Contestant Blogs

Amy R.

POSTED 8-9

I arrived at the studio the morning of the show's airing really excited, but a little nervous, too. The contestant coordinators did a great job of keeping everyone calm and explaining the day's routine to us. It was really fun to see the wheel for the first time. I had heard that it weighed about a thousand pounds, but I don't think I really believed it until I tried to spin it. I couldn't even get a full revolution!

I was going to be in the first show filmed that day, so it was a bit of a whirlwind getting ready. The next thing I knew, I was standing up at the wheel, and Pat and Vanna were walking in. I solved the first toss-up and we were off. Pat is so kind and friendly. He made us all feel at ease as we got into the game.

I had a chance to spin during the first puzzle, and I knew the solution, but I wanted a little more money, so I decided to spin one more time, and I landed on bankrupt! I was glad that I did, though, because that kept me from getting too greedy. The second round, I landed on the 3500 wedge on my first spin, and I called my favorite letter, N. It was up there four times! I bought all the vowels right away, and I only needed to spin one more time before I figured the puzzle out. And all of a sudden, I was up over $15,000!

On the third round, I figured out the puzzle before my turn came up, and I knew it was a prize puzzle. When I landed on the mystery wedge, there wasn't anything that was going to make me give up a prize puzzle, so I didn't even bother to look. I'm glad I didn't because I would have gone bankrupt. For the second time! But I solved the puzzle and was suddenly going on a trip to Barbados!

The rest of the game just flew by and the next thing I knew, I was standing in Bonus Land with Pat. When I called my letters, I thought for a second that none of them would come up, but I was grateful to see the p in the second word. This part of the game was almost easier than anything else, because I could just talk out what I thought the solution was. It was always my method at home, so I just started thinking out loud, and I figured it out. "Solid proof!"

Just like that I had won everything. It was so fun to share the moment with my husband, mom, sister, and mother-in-law. After the show, we went out and enjoyed being in LA for the weekend before heading back to St. Louis for an ice storm!

I had a small viewing party in my apartment and everyone there was so excited and yelling that I thought someone might call the police. My students were thrilled with the results and kept asking if they could go to Barbados with me. I hadn't told anyone anything about the show, so everybody was surprised and happy for me.

Wheel of Fortune was such an incredible experience. Sometimes I can hardly believe that it really happened. I had such a fun time, and feel so blessed by all the good in my life. This was just another wonderful example for me. Thanks to everyone at Wheel for making everything so great. I loved every second!