Dan Foley of Gorham, a cast member of the “Survivor” TV show, is going into this week’s episode 12 still in the hunt to take home the $1 million top prize as the sole survivor.

The show’s season began with 18 cast members. Following episode 11 on April 29, Foley was one of seven remaining on the CBS reality show.

Attending Foley’s local viewing party last week, radio personality Chuck Igo attributed “Survivor” acumen as a key for Foley.

“His knowledge of the game, because it is a game,” is a factor in his success, Igo said. “He’s a huge fan of the game.”

Foley, 47, is a technician at the postal plant in Scarborough, and owns apartments in Gorham. Foley has lived in Gorham 17 years.

This week’s episode 12 aired on WGME TV at 8 p.m., after the American Journal deadline.

This season’s “Survivor” was filmed in Nicaragua last summer. The first episode had cast members equally divided among three tribes. Foley was a member of the blue collar Escameca Tribe. Survivors now have been consolidated into one tribe – Merica.

Cast members employ deft and skill to survive through challenges and forming alliances. The object of the show is not get voted off by fellow cast members.

The final episode will be broadcast live on Wednesday, May 20. Foley and his wife, Erin, will be in Los Angeles for the finale.

Jimmy Tarantino of Gloucester, Mass., who was a “Survivor” cast member known as “Jimmy T” in 2010, likes Foley’s chances of becoming the sole survivor.

“If he gets to the final three, he could win this thing,” Tarantino said last week.

Tarantino, a federal seafood inspector, was a guest last week at Foley’s viewing party at Thatcher’s Restaurant in South Portland. Foley’s friends and fans have packed the parties, which began with episode 2.

Mark and Debbie Stevens of Naples are longtime fans of the show and attended their first “Survivor” party last week. She has been watching “Survivor” since its inception.

Foley is the third cast member on “Survivor” with connections to Gorham. Bob Crowley, now a retired Gorham High School physics teacher, won the $1 milllion prize in 2008. Julie Berry, who was one of Crowley’s students at Gorham High School, was a “Survivor” cast member in 2004 and just missed making the final four.

Dan Foley of Gorham, a cast member on the reality show “Survivor,” at last week’s viewing party at Thatcher’s Restaurant in South Portland is flanked by Bob Crowley, right, who is the show’s 2008 winner, and Jimmy Tarantino of Massachusetts, a cast member in 2010. Staff photo by Robert Lowell