'Wheel of Fortune' contestant explains what happened behind the scenes after he won $86,000
A recent winner on "Wheel of Fortune" has opened up about his experience on the sets of the popular game show. Drew Goldfarb, who won over $86,000, got candid in an Instagram post sharing his experience with the show's co-hosts, Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White. The sportscaster from Las Vegas, Nevada, touched on the different aspects, rounds, and his emotions throughout the game.
Goldfarb's episode first aired on February 18, in which he went up against Akeya Works, from Norcross, Georgia, and Lauren Moonilal, from Forest Hills, New York. While he got off to a rough start, he made a strong comeback in the second round and won an eight-day expedition to the Pacific Northwest worth $13,654 in the Express Round. In the end, he emerged as the big winner with $46,912 in cash and the trip. Furthermore, he picked up a Wild Card and an Expeditions Cruise wedge as he advanced to the Bonus Round.
With his wife on stage, Goldfarb chose the "Phrase” as his final puzzle category. With the show's standard letters and his chosen letters—C, D, M, A, and G—filled in, the Bonus Round puzzle read, “TA_E M_ AD_ _CE.” As soon as Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, the player didn't waste any time to guess the answer, "Take My Advice," and win an additional $40,000 from his Golden Envelope.
Goldfarb took to Instagram right before his episode aired to share his emotions with the world. “Well, THAT was a tough secret to keep! My episode of @wheeloffortune aired this week after it was filmed in mid-January,” he wrote in the caption with a photo of him and his wife, alongside the show's host.
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Goldfarb further shared that it was an unbelievable experience to be on the show and that Seacrest had become his newest friend. “Meeting @officialvannawhite and my new buddy @ryanseacrest was incredible, and I ended up being the big winner!" he wrote.
The player touched upon his performance in the initial rounds of the show as well and complimented his fellow players, too. “In the #SpeedUp Round, Akeya had an INCREDIBLE solve after calling just a single letter. She had a crazy-good end to the game to take home $14,500 (all cash), as did Lauren, who nabbed $14,050 (all cash) after solving the first two puzzles,” he shared. He added that he learned something new., which is that the round one puzzle taught him that a group of jellyfish is called a "smack." Goldfarb also expressed that he was excited to take the cruise trip to Greece and Turkey with his wife, Angela, whom he married in December 2024.
“I could not have hoped for a better outcome. It was an incredible experience even before I banked my first dollar. And I’m so glad that Angela was able to be there with me to experience it. #WheelOfFortune #gameshow #GameShowContestant,” Goldfarb noted at the end of his post.
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