Erev Shavuot) to spend five weeks at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles for the taping of the next season. Accordingly, the taping of the finale was moved to the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. It was also reduced to 90 minutes and rescheduled to Monday, June 5, possibly to clear up the schedule for a Stanley Cup game, as Walt has been telling us.

To accomodate the earlier finale, Episode 12 will air on May 15, originally an off-week. (Earlier in the season, the 7-11 episode was moved up a week from April 17 to make room for a week of Celebrity Cooking Showdown.)

Sorry, Walt, no indication that the finale was ever scheduled for a Friday.

BARUKH HASHEM from Lenny

After returning home from his Norwegian Cruise Line vacation, Lenny Veltman ("The Russian") answered questions from Orthodox Apprentice.


First, could you settle something for us. Val or Veltman? What's the story behind that?
Originally I am actually Veltman (translation men of the world,Velt+man), after an article in the HNT I became “Val,” which I don't care about much. The girl who did the interview made a mistake that's it, there’s no mystery there.

And what's LENSA all about?
It's just a joke, if Mensa exists why can't I create and name my own club LENSA similarly to Mensa. Some people are very proud to be members of LENSA, did I repeat LENSA too many times? LENSA can offer you the same benefits, except the fact it’s free as opposed to $50. Our members don't get advice, they just interact with one another. “A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice,” said Bill Cosby.

In your final episode, Gold Rush's meeting with the Ace Hardware executives didn't look good on TV. Was it really that bad? Why wasn't your team prepared with questions?
I agree, it looked funny. I wouldn’t say it didn't look good, simply because it’s a show and for the show it looked great, i couldn’t stop laughing. It looked like I was completely oblivious to the meeting, which isn‘t true. We asked enough questions to get an idea for the project. We asked very few direct questions and they didn't answer us, simply because it was too direct and they weren’t allowed to give us a lead answer. Like I already posted on my LENSA site. We had a meeting with the lady who has been running this place for twenty years. Her objectives were that they have a program, teaching kids piano, but complete lack of instruments. Not to mention 95% of the kids are Hispanic or African-American, who love to play instruments and absolutely can't live without music. By saying not everyone loves music is completely incorrect and a misleading statement.

What lessons did you learn from competing on the show?
To be honest I did not learn anything I didn‘t already know. I did learn, however; a lot new words. My English now is 100 times better than it was before I went on the show, thanks to Lee's (cheat sheet ha-ha).

How did your friendship with Lee develop? Early on we saw you criticizing him for not working on Rosh HaShanah. Then we saw you wish him well on Yom Kippur. Next thing we know, you're best friends. How did this happen?
Lee and myself became friends at the first hand shake, which happened in the airport (first episode). He gave me a warm welcome and that’s how it all started. I didn't bash Lee for taking a Rosh HaShanah off, i actually warned him, "you will be blamed if we lose." Of course not by me, I just was the voice of the team. I believe anti-Semitism is still a big issue in America, I have nothing to do with this, trust me. On Yom Kippur I went to Shoul with Lee, if you were watching you would see, only me and Lee were dressed up, we had just come back from the Synagogue. I also was fasting throughout the entire task. Being Jewish has never been easy, but I’m proud to be it.

Did Lee invite you to his house for the Passover seder? How close are you guys now?
Lee went to Florida for Passover and I had nice seder with my family. We are very close, in all good ways possible of course. I admire Lee for all his great qualities. He's a VERY Honorable man and he is a great friend, I mean a REAL friend. His Parents are very lucky people, and they are also very nice people as well.

Are you in touch with anyone else from the show?
Summer is most amazing women I ever met, we are also very good friends. I wish she would have stayed longer. I also told her I wish she was a Jewish too. She is very lovely, very honest and has an extra large heart. I keep in contact with a few others but not to often.

Could you tell us about your religious background? We know it was difficult (nearly impossible) for anyone to practice Judaism in the USSR. Have you been involved with any Jewish organizations since coming to the USA?
Religion was obsolete in the USSR, but because I had Jewish parents, who also had Jewish parents, who also had Jewish parents, I practiced Judaism. It was just like you said before, nearly impossible, or just impossible. But my Briss was performed by Rabbi, although I'm not sure if he was a real one. I never had a Bar-Mitzvah, but my Son had one, he's more lucky than I am, he has a nice father (kidding),but definitely a nice mother, and I'm very lucky guy. I haven't been involved with any Jewish organizations directly. I’ve only helped with job placements for people from the JFVS of Middlesex county in NJ. I offered to cater their parties, but my restaurant wasn't kosher, so they kindly declined my offer.

