A party to meet the cast of the popular "Wowowee" television show Thursday night turned into a big disappointment for dozens of fans who paid $100 each, only to briefly see a handful of the show's cast.

An estimated 230 people went to Rumours nightclub at the Ala Moana Hotel for the "Wowowee VIP Bash" and a chance to meet the show's stars. "Wowowee" is the No. 1 game show in the Philippines and is expected to draw nearly 20,000 people when the show is taped tonight at Aloha Stadium.

The show's producer, Bigatin Productions, rented the nightclub Thursday for the VIP party. Tickets, priced at $100, were sold in advance as well as at the door.

But many fans who went to the event said they never saw the stars of the show and only a few dancers showed up. The entertainment was so brief that many fans said they did not know that it had happened.

A Bigatin spokesman provided conflicting information yesterday. In a statement, Dave Tiu said 12 of the show's 17 cast members did attend the event, including some of its stars.

Tiu did not say how long the performers stayed or whether they mingled with the crowd. He could not be reached for further comment yesterday afternoon.

In his statement, Tiu apologized for the confusion and said fans can get refunds.

"We are here to make the Hawai'i fans happy and we look forward to a great performance tomorrow night," Tiu said.

Thursday's event was supposed to start at 6 p.m. and fans were in line more than an hour ahead of time, hoping to be among the first to meet the show's stars and have an opportunity to take pictures with them.

As the night wore on and it didn't appear that stars would be there, the crowd became anxious.

'Ewa Beach resident Jason Fernandez said his wife bought three tickets at a Waipahu restaurant two weeks ago so they could take their daughter to meet the cast. He said he also bought three $100 tickets for tonight's show because they were big fans.

Fernandez said the doors to Rumours opened at about 7 p.m. and people filed in. He said there was no one from the show in the room and at 9 p.m., his wife asked the people selling the tickets when she could expect to see the stars.

"They said to be patient, they're on their way," Fernandez said. "By 10, Rumours was empty. It was terrible. People were gathering in the lobby and they were asking what happened to 'Wowowee.' "

A DIFFERING ACCOUNT

Mel Buted, a doorman at Rumours, disputed Tiu's account of the event and said he saw only three of the show's dancers that night. He said people kept asking when the stars would be showing up and they were told by a man named "Dave" that they were on their way.

But Buted said no one showed up and at about 9 p.m. "Dave" and the other ticket takers left. (Buted was not sure of "Dave's" last name.)

"I felt really sorry for all those people, especially the older people," Buted said. "I was upset."

By 10:30, the fans realized that the party was over. Fernandez said many were confused because none of the four people who had been collecting money for the tickets stayed behind to explain what had happened.

QUESTIONS UNANSWERED

Many disappointed fans questioned the hotel's staff, but the employees said they did not know what was going on because the room was rented for a private function, Fernandez said. A hotel manager acknowledged yesterday that there were many upset people after the event.

Fernandez said he spoke with a woman who drove from Waialua with her grandmother, her sister and five others to meet the cast. He said he felt sorry for them because of the expense of buying the tickets and coming in from the North Shore.

"The lady that I was talking to said she bought eight tickets. That's $800, and they hung around there until 10:30," Fernandez said. "It's such a terrible situation. When you look at my side of the story, I have $300 gone."

He added that he isn't sure he wants to go to tonight's show.

"The show is going to be tomorrow and I hate it. I want my money back," Fernandez said.