A North Haven resident who also is a student at Albertus Magnus College, along with her friend, won more than $21,000 during an appearance on Wheel of Fortune Monday. Ashley Petrillo, “has. That pilot incorporated Hangman-style puzzles and a roulette wheel but was 'horrible,' says Woolery, 79. After NBC passed, Griffin retooled it as Wheel of Fortune and got a green light.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ makes its rounds
| Friday, November 15, 2019
For more than 40 years, American TV game show “Wheel of Fortune” still continues to have people tune in and try to solve the puzzle. The game show is one of the most widely viewed game shows in history, alongside “Deal or No Deal” and “The Price is Right.”
Created by Merv Griffin on Jan. 6, 1975, the concept of “Wheel of Fortune” is based on Hangman. Each round of the game includes a category and blank word puzzle, with each blank corresponding to a letter in the answer and punctuation added as needed. The titular Wheel of Fortune is a roulette style wheel with 24 spaces, most of which are labeled with monetary amounts — ranging from $500 to $900 — and most of the spaces including a top dollar value: $2,500 in round one, $3,500 in both rounds two and three, and $5,000 in round four and any subsequent round. There are also two Bankrupt spaces and one Lose a Turn space, in which the contestant must forfeit their turn and any other prizes they won from the wheel.
In each round, contestants spin the wheel and call out consonants that might be in the puzzle. Calling out the correct consonant results in contestants receiving the monetary amount that they landed on, multiplied by the number of times that consonant appears on the puzzle. When a contestant calls the correct consonant, the control remains with that contestant, who has the option of spinning the wheel again to call out another consonant, buying a vowel or attempting to solve the puzzle. Control passes to the next contestant clockwise if the wheel lands on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn, the letter called is not in the puzzle, a letter that is already on the board is called, the contestant fails to call a letter five seconds after the wheel stops turning or the contestant attempts unsuccessfully to solve the puzzle. The winner is crowned when a contestant successfully finishes the final round.
Since the show’s running, there have been four hosts and two hostesses running the show. The original host was Chuck Woolery, who hosted from 1975 to 1981. Pat Sajak took over for Woolery after a salary dispute between Woolery and Griffin. Sajak hosted the daytime show until Jan. 9, 1989, when he left to host a late night talk show. Rolf Bernischke, a former placekicker for the National Football League (NFL) took his place from Jan. 9 to June 30, 1989, when the daytime show was cancelled after running 14 years. Bob Goen hosted the newly formatted daytime show from July 17, 1989 to Sept. 20, 1991, when the daytime show was cancelled for the second and final time. Susan Stafford served as the show’s first hostess, from the show’s premiere until October 1982. After Stafford left to be a humanitarian worker, Vanna White became the second hostess from 1982 until the daytime show’s second cancellation in 1991. Since the show was syndicated, Sajak and White served as the show’s host and hostess. On Nov. 9, 2019, Vanna White served as the show’s primary host for a week due to Sajak recovering from emergency intestinal surgery.
Since the show’s airing, there had been many international versions of the show that aired in Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. The show is currently in its 37th season and is the third longest running game show behind “The Price is Right” and “Jeopardy.”
Since 1975, contestants on Wheel of Fortune have been buying vowels and solving puzzles to win a variety of prizes, from trips and cars to even $1 million in cash. But when it comes to the hangman-style word game, taking home the big bucks is a lot harder than it looks on TV.
It's so hard that only three people have won the $1 million prize since its debut in 2008 (via Closer Weekly). But even the luckiest wordsmiths can't escape the state and federal taxes that go along with their Wheel of Fortune winnings, no matter the sum. That means you might win $1 million on the show, but sadly that's not nearly how much you're taking home at the end of the day.
Sandwiched between two 'Bankrupt' wedges on the Wheel of Fortune wheel, contestants have a 1-in-72 chance at landing on the tiny green sliver that signifies the million-dollar mark, and even then, the large cash prize isn't guaranteed. Landing on the $1 million wedge only affords you an opportunity at the prize.
To win a million dollars on Wheel of Fortune you have to land on the million-dollar wedge twice
The first step in winning the million-dollar prize on Wheel of Fortune is landing on the prize sliver during regular gameplay. That's the easy part. You then have to win the game, and make it to the bonus round without ever hitting the bankrupt penalty wedge, which would immediately wipe out your million-dollar prize.
Wheel Of Fortune Vs Hangman
Here's where the show separates the lucky from the really lucky. As Time explains, once you get to the bonus round with the million-dollar wedge, one of the prize envelopes which contains $100,000 is replaced with the $1 million prize. The contestant then has to spin for a prize envelope, essentially requiring the individual to land on the $1 million wedge again. The envelope's contents are kept secret until the end, with the contestant either solving the puzzle or running out of time.
Wheel Of Fortune Hangman Game
That's a whole lot of spinning combined with a whole lot of luck. Which is probably why only three people have walked home with the rare prize. In some states, based on the percentage of income tax and the possibility of being put into a different taxable income bracket based solely on your winnings, a $1 million winner could end up giving half of the prize money right to the IRS (via NerdWallet). Still, going home a half million dollars richer wouldn't be a total hardship!