History

• Wheel of Fortune has awarded more than $171 million in cash and prizes to its contestants in its 24 years in syndication.
• In the 2006–2007 season alone, more than $9 million in cash and prizes was awarded to contestants.
• On September 11, 2006, Wheel of Fortune and its sister show Jeopardy! were the first syndicated shows to broadcast in High Definition.
• On February 28, 2006, “The Bold and the Beautiful” star Jack Wagner and his partner, Christine Denos of San Jose, California, won $142,550 in cash and prizes during “Soap Stars Week.” This made Denos Wheel of Fortune’s single highest winner in the show’s history. Wagner donated the entire amount to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
• Approximately 3,200 people try out each year, and fewer than 500 lucky Wheel Watchers are selected to appear on the show.
• The Wheel Watchers Club, Wheel of Fortune’s online viewer loyalty program, has gained over 3.8 million members since its inception in 2003.
• Wheel of Fortune receives more than 3,000 pieces of viewer mail per week. Remarkably, all letters receive a response.
• Since 1988, Wheel of Fortune has taped more than 50 remotes, in over 25 different cites, in front of live audiences of more than 350,000 fans.
• In 1992, the “Guinness Book of World Records” listed Vanna White as the world’s most frequent clapper. Vanna puts her hands together for contestants some 28,080 times a season - an average of 720 times per show.
• The first letter Vanna ever turned on the Wheel of Fortune puzzleboard was a “T.
• The Wheel weighs 4,000 pounds.