Page 24 - 2023-12 Courier.pub

Wheel of Fortune to a room to fill out tax forms. Game show winnings are taxed as ordi-
nary income so I suspect the withholding amount will be substantial.
Q: When do you get your money?
A: It should be 120 days after the air date (October 9), so for me that
By: Betsy Edwards would be around February 9 of 2024.
Lots of people have asked me about Q: Did you get to take pictures with Pat and Vanna?
my appearance on Wheel of Fortune A: No. The show tightly controls their publicity. Upon arrival we
on October 9. Below are answers to were told to turn off and put away our cell phones; breaking that rule
some of the most common questions. could get you kicked out. So I only have the one official picture (of me
Q: How did you get on the show? alone, in front of the Wheel) provided by the show. But Pat and Vanna
How long ago did you apply? were both very nice.
When and where was the taping? Q: Were you nervous?
A: I submitted my original online A: No, not really nervous - but I got very little sleep the night before, so
application on the Wheel of Fortune I was running on adrenaline. And it went by SO fast! It was all a blur. I
website on March 15, 2022 and I realized after the taping that I couldn’t remember many of the details cor-
included a video. After a year went rectly. After seeing the episode on TV, I was able to get it straight in my
by, I figured I had not been chosen. memory.
On April 28, 2023 - over 13 months Q: Do you really swear a lot?
past my application date - came a A: Well, some of the people I play Bocce with have certainly heard
glimmer of hope: I was contacted via things slip out LOL. Yes, it does happen! I focused hard to keep my
email to sign up for a “virtual con- comments G-rated.
testant audition” on Zoom and was Q: Was it difficult to keep it a secret?
given several dates and time slots to A: Yes, the worst part was not being able to tell anyone. Only one
choose from. family member (our son) and one friend (our dog sitter) even knew why
Monday, May 8, 2023 was my vir- we went to LA that week . . . and of course we didn’t tell them the re-
tual audition. The first part was a sults! The penalties for “leaking” information are severe (you may not
typical Zoom call with a group of other applicants, with everyone trying get your money & prizes) so we kept quiet until one week before the air
to show off their personality; the last part was just me trying to solve date, as directed by the PR department.
some puzzles. I knew I had not solved every puzzle, but still I felt like I Q: Darn, I missed the episode; where can I watch it?
did well. I received zero feedback. She said “thank you, I will forward A: Fortunately, some people record episodes and post them on
your video to our producers” but gave no time frame about when I might YouTube. If you go on YouTube and search for “Betsy Wheel of For-
hear back. tune” you should be able to find all 4 rounds plus the Bonus Round, post-
Then I waited. I continued to practice by watching lots of WOF reruns on ed by someone called Junior Beltre.
TV and playing WOF on the app. By early July, after two months with
no news, I was feeling disappointed that my virtual audition had been Overall, this
unsuccessful. was a fun and
Then, surprise! Out of the blue on Monday, July 17 at 12:06 PM this truly amazing
email came through: “Congratulations! You have been selected to join us experience. If
on: FRIDAY, JULY 21ST, 2023!” Yikes! That was only 4 days away! you are a good
Of course, I said yes, and we were off to LA. The shows are taped at puzzle solver
Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. and are thinking
Q: Does the show pay your travel expenses? about applying
A: No. They make it very clear in advance that all travel expenses to be on Wheel
are up to you. However, even if you get “skunked” and don’t win any
money at all, they still give you $1,000 so that would help with your of Fortune, I
travel expenses. encourage you
Q: Do you have to pay taxes on your winnings? to go for it!
A: Yes indeed. The minute the taping was over, they whisked me off I’m living proof that regular people can get on the show – and even win!

Do you play??

WANTED: musicians, regardless of genre.
Do you play Piano, Base, Drums, or Guitar?
Let’s meet at The Retreat on Wednesday, January 17th at 7:00 p.m.

Questions: Call Gary Harang at 408-910-9439
December 2023 Page 24