Are Lee and Dan the first Orthodox Jews that you've met? Were you familiar at all with their practices (kosher food, Shabbat, holidays, etc.) before you moved into the suite?
Of course not, remember I am a Jew myself. Strangely enough, it was hard to guess that they were orthodox Jews. I knew for sure Lee was a Jew from the get go, and I also knew he was kosher. In my understanding, being orthodox means you have very strict rules which were impossible in the Suite environment. The whole setting was very inappropriate for the strict rules of Judaism. However, Lee told me he was a modern day orthodox, but observant Jew. To be honest, I couldn't even imagine that my religion was so divided. I know exactly what Kosher food is and the whole idea about it. I also know what Shabbat and the important Holidays like Passover are. It's obvious to me what they are, even though I was portrayed in a different way in one of the episodes.

What's your opinion on the remaining candidates? Who can make it to the finals?
You all know my opinion of Lee, I just love this guy for being honest, smart and funny. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for someone, He did exactly that in the first episode. Like I already said somewhere, it had nothing to do with Lee it was about Summer (lovely girl, i wish she was Jewish, just kidding) and me. He was the only one who didn’t lie and told the truth, straight from his big heart. If until that moment I had any doubts about his dignity and integrity, it all disappeared. Additionally, Roxanne has individual qualities that are great. I also like Michael, but the only problem is that he doesn’t have enough life experience. On another hand, Lee is 22 and unbelievably mature. I wish I could tell you more, as I can see you guys have a very nice investigation department, you even found my outdated ad on Allibaba, that cement already sold, a simple transaction for almost 1/2 bill dollars.

What do you think of Donald Trump? Is there anyone like him in the USSR?
He is one of the best businessmen I’ve ever met, and I met quite a few. There are 33 “Donald Trumps” in Russia now, (according to "forbes") not in the USSR since individual ownership was prohibited. The funny part is, I’ll tell you the inside story "you hear this first here". Some of contestants, can't tell you the names, I can only tell you it was a him, said I'm from a third world country and didn't say it to me, he said it to a bunch of other people, that I know. You know what he's absolutely right, Russia’s #3 on the list of “number of billionaires“ (according to Forbes American magazine) which makes Russia the third country. Everyone on that show claims that they have a great education (except Lee) who actually has a stupendous education. I would recheck all the resumes once again. Some of the contestants said stuff that is hard to imagine for a normal person to say, or at least one who has an education.

Sean talked about living the American dream after immigrating to this country and competing on The Apprentice. Do you think you are living the American dream?
What is the American dream for Sean, did he come from a “third world country”, or from a Soviet dictatorship, of course not. He came from a very nice country actually, and I don't see what the change was for him. The language is even the same, except for me it's very hard to understand what he talking about, that accent sometimes makes me think he’s speaking broken Russian, other then that he's an ok guy. For me it's dream a come true. "Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together." Eugene Ionesco

What's next for Lenny?
Family is always first, business (cement,trading etc), friends and a whole lot of new things are next. It's always new for me, I believe our lives are undeveloped until you stop working. I try every minute of my life to find something new and exciting, otherwise life becomes boring. Thank you for your support and love, thank you for giving me a chance to express myself. BARUKH HASHEM!!!




Eugene Veltman, Lenny's teenage son, also talked with Orthodox Apprentice.


What are the most important lessons in life that you've learned from your father?
I've learned from my father, that in life, you should be yourself not who other want you to be. Also, I learned that education is the most important thing possible in life, with an education you have a great future ahead. Additionally, he has taught me to be strong, even though life has its ups and down, he's taught me to withstand those tough times and get through them with his help. He has created in me a great person. I am proud to be his son.

How has life changed for you since this season of The Apprentice started airing?
Well, it's been an exciting change. I have people coming up to me in school and talking to me non-stop about how great my father is. That's pretty much it besides the fact that I get to see my father on National Television every Monday.

What does Judaism mean to you?
Judaism to me is not only a religion but a way of life. Certain people treat this religion as their life and abide by its rules, and I totally agree with their views. However, in my opinion, one must live their own life, and yes he or she can follow the religion but they don't have to. It's not required to be religious, like me for example, I'm sort of religious. I had a bar-mitzvah at the age of 13. I celebrate all the Jewish holidays like Yum-Kippur, Rosh-Hashanah, Chanukah, and Passover. Judaism is a great thing, and I'm proud to be a Jew.

Has your impression of the religion changed at all since watching Lee and Dan skip the tasks to observe the holidays?
Not really, 99% of my friends are Jewish and they observe these holidays as well. But I didn't see them leaving school to go to Temple, but it's the persons choice. My impression is still the same, you choose to observe the holiday or you don't, but in the end you're still Jewish.

