A recent Wheel of Fortune contestant wins big
Someone’s earnings went to a galaxy far, far away. Wheel of Fortune recently launched Star Wars Week and contestant Dr. Jeff Powell’s earnings eclipsed that of the Death Star in size. The sheer scope of this victory had Dr. Powell, his family, and even host Pat Sajak stunned.
Since its start in 1975, Wheel of Fortune has thrown in some creative twists into its formula, bringing in particular types of contestants or keeping to a specific theme to freshen things up. Participating in Star Wars Week, Dr. Powell was uniquely qualified for this particular Wheel of Fortune event. Here’s how it played out.
Monday, May 29 proved a fateful night for Dr. Powell, a Sherwood, Arkansas-based dentist. But he’s been preparing for this moment, even inadvertently, for a long time. At his office, he has a room dedicated entirely to the sci-fi saga. “And,” he further revealed earlier that day, “every Thursday, my entire staff is encouraged to wear Star Wars shirts that say, ‘May The Floss Be With You.'”
At this, Sajak playfully scolded, “Jeff, you should be ashamed.”
So, he proved himself fully qualified for any themed event. But, as a Wheel of Fortune viewer, actually participating in the game show still proved to be shocking in the best of ways. “You watch it every night and then to walk in there and there’s everything, there’s the letter board. There’s the wheel. It’s so cool,” he reflected. “It was so exciting. You’re under the lights and everything goes really fast and then it’s over.”
Before the episode aired, Dr. Powell felt “I don’t think I did anything to embarrass myself or my community, but I guess we’ll see Monday.” That certainly was not the case. During regular play, he earned $23,646. So, when he went into the bonus round, he was feeling confident.
Dr. Powell was confronted with the Phrase category and faced a letterboard reading, “STAY A _ L _ OAT.” Before long, he solved it as “Staying afloat.” The bonus prize? $100,000. The value of Dr. Powell’s incredible win stunned him and earned a shocked “How about that?” from Sajak off-camera. Dr. Powell’s wife rushed to the stage and threw her arms around him in a hug.
That kind of victory definitely belongs at the very start of Star Wars Week on Wheel of Fortune.
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