Has anyone won $1M on Wheel of Fortune? Viral video reveals answer (2024)
While Wheel of Fortune is known for great prizes from vacations to cars and cash winnings, only a small amount of people have ever won $1 million on the show.
It has been nine years since a regular player won that big on the game show, while actress Melissa Joan Hart raked in $1 million for charity in 2021 on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.
A TikTok showing the small batch of big winners went viral after the official Wheel of Fortune account uploaded a montage of winners.
The first player to take home $1 million was Michelle Loewenstein who was so excited when she won in 2008 that she ran over to hug co-host Vanna White.
The florist from Santa Monica correctly guessed, "Leaky Faucet" to bring her total prize winnings to $1,026,080.
Five years later, Autumn Erhard took home $1,030,340 in cash prizes after correctly guessing "Tough Workout" during her bonus round.
"I was just completely shocked," Erhard told NPR after her episode aired. "I couldn't even speak anymore, I could barely breathe. I thought I would cry, but I think I had so many emotions going on that I was almost frozen."
But perhaps the win should not have been such a shock for Erhard, who grew up loving the show.
"I was always told growing up, 'You should try out,'" Erhard told NPR. "For some reason, I just decided, 'I'm going to do it'. Not in a million years would I have thought that I would've been on the show. Let alone win a million."
The most recent non-celebrity player to win a $1 million prize was Sarah Manchester in 2014.
The math teacher from Maryland guessed "Loud Laughter" during the bonus round of a Teacher's Week episode and was shocked when host Pat Sajak opened the envelope to reveal the whopping prize money.
She held her hands over her mouth as her children and husband ran to congratulate her.
"I was not expecting that at all, absolutely not at all," she told Silver Chips Online, the online student newspaper of Montgomery Blair High School. "It was just so awesome. I loved every moment of it. It was so wonderful and nice to have my family up there celebrating."
She told the paper that she planned to spend the money on travel, charitable donations and save for her children's college tuition.
Hart, the Sabrina the Teenage Witch star, became the first celebrity to win $1 million and the fourth in the history of the show. She correctly guessed the answer in the bonus round and donated her winning to Youth Villages.
"They serve families and children across 23 different states in every kind of level, going through foster care and aging out of foster care especially," Hart said at the time.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
In 2008, Michelle Loewenstein Moore made history when she became the first Wheel of Fortune contestant to win the $1 million prize. She claimed victory when she solved the word puzzle for “Leaky Faucet.”
Fans of the show, hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, know that the $1 million wedge works differently than the others – when a contestant lands on it and then correctly guesses a letter, they pick it up, and if they solve the final puzzle, then the $1 million prize will be available to win after the bonus round.
Student David Avelsgard's first appearance aired as a Saturday rerun on March 2, which was just nine days before his March 11 appearance. Producers asked him to compete again when they realized that they awarded him the wrong Prize Puzzle trip.
Robinson appeared during the Million-Dollar Mission, and in her game had five cases containing the $1,000,000 prize. Robinson turned down a final bank offer of $561,000, keeping her case—number 4—and won $1,000,000.
How much does Vanna White make per episode? Wheel of Fortune films six episodes per day for four days each month. That's a whopping 288 episodes in only 48 days of work. When you do the math to break down her estimated $3 million salary, that means Vanna White makes $10,416.67 per episode and $62,500 per work day.
To keep the $1 million piece, Brown had to either give one correct letter or complete the puzzle. Much to some fans' dismay, she guessed the letter “H,” which was incorrect.
Ricky Gilbert took home $89,120 after Tuesday's game after the software engineer solved every single puzzle in the game—including the bonus round. In the clip, Pat Sajak says, "I hope you win a lot of money tonight," foreshadowing all that was to come.
Five years later, Autumn Erhard took home $1,030,340 in cash prizes after correctly guessing "Tough Workout" during her bonus round. "I was just completely shocked," Erhard told NPR after her episode aired. "I couldn't even speak anymore, I could barely breathe.
How many spaces are on the Wheel of Fortune bonus wheel? There are 24 spaces on the bonus wheel, meaning all contestants who have a million dollar wedge added to the wheel have a one in 24 chance of taking home the big win.
What is Maggie Sajak doing on Wheel of Fortune? Maggie Sajak is a social correspondent for Wheel of Fortune. She said in a statement about her role, “I'm excited about the opportunity to bring an insider's look at the show with new behind-the-scenes features, interviews, videos and insights.
Before her appearance on TV, White was a contestant in the Miss Georgia USA 1978 pageant. White's first appearance on a game show was on the June 20, 1980, episode of The Price Is Right, where she was among the first four contestants.
Up until 1997, White had to manually turn tiles on the puzzle wall as contestants guessed correct letters. Now the board is computerized, so she only has to touch the board to reveal correct letters.
There are 24 spaces on the bonus wheel, meaning all contestants who have a million dollar wedge added to the wheel have a one in 24 chance of taking home the big win. When a the million dollar wedge is added to the bonus wheel, it replaces the next biggest prize, which is the $100,000 wedge.
On the 1 September 2008 episode, Jessica Robinson became the first contestant ever to win the $1,000,000. She turned down an offer of $561,000. The only remaining value left was $200,000.
Maybe "The Lone Ranger" was just a lucky guess, but he was on a roll for the entire show. He won every puzzle in the game and won $91,000 before the bonus round began. His $91,000 win set a new record for Wheel of Fortune as it's the most that anyone has ever won during the main portion of the show.
Susan left the show on October 22, 1982, to concentrate on other fields & make the jump to the medical world; she earned a B.A. in Nutrition and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, and a Ph. D.
Hobby: LARPing, Kitesurfing, Sewing, Digital arts, Sand art, Gardening, Dance
Introduction: My name is Amb. Frankie Simonis, I am a hilarious, enchanting, energetic, cooperative, innocent, cute, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
