Mark Kim laughed as he looked at the blinking lights and flashy slot machines surrounding him at the Muckleshoot Casino.

“It’s kind of weird,” Kim said. “Here’s a couple of pastors sitting here at a casino on a Saturday morning.”

His fellow pastor at the All Nation’s Community Church in Lake Forest Park, David Staples, smiled at the irony, as he watched a pair dressed in brightly-colored bicycle-riding spandex outfits – each carrying the front wheel of their bike – walk by.

“I think one advantage we have over everyone else here is the fact that we’re just ourselves,” Staples said. “So many other people, they’re bringing props and trying to create stuff. This is just who we are.”

This past Saturday, Kim, Staples and hundreds of other hopefuls showed up at Club Galaxy at the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn to try out for the smash TV reality show “The Amazing Race.”

The show, which debuts its 16th season on Sunday, pits several teams of two to race against each other and the clock as they jet around the world, completing challenges and vying for the top prize of $1 million.

Last Saturday was the only chance for Northwest contestants to get in on the action and try out for the show’s 17th season, which is expected to start filming this summer.

Lauren Hobby and Morgan Olsen, roommates from Gig Harbor, were on hand to try their luck. After filling out several pages of questionnaires, the duo were waiting their turn to be called to a curtained-off filming booth, where each team got one-minute to explain on video why there where the best choice to make it on the show.

“We’re really good friends, and we seem to have fun wherever we go,” Olsen, 25, said. “We went to Vegas this summer and just made friends all over the place. So we thought we’d try out.”

“And we want to win a million dollars,” Hobby, 23, added.

“We need a mansion,” Olsen said, with a chuckle.

“We’ve always wanted to try out for a reality TV show, and this seemed a good one,” Hobby added.

Although both admitted they were reality show watchers, neither were big “The Amazing Race” fans.

“I’ve seen a few episodes, but I’m really excited about this season because I watch ‘Big Brother’

Olsen said. “I’m a really big Jeff and Jordan (contestants on “Big Brother” who are appearing on the 16th season of “The Amazing Race) fan, and I’m rooting them on all the way.”

The pair weren’t sure what lay in store for them when their number was called to interview in the camera booth, but said they were confident they would make an impression.

“I think they’re going to ask us why we want to do it and why we’ll be good at it,” Hobby said.

Olsen added that although the pair were the best of friends, they could also bring a little of the relationship drama that helps make the show a hit.

“We’ll be good at it because we’re fighters,” Olsen said. “We fight with each other, we’ll fight with other teams. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

“We annoy each other quite a bit, but we’re still friends at the end of the day,” Olsen said.

For Staples, who lives in Kirkland, and Kim, an Auburn resident, being on the show is not only their shot at fame and fortune, but also a chance to bust some stereotypes.

“We feel like we’ll be a good team because we have different approaches,” Staples, 31, said. “And we want to represent, not just pastors, but Asian-American men. People think that Asian men are quiet, and not that we’re not sometimes, but there is a boisterous side in us. There is this other side that people don’t see. I’m aggressive. Maybe I can blame the white side in me, because I’m half Caucasian and half Korean.”

During their minute in the camera booth, both Kim and Staples appeared at ease before the camera, joking and detailing their case for inclusion on the show. At one point, Staples reached into his pocket and pulled out a green traffic ticket.

“I was driving down on I-405 and there are two lanes and they’re both doing about 60,” Staples explained later. “And I do about 70, I’m not going to lie. And I was late and he (Kim) was already here, so I went in the HOV lane to pass and a cop saw me and pulled me over, so I got a $124 ticket. But I wasn’t riding in the HOV lane, it was really just to pass, it was really quick. Not to justify it.”

According to Kim and Staples, it’s the differences between their respective styles, as well as their ability to meld them, that would make them a good addition to the show.

“Even this morning with him being late (I was mad). I’m very anal,” Kim explained. “I need details, I need to be on time. I live right here in Auburn, so I was here at 8 o’clock. So I was here waiting.”

“I think we have a great story, because it’s a working relationship and we’re different,” Staples said. “In a lot of ways we’re the same, but we have a really different style. Let me tell you about Mark, he’s about the process, he focuses on processes. Me, I’m about the end goal.”

“Also if there is conflict, we work together, but differently,” Staples added. “We come at it from different angles.”

Finalists for selection the show will be notified in March, with filming for the 17th season beginning this summer.