Hundreds of Big Brother hopefuls audition at Cache Creek Casino casting call

More than 200 people showed up Monday morning at Cache Creek Casino Resort for an open casting call co-hosted by CBS News Sacramento.

Before the doors opened at 9 a.m., houseguest hopefuls lined up around the building, all vying for a spot on the show that has been running for more than 25 years.

Contestants were from all over California and even out of state.

'It's kind of like a dream of mine to be on this show," contestant Justin Cantu said.

Cantu was one of the first people in line on Monday. He has auditioned for Big Brother three times now and has watched the show for most of his life.

"I have watched Big Brother since I was, like, eight, nine years old. It was kind of like a bonding thing for me and my stepmom, actually, when she first came into my life," Cantu said.

The Sacramento native has his sights set on reality stardom.

"I skipped work to be here today. So I was like, it's only an hour away from Sacramento. So I was like, screw it. Let's go," Cantu said.

For other contestants, being locked in a house with a lot of people feels all too familiar.

"I'm very competitive. I grew up in a house with eight siblings, so chaos is my comfort," said Stephanie Fornaro, a contestant who drove in from Alamo, California.

Others admit there is some strategy in playing the game.

"I would be good at it. I know I could probably win," said contestant John James. "For me, I'm going in thinking, you're going first, you're going second, you're going third, fourth and fifth, and map out every single person I'm taking out through that entire game."

Once in the audition room, the contestants had one minute to look into the camera and tell CBS producers why they should be cast on the next season of Big Brother.

"I'm just going to be myself and at the end of the day, there is nothing more I can do," Cantu said.

He left confident that this could finally be his Big Brother break.

If he were to get the call back, Cantu said, "I'm dropping everything for this show. This is my number one priority.

As for what happens next, the hundreds of audition tapes are sent off to CBS producers who will decide who gets into the house. The winner of the show takes home $750,000.