IamA Wheel of Fortune Contestant (and winner!) AMA!

DO THE PRODUCERS TELL ALL THE CONTESTANTS TO BE OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD AND YELL EVERY LETTER?

YES

I hope you see this question, I have a bet with my Grandma riding on it. Is there a board off camera that you can see that shows the letters that have already been picked? My guess is no; but she's certain. Thanks! And congratulations.

Yes there is! Grandma wins! And thank you!

Sauce

Oh my @ 16:33 that audience member behind her sister started waving and was stopped by the person next to him

cringe

My favorite part of the whole show. I laughed for years.

Thank you!!! This is awesome!

What did you have to do to actually get onto the show?

Sex was not mandatory but I offered anyway.

Haha, I did a series of auditions. The first time, I saw the wheel mobile was in town and figured I would check it out. At least 300 people showed up and they had you fill out your information. Then a fake Vana and Pat did a series of mini games. They chose the names from a big bingo turning machine, so only maybe 1/20th of the people go to audition.

If they called your name, you had to scream as if you were actually on the show and give them an interesting fact about yourself that didn't pertain to your love of WOF. I shit you not, almost everyone said "I love WOF, that's about it". I said I did stand-up, told a joke, and three months later I got an email saying I had moved on to audition two.

That audition involved a camera and a series of mini games. Thy wanted to see how you acted under pressure, how you filmed, if you called letters that made sense, etc. there was also a written test of a bunch of WOF style puzzles. The test was timed, and we were not allowed to see the results. There was then a lunch break and afterwards they called a few names, and those who were called got to stay to play more games.

Two weeks later I got a letter in the mail saying I had made it! My shoot date could be any time it him the next 18 months and I would get two weeks notice.

TL;DR I auditioned

What was the joke?

Knock knock

Who's there?

Awe man, I don't actually have one. I told a joke about a physics teacher, but it will read sillily when written out!

How much did ya win? Was it as much fun playing as it looks?

I had a blast! I won a little over 15,000 in cash and prizes. It breaks down to two trips: Hawaii and Costa Rica, a fancy sony camera, and $2300 in cash. I Will also re be $1000 per trip for incidentals.

How is that going to affect your taxes? Will you save any of the cash for the taxes you'll owe on it or will you not owe any? ' edit: nevermind, found the answer. Congrats!

It's a waiting game. May get a check or a bill, depending on if my cash winnings cover the taxes of my trips. Fingers crossed!

What are Pat and Vana actually like?

We didn't see Pat until the show started, but he was really nice between sets. So personable.

Vana was amazing! She came to the back room to introduce ourselves. She was wearing a sweat shirt and jeans and said "Just wanted to wish you all luck and show you what I look like normally, without makeup". Gorgeous still, of course. She set everyone at ease.

You are beautiful. Are you single and need someone to take on those trips any chance?

What sweet words cuntlovingwhore. I sure you are a very nice ma'am/sir.

Hey I watched you win last night with my friends! Congratulations! I was saying to my friends last night that I hardly ever see women with the name "Spencer". There's gotta be a cool story behind that.

Also I was happy you defeated the blonde and won the vacation she failed to. Awesome job!

Thank you! I heard she gave me the stink eye but I was too pumped to have noticed.

How hard was the wheel to spin? They all seem to make it out like it's really heavy. Congrats by the way!

It is about 1000 pounds (no exaggeration). It was very heavy and we had to practice spinning it a lot.

Practice? Did they have a practice wheel, or did you just stand around the normal one taking turns?

The normal one taking turns.

What do you do for the breaks?

The breaks are actually really short (about 2-3 minutes). We get given a swig from a little water bottle, fanned if we are sweaty, and have more makeup put on. There are lots of words of encouragement also!

Did you find it harder to stay engaged in the game while on camera?

Not at all actually! It helped that I had no idea where the camera was until near the end of the episode haha. I will say that many of the contestants who also shot their show that day did find it nerve wrecking. Depends on your personality.

Just consider yourself lucky that you weren't the first episode shot that day. (I assume since you were on Wednesday's show your group probably got the golf ball with a 3 on it?)