While watching the show, were there any moments when you were embarrassed by something that your father did?
I'm never embarrassed of my father. Yes he does humorous things, but it just makes me laugh not be embarrassed of him. He is without any doubt the greatest father in the world, and I love him with all my heart. He gave me everything, and I am so grateful.


THANK YOU to Lenny and Eugene Veltman for sharing your thoughts with us!

Bill Rancic on Lee & Religion

Every Wednesday the politically correct Bill Rancic answers reader mail about The Apprentice.

This week several of the questions were about Lee Bienstock. The Orthodox Apprentice candidate seems to be on everyone's mind.

One question touched on the Jewish holidays:

John: Are you surprised of all of the starting members of Gold Rush, that Lee is the only one left standing? Also, when he left for religious reasons, do you think that helped or hurt him?

Bill Rancic: I am not surprised that Lee is still left standing. Although in the beginning there was some questions about him being too young, I think he a has really come through on some of the tasks more recently. As far as him taking off for the religious holidays, I think having a strong religious foundation can never hurt you.

Tarek and Charmaine speak out

Candidates are required to sign a massive non-disclosure agreement to compete on The Apprentice. They can't say much at all until we see them fired or hired. Once they're off the show, however, they can talk to the media about their experiences. Tarek Saab and Charmaine Hunt are the most recent fired candidates, so now they're talking.


Fomer Orthodox Apprentice candidate Daniel Brody formed a strong friendship with Tarek. On Tarek's website, he writes about Dan.

I liked Dan a lot. He was my first choice and was my roommate in the suite. He's a good businessman and great dad.

Tarek also responds to a fan who asked for his thoughts on Dan and Lee Bienstock missing a task during Rosh HaShanah.

I was in total support of their decision. If it had been Christmas or Easter, I would have done the same. The Apprentice is not the real world, and we are not doctors or firemen. Faith comes first. If you view this as a game, it is unfair, but if it's an interview process it shouldn't really matter. I think the only thing that suprised us was that Lee didn't take off the Succot holiday as well.

In his NBC exit interview, Tarek was asked about his relationship with Lee.

NBC: You seemed to have a very solid friendship with Lee. In fact, a lot of people like him, including, it seems, Mr Trump. It looks like Lee goes into the boardroom wearing Teflon. Stuff just bounces off him. Do you think that's going to carry him through to the end or is the politician side of Lee going to be his undoing?

Tarek: This is a funny question, because Lee and I were not very good friends at all, actually. Early on, we had some major clashes that we really struggled to work through. Towards the end, we became more friendly and learned how to work together because Trump fired all of our allies. In the end, Lee hung me out to dry in the boardroom. I think Lee is a smart guy and has matured along the way, but politician or not, Trump seems to love him for whatever reason and that is singularly the most important thing in this game.

NBC asked Charmaine who we should be looking out for in the coming weeks. It appears as if a portion of her response was edited out by NBC. Here's what they printed.

Sean and Roxanne are also ones to watch - they both seem like very strong candidates, each with one win under their belt, and they haven't ruffled many feathers.

Usually an "also" is preceded by something. Here, the response starts with an "also". We suspect that Charmaine might have said something about the other candidates that NBC doesn't want us to know.


Switching topics....

Last night was the first time Mr. Trump did not watch an episode as it aired. Donald & Melania attended the Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His daughter, Ivanka, was there too.

Orthodox Apprentice: Episode 10 - Lee fires two more

Lately, Orthodox Apprentice candidate Lee Bienstock has been looking better and better with each episode. Today was no exception as Lee continued his ascent.


Here's the lee-cap:

The task was to promote the grand opening of a Hair Cuttery on Long Island. Synergy was assigned to the Oceanside, NY location. Lee would have been very familiar with the area - he lives just six miles from the store. On the other hand, since the grand opening was scheduled for Simchat Torah (Wednesday, October 26, 2005) and there's a large contingent of Orthodox Jews in the area, many potential customers were dancing with the Torah at their synagogue; not getting haircuts.

Lee's team was located in Carle Place, about 12 miles from the Bienstock residence, north of the Orthodox Jewish communities of Five Towns. As project manager, Charmaine Hunt's only concern was the display of hair products on the shelves. Lee wanted to go out and sell while people were still at the mall. He reasoned that they could return to stock the shelves after potential customers went to sleep. That strategy has proven to be successful with other tasks, but Charmaine didn't agree to it. She couldn't accept that the task results would be based on sales; not aesthetics.

Tarek Saab and Lee spent the day flyering car windshields. Charmaine got her hair done. Michael did nothing.

