Some fans unironically love Wheel of Fortune, playing along at home and cheering on contestants when they win big money — or perhaps they wish they were those contestants winning big money. Show
Other fans delight in schadenfreude and actually root for the bankrupt slide whistle to sound when there’s a super-easy puzzle on the board. Either way, audiences have kept the show with Pat Sajak and Vanna White going for nearly 40 years. But whether one loves it or loves to hate-watch the game show, it’s hard not to be impressed when someone wins $1 million, as only a few players have done so far. How did ‘Wheel of Fortune’ start? Like another iconic game show, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune was created by Merv Griffin, who was also well known for his talk shows. According to the show’s Fandom page, its first incarnation was Shoppers Bazaar, hosted by Chuck Woolery, who went on to host Love Connection. The show’s female contestants solved puzzles a la Hangman, but the wheel was vertical, and was operated only by Woolery. That show, which did not go over well, morphed into something more akin to its familiar version in the mid-1970s, but Wheel of Fortune did not truly take off until 1983, with a nighttime version that featured Sajak and White. Although there have been various changes through the years, including a temporary departure by Sajak to start an ill-fated talk show, Wheel has stayed basically consistent. One thing that the producers hope is consistent is that contestants don’t win too many mega-prizes. As a general rule, winnings typically cap around high five figures or low six figures. A handful of contestants have broken the seven-figure barrier of $1 million so far. Who won $1 million on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and how?One of the million-dollar winners was not an English wiz but a math teacher, Sarah Manchester, who won $1,017,500 in 2014, according to Time. In addition to winning the show’s top prize of $1,000,000 with a spot on the wheel, Manchester also won a trip to the Dominican Republic. To win the million-dollar prize, the contestant must first collect the wedge, and make it to the Bonus Round without hitting the dreaded bankrupt. There, one of the wedge’s envelopes that normally contains $100,000 is replaced with one containing $1 million. The contestant spins for a wedge, Sajak collects the envelope, and the contestant must solve the challenge. So it takes a combination of luck and skill. The other million-dollar wins on Wheel were made in 2008 and 2015. As detailed by Entertainment Tonight Matt Desanto pulled off a win that was arguably more impressive in 2015. With only a single vowel, a not very helpful E, DeSanto managed to guess “The Lone Ranger.” Sajak was so astonished, he said, “I don’t want to cause trouble at home, but I think there’s still a connection between you and Vanna..” DeSanto won $91,000, the most any contestant had won in the main section of the game, not counting the bonus round. What are the biggest game-show prizes of all time?Unsurprisingly, the show with the most records for big prizes is Wheel’s sister show Jeopardy, with that show being the largest source of winnings for Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer, who have won $5.2 million $5.1 million and $3 million, respectively, for the various shows they’ve won. Another impressive record is the largest amount of money won in a single day. That was initially set by the notorious Michael Larson, who obsessively studied Press Your Luck and figured out a way to get the biggest money prizes on that show’s board. He won $110,237 in 1984, only to lose most of the money later after his house was broken into The current single-day record holder is Michael Stouber, who won $262,743 on The Price Is Right last year during a “Big Money Week” promotion Stouber played the pricing game Plinko, which normally maxed out a $50,000. Big money indeed. Wheel of Fortune! This, along with Jeopardy, are definitely the two most favorite game shows in American television history. Who are some of the big winners that have gone on to read a hefty prize? Read on more to find out about the top 10 prizes given away in Wheel of Fortune history. Table of Contents
Michelle Loewenstein ($1,026,080)Michelle Loewenstein was the first-ever winner of a prize greater than $1 million in the history of Wheel of Fortune. Even better, she won the coveted million dollar prize just after she returned home from her honeymoon, fresh off a marriage. With that money, most if it was invested away into a savings, although she did treat herself to a new car and spoiled herself. The final puzzle that she solved was “Leaky Faucet.” Michelle won the prize when this episode of Wheel of Fortune was filmed on August 8, 2008, or 08/08/08. She attributes this to being married on July 7, 2007, or 07/07/07. Autumn Erhard ($1,030,340)Autumn Erhard, known as winner of the largest prize in Wheel of Fortune history (but not the first one to win $1 million, which Michelle had that honor), managed to win a staggering $1,030,340 off her filming round. This was achieved in 2013, 5 years after the first million dollar winner. This is all on top of the other $30,000 she won in prizes earlier on the show. Autumn graduated from the University of California, based out of San Diego, in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 2005. Since the filming of the episode in 2013, she has worked as a sales representative at Animal Health International, Inc. The puzzle she solved was “Tough Workout.” Sarah Manchester ($1,017,490)Just one year after Autumn Erhard placed the $1 million prize, Sarah Manchester, a match teacher based out of Silver Spring, Maryland, won yet another $1 million prize on Wheel of Fortune. She went on to win the prize during Wheel of Fortune’s “Teacher’s Week,” which consisted of the first 5 episodes of the show’s 32nd season. Sarah would go on to solve the puzzle “loud laughter,” which was plainly described as ‘thing.’ Since then, Sarah has continued her teaching in her home state of Maryland, although now she is far more recognisable on the streets than your average math teacher. The Five $100,000 winners ($100,000)In April of 2016, to kick off the show’s upcoming season, contestants would be entered to win $100,000 by solving the game’s final puzzle. Typically, on Wheel of Fortune, you would spin the final wheel and reveal your prize, but every prize was $100,000. The contestants were not told this, and in a twist of fate, all 5 contestants that week won $100,000. They all have individual names and placed with prizes ranging from $117,500 upwards of $140,350, but all of them walked away with a cool amount of change in their pocket. Matt DeSanto ($91,892)Matt Desanto perhaps pulled off the impossible in December of 2014; on the very last puzzle to win the grand prize, Matt had only one letter given to him. He continued on to set a record with a one-letter hint, solving the puzzle “The Lone Ranger.” For his efforts, Matt won the final prize at $80,000, which brought him out to nearly $92,000 in winnings. Since then, Matt Desanto has returned to his hometown of Malvern, Pennsylvania and continues operating his pizza business, which has boomed in business thanks to his newfound status as a hometown hero. Andy Kravis ($50,550)Andy Kravis is known for having appeared on multiple game shows, including Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, and Million Second Quiz. On Wheel of Fortune, Andy managed to solve his final puzzle as “Bear in the woods” and walked away with a $25,000 grand prize and an additional prize in the form of a trip to the bahamas, worth an estimated $7,000. Andy also won $2.6 million in the Million Second Quiz in September of 2013, and is continually active on the Jeopardy message boards with the user name “alkrav112.” 1 COMMENT
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