cuomo, alisyn camerota and michaela pereira. >> look at that. does it get any more exciting? >> maybe if the podiums were made of chocolate. >> or made of gold. good morning. welcome back to your "new day." that was a look inside the venetian hotel where the countdown is on. nine republicans are set to take that stage. that's the main stage tomorrow night in los angeles for the final gop debate of 2015. the stakes could actually not be higher. >> one reason is you don't often hear this, donald trump could use a boost. his lead is waning in the latest national polls. just five points separate him from senator ted cruz. the texas senator now the front-runner in iowa. this makes the debate even more important. trump says he is ready to get it on. our debate coverage kicks off with athena jones, live in vegas. athena? >> good morning, chris. the countdown has begun here in the venetian theater. you can see the stage is all set