Possibly our favorite news all year: a friend in our condo complex won almost $75k on Wheel of Fortune this October!
Our neighbor played it so cool. Cori Frede didn’t say a peep to us about applying, auditioning, flying out there… Nothing. Then we ran into her one morning walking her little white dog Benny as usual, except she looked like she was about to burst.
Apparently, Wheel of Fortune forbids contestants to say anything about their experience until the week it airs, and it was finally Cori’s week: “I went on Wheel of Fortune this summer and now it’s airing Thursday and I can’t say one more word about it except to invite you to the viewing party at Chili’s.”
OMG! Our girl was a warrior (as you can watch in the full episode above). Going into the final spin, Cori had $15,600 and was closing in on the guy in first whose $18,350 included a trip to Puerto Vallarta.
Dude blew it though. The puzzle: “STRIKIN_” “ _OLD” – and he somehow couldn’t finish it. Cori came with the last two G’s, and upped her total to $24,600. On she went to the Bonus Round, choosing the category “Fun & Games.”
Cori spun the wheel to select the prize to be revealed if she correctly guessed the next puzzle, then Pat Sajak led her to her mark in the spotlight. Three words, RSTLNE + MPGO: “ROO _ S” “ _ N_” “P _ _ NS.”
Ten seconds on the clock… “Rooks! And! Pawns!” Cori instantly pronounced. Pat Sajak opened the prize envelope and showed her… $50,000! “Whoa,” he exclaimed, flashing it for the camera as the audience freaked, “How ‘bout that?!!” Cori’s mother came onstage to hug her daughter and wave goodbye with Pat and Vanna.
Now back in Philly, Cori (a technology specialist for a North Philly high school) has no big plans for her winnings so far, but she is already eyeing other TV gameshows – especially Jeopardy, where she feels her talent for trivia would come in handy. “The Price is Right” is too expensive,” she told us, “You need to pay taxes for all those prizes, and that’s money out of your own pocket.” No thanks!
For now, Cori’s riding out a brief wait period before she can try out for another Sony-owned gameshow like Jeopardy. All these different productions have their own special rules that Cori’s careful to follow to the letter. And why not? Letters have been very good to her, recently…
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