'Survivor': A Tie, Then a Boot

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/04/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

In the second tie vote to occur so far on "Survivor: The Australian Outback," Kucha tribe member Jeff Varner and Ogakor member Colby Donaldson -- now merged into one cutthroat tribe, the Barramundi -- each received the identical number of votes on the show Thursday night that would have resulted in their ouster from the setting. A revote produced the same result. That meant past votes cast against them would decide their fates. Varner had one vote cast against him in the course of previous tribal councils, Donaldson had none. So it was bye, bye Varner, 34, an Internet guru from New York and now the sixth contestant to get the boot on the CBS reality show (not including Michael Skupin, who last week had to leave the show after he was badly burned in an accident). There are nine contestants left. Varner accepted his defeat with grace, saying after the first voting results: "There doesn't seem to be anything I can do to change anyone's mind here. If I go home tonight, I'll walk out with a smile and be proud of everything I've done here."