My group taped first when I was on, and I won the first toss-up, so I had to do the first interview of anyone that day, without the luxury of seeing other people go first. I would have done anything to go later in the day. But I didn't embarrass myself, and won the show, so I guess I can't complain. Still, at the time? Nerve-wracking beyond belief.

Oh I bet! I pulled he 2 golf ball! Close though. Congrats on winning!

Congrats on the win!

What was the behind the scenes like? Is pat a nice guy? Was there any tension between contestants?

Pat was very nice, but we didn't actually see him until we started playing. What a moment!

As for tensions, not at all. Everyone was really nice. There was some good natured trash-talking but that was it. It's not really you against the others, it's you against the wheel.

How did you decide what to wear?

I basically didn't! So many rules. No dresses, no distracting patterns, no white, no black, no red, nothing too casual, nothing with logos, etc.

During filming, was there anything specific that you all had to do to get certain shots, maybe for editing purposes? Watching the episode live, did anything happen out of order or was it all played back as-is?

I was a studio audience member for two of the new episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway, and we spent over an hour doing retakes of lead-ins for each game for editing purposes. I'm curious to know if this is true for game shows.

I am so jealous! I love whose line!

We were just told to smile, nothing fancy.

Do you consider yourself fortunate?

Wheely fortunate.

I just had to say all of you're answers to these questions are witty and amazing and I hope you go far in life :) You seem like a great person.

Mom?

Haha, thank you so much stranger!

Did they check for any kind of performance enhancing drugs? I'm pretty good at Wheel when I watch at home, but I feel like I'd absolutely dominate their shit if I took a bunch of Adderall first.

Haha, they did not! Adder all was fair game I suppose!

When do they tell you to clap? It seems like there's an awful lot of clapping.

Clap when you're breathing seemed to be the only rule.

Why in the world did you pick o instead of a at the end? I asked myself this yesterday and actually get to ask you this today.

Congratulations on the win.

I figured A would stand out to me on its own. Whereas O can cause a whole puzzle to be unclear, in my opinion! Should have chosen I though, haha

O is the statistically most frequent bonus round letter. It was a good choice. You got a little unlucky here.

http://wjspaniel.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/wheel-of-fortunes-most-frequent-bonus-round-letters/

This is awesome! So good to know.

• How did you get on the show?
• Do you feel you played better live or are you better at guessing at home?

I think I played as well love as I did at home. It helps that I have performance experience so crowds and cameras don't make me nervous.

Hi Spencer! I'm Anna, I currently reside in Texas, and I've been bragging all day about my coolest friend that was on TV. Congrats guurl!

Anna Bo!!!!! I love you so.

Fellow former winner here! Congrats on your win, and damn that was a tough bonus puzzle you got.

Did you make a lot of friends with other contestants? I remember spending a lot of time with them before taping, so a lot of us keep in touch on Facebook now. Was wondering if your group of contestants had a similar dynamic.

I didn't! My show was one of the first taped then I was out of there! I invited Vana and Pat over for my birthday...no reply yet...

have you figured out how they sync vanna touching the letters perfectly with showing the letters? also congrats for the win!

a touch screen?

Yup! It is a touch screen. And thanks!

Congrats!

Thank you stranger!

How were Pat and Vana? Any tension? My hubby is convinced they secretly hate each other... Not sure why, too much forced niceties at the end of each ep I guess.

Also, congrats!

They seemed to really enjoy each other's company. I think they get along off and on screen pretty well!

How much did you win, and how much taxes were taken out?

Still waiting to see about the taxes but I won just over 15,000 cash and prizes.

What do you plan on doing with the spending money?

I didn't win that much spending money, so I am eager to see if I will actually have any or if taxes will destroy my hopes and dreams.

Here is a recap of the game. She's Spencer, the blue player.

Congratulations, Spencer! You had a tough bonus puzzle. Do you remember anything that was edited out of the episode, like extra wrong letters or maybe a technical difficulty?

Not at all, they put it all in there to my knowledge. And thank you!

Actually, I discovered an edit thanks to a score discrepancy and Pat's comments. The show often edits out when all three players lose their turn in a row.