Synergy crushed Gold Rush in store revenue. As a reward, they were given another task. They had to help Burt Bacharach write some lyrics for his music. That's like showing Barry Bonds how to hit a baseb-, uh.... how to stick a needle in his arm.

Back in the suite, Gold Rush was preparing for the boardroom. Lee gave Charmaine advice - go up against Tarek because Trump doesn't like him. Lee gave Tarek advice - take down Charmaine. Lee gave Michael advice - just be yourself and no one will notice you.

We expected to see another Boardroom Cheat Sheet, but only Lenny got that special treatment.

Charmaine made it clear that she didn't want to go against Lee in the boardroom. No one has ever returned to the suite to talk about that experience.

Tarek admires Lee: "He's a really religious guy. Morals are really important to him... I respect that."

The boardroom went exactly as Lee planned it. Charmaine went after Tarek. Tarek went after Charmaine. Charmaine went after Tarek. Tarek went after Charmaine. (Was Michael in the boardroom?)

When Trump asked Lee about Tarek and Charmaine, Mr. Bienstock couldn't give a straight answer because he didn't want either of them to turn against him. Donald Trump, Bill Rancic and Carolyn Kepcher each called Lee out on this. As we've been hearing since Week 5 (when Orthodox Apprentice candidate Dan Brody was fired), Lee is a "politician". [Actually, Lee is currently working on a strategy project for city government.] Trump says "we'll see him in the Senate one day." Carolyn says he plays both sides of the fence. Bill is frustrated by Lee's non-answers.

But the attention shifts back to Tarek. And to Charmaine. And to Tarek. And to Charmaine.

"Charmaine, you're fired.... Tarek, you're fired." (Hair Cuttery thinks Donald made a mistake.)

The Politician orchestrated the double-firing of his Gold Rush teammates. Everything went exactly as he planned. Remember last week when he talked about "all the people [he] fired."? This week Lee fired two more.


Viewer Votes (East Coast results. Votes are counted separately in each time zone.)

For the second consecutive week, Lee had the most votes to be fired (18%) at the first tally. Fortunately for him, it's not American Idol and public opinion doesn't matter. (Just wondering... do a lot of people hate Lee or does he have one enemy that's voting over and over again?)

With all the votes counted, 31% wanted to fire Charmaine and 16% chose Tarek. Lee was next with 15%.


Later on The Apprentice


* Episode 11: Monday, May 8, 9:00 ET/PT

The candidates relive their younger days by putting on a tailgate party during a college football game. One team creates a spectacle with an eating contest while members of the other team dress up as cheerleaders. The winners wine and dine in the country, while the losers face a fierce boardroom. One candidate will be fired.

At least one team performed their task prior to the Rutgers University homecoming game against Naval Academy on October 29, 2005. They were promoting blooming onions from Outback Steakhouse.

Randal Pinkett (winner of Season 4) was in attendance at the game. He graduated from Rutgers and his wife is the Senior Alumni Relations Officer for the university's Alumni Association. The big question is if Randal's appearance at the game makes it into the episode. Season 4 was airing while Season 5 was filming. In October, Randal knew he was in the final two, but he hadn't been hired by Trump yet. The Season 5 candidates wouldn't know anything about Randal since there's no television in the suite.

Donald Trump also made an appearance at the Rutgers-Navy game.

Since Gold Rush now has two candidates to Synergy's four, and the girls were all shown together at the Rutgers game, expect Sean to join Lee and Michael for this task.


* Episode 12: Monday, May 15, 10:00 ET/PT (special time)

The final five Apprentice candidates are challenged to assemble the perfect home theater display at a Wal-Mart store for the Microsoft Xbox 360 videogame console. The display will highlight the game system's features for potential customers. One candidate feels they are being undermined by their team, while the other group worries that their display will not be completed in time. The winners take a private jet to Hollywood and get a chance to appear in a movie, while the losers face off in the boardroom.

We suspect that the "undermined" candidate is on the three-person team and the "worried" team has two candidates. (Could an individual be undermined by a team with just one teammate?)

Tammy Trenta will watch this episode at her high school, Bishop George Ahr HS. Advance tickets are $10 each ($5 for current students). All proceeds go directly to the high school's alumni association and to Tammy's Theresa Kathryn foundation.

Does this mean that Tammy stays on the show beyond Episode 12? Stay tuned to find out.


* Future Episode

The remaining Apprentice candidates design a new uniform for Embassy Suites.


Later this week

Orthodox Apprentice will tell you...

• which candidate (other than the obvious) went to shul and fasted on Yom Kippur.
  
• which candidate just returned from Passover in Florida.
• why Sean is not living the American dream.
• how you can get tickets to attend the live finale in Los Angeles