Brandon R.

Brandon R.

Theme Week:
Big Splash
Contestant:
Brandon R.
Hometown:
St. Cloud, FL
Week of:
August 31, 2009

Posted 09-03


So this was it, I made it on to the show! It felt a lot different than solving puzzles in my living room. Everything felt so surreal. Here I was and ready to win, but my excitement soon started to turn to worry as the game progressed. I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped.

After a couple of unlucky rounds I was not feeling too good about my chances of winning. I was really nervous and time felt like it was flying by. I thought to myself that I was blowing a once in a lifetime opportunity. The prize puzzle comes up and quickly changes my luck. After solving that puzzle and the $3000 toss up, I was suddenly headed to the bonus round.

Wow, I can't believe I had made it to the bonus round. This was my chance to win big! At the last second, I decided to change the letters I had planned on using since the day I was chosen to go on the show. Boy did that almost backfire on me! The puzzle was extremely hard and Pat Sajak reminded me to just keep guessing and use the whole 10 seconds to try and solve the puzzle. With that encouragement from Pat, I was able to make a lucky guess and solve it. "BOLD MOVE" that is a THING that I will never forget. I had just won $25,000 for a total of $28,900 plus a $6,700 trip to the Canadian Rockies and was just overcome with excitement and joy.

I will enjoy that trip and probably another one or maybe a cruise with my wife and son. I will pay some bills and put some money aside to spoil my son even more. What an amazing experience. This is a story that I will be able to share with my grandchildren one day!



Posted 08-31


I've been a Wheel fan since I was a kid. So when I heard that Wheel of Fortune was coming to Orlando, I was psyched! My wife and I went to Seaworld on the day of the tryouts and were overwhelmed with the amount of people there. We filled out our little green forms and hoped for the best. After two hours of waiting, they were down to picking the last five contestants. I had given up all hope. I was on my way out and my wife states "Wait, you still have a chance." I had already given up. But all of a sudden, I heard my name being called!

I went on stage and put my heart into the game. My hard work paid off when I was handed a letter to return the next day for the next step in the tryouts! The next day I returned and spent a grueling day competing in mini shows and completing puzzles. At the end of the day I was told that if I were chosen I would receive a letter.

Every day I checked the mailbox to see if my dream had come true. Day after day, my disappointment increased and my hope of being on Wheel of Fortune was diminishing. I had finally given up, when one day I receive a phone call from the Wheel of Fortune staff members that I would be part of the SeaWorld series! At that point I knew that this would be an experience of a lifetime.

Tune in Wednesday to see!