Watch closely here starting at 10:46. Notice his score is $1150, then gets one L on $300 and buys the I (-$250), so that should be $1200, but when he calls the wrong M next, he only has $950, so that must mean he bought a wrong O (since AEIU are all in the puzzle), followed by Gabrielle and you both losing your turns. Pat tells Gabrielle "Try it again" even though she didn't spin on-air yet, so that means she must have got a Bankrupt, and you, probably a wrong R?

Sorry if your brain hurts. I always notice when the show does these edits and I like trying to figure out what happened. :P Again, congratulations on your winnings and enjoy your trip!

Oh man you are observant! I would never have noticed that. I was that kid who literally never found Waldo haha. I guess they did! Thank you again,

What is your favorite color?

Eh, green or mint I guess.

Did you ever have a moment where you were skeptical of whether or not you should accept the invite to the show?

I had he panicking moment that I would not be able to afford the taxes, but my family agreed to help if need be. But I always wanted to be on the show, no doubt about that!

How long was it from the time you shot the episode to when it aired?

2 months

Can you be in the show if you're SAG-AFTRA? Or did you get a waiver to be on the show?

I had to look this up, but I believe you can! You just must disclose that information.

A little late to the party, but go Tigers!

Cadence count!

Pat talked about you wanting to be a comedian, what's your plan on that? Also how heavy was the wheel?

I do stand up regularly at night and work during the day. Just trying to get a name for myself out there and then hopefully start getting paid!

And super heavy.

Was pat really drinking the entire time?

If he was, we didn't see and he didn't show it!

Congrats! What're you going to do on your trips?

Drink!

My basketball coach was on a couple months ago and he won too. Anyway, how hard was it to keep your winning a secret?

You can tell close friends, but if it is posted on social media before the air date, you forfeit all prizes. It's a good motivator so it wasn't as hard as I thought. I did want to tell the world though!

How did you celebrate winning?

I went to the Hollywood walk of fame and joined he masses trying the glimpse celebrities on the red carpet to the Captain America premier. I saw Scarlett Johansson! Then I drank.

Be completely honest here:

What was the most dominate thing going through your mind when you actually won the game?

Edit: I noticed you play racquetball. If you're ever in central PA, hit me up for a game.

That I would win a minimum of 1000 dollars! That was more than I made in a month at the time so I got to be excited rather than nervous.

I will let you know! Always up to play a game of racquetball!

Seeing your user, I was really hoping that your name was Anne. Big let down.

Comedispencer wouldn't work as well. Sorry parents screwed me over!

What did you do to prepare for your appearance on the show? Congrats on the win and hope you have two extremely awesome vacations.

I watched the show regularly and played some online versions of the game. But mostly I just relaxed and tried not to think too much beforehand. It helped me be calm during the game I think!

Are you allowed to spin the wheel lightly? say if 3 ticks over there was a million dollars, do you have to spin full strength?

Full strength! It is so heavy that it takes moment to get it going probably for exactly this reason haha.

1. That's awesome

2. Who names their girl Spencer?

1. Thanks!
2. My parents

Is the wheel heavy?

Very.

Is it possible to "control" the wheel? Like, can you vary how hard you spin to avoid hitting Bankrupt and Lose a Turn?

Not at all! By all appearances, it is "unriggible"

Not in the least it is far too heavy. You need some strength to get it going.

What happens off screen during a commercial or something? Does the host actuallly talk you or what? And comgrats on winning.

Makeup and quick water break. The breaks were very short.

Where is it taped? Pat has season tickets to the Washington Capitals.

LA, and thank you for the bonus Pat trivia! TIL haha

Do you get to practice spinning the wheel before taping the show?

Yes we did! A lot.

How do they select people to be on the show?

It's a full audition process. They want to make sure you are not too camera shy and call logical letters.

Is the stage smaller than it looks on TV?

So much smaller! Smaller than your average middle school gym even.

Thanks so much for doing this! Where you ever nervous or were you always confident?

I was not nervous! That sounds like a lie, but I was so excited to be there, and I have performed in front of much larger crowds without getting paid to do so. So I was ready, haha.

Is the wheel hard to get going?

Not really but it takes a strong push!

you have just taken over the world with your grand military. As the peasants bow down to your highness, what do you declare as your first law for all of humanity to obey?

Gather all the pizza and lagers and give them to me in offering. My word is my law.