‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant wins over $56,000 — all thanks to his dyslexic son who helped him

Dyslexia is a learning disability but time and again people with the condition have defied all odds to emerge with brilliant ideas that change the world. From Apple founder Steve Jobs to artist Pablo Picasso, some of the most innovative and creative minds in the world were dyslexic. Even on "Wheel of Fortune," fans were left teary-eyed when a contestant revealed how his dyslexic son inspired him to compete on the show. Matt Popovits, who won $40,000 in the bonus round, credited his son for the success since the boy loved watching the show and wanted his dad to participate in it. 

During the introductions, host Ryan Seacrest asked Popovits what encouraged him to be on the game show. Joined by his family on stage, Popovits shared that one of his children encouraged him to apply. “I have two great kids—Ava and Jack,” he said. And when Jack was diagnosed with dyslexia, we said, ‘Let’s watch Wheel as a way of helping him learn to read and spell,'" he explained.

He further shared that one day while watching the show, his son told him that he should audition for the show. “And I said, ‘I will if you help me, and he did and here we are!'” the player added.

On the show, Popovits, a pastor from Houston, Texas, played against Jessica Kuharik and Kunteia Willis. He performed well through the general rounds of the game and gained a big lead over the two contestants. In the end, Popovits proceeded to the Bonus Round after winning $16,350 in cash and a trip to Mexico.

For the final puzzle of the show, Popovits picked the category “Phrase”. After getting the standard letters, “R, S, T, L, N, E,” he went on to choose “B, G, H, and A," as his additional letters. With all the information filled in, the puzzle on the board read, “_ ' _     ALL TH_ _ BS.”

It seemed like Popovits had done well with the choice of letters, as he nearly had the last word filled in. When Seacrest set off the ten-second timer, the contestant didn’t waste a second to guess, “I’m all thumbs!" The answer turned out to be correct and to add to the player's delight, Seacrest revealed that Popovits had won $40,000 more which took his total prize money to $56,350.

His family rushed to the middle to hug Popovits and to celebrate the win. Seacrest asked the player's son, Jack, what he thought of his dad’s win, to which he replied, “Amazing!”

After the episode aired, Popovits shared pictures of him and his family and friends watching his episode in his living room. “This will go down as a top ten moment in my 44 years of life," he wrote in the caption of the Instagram post, expressing his emotions. He further shared that what made the moment more special was having his family right by his side on the stage. 

In another Instagram post, Popovits explained how Jack helped him get on the show. He shared that they were auditioning for the show just weeks after Jack came up with the idea. He attributed all his success to Jack as without him, he may not have been on the show.

Fans of the show couldn’t get enough of the emotional story as well. "We watched it and cheered you on! You are a wonderful father! Congratulations 🎉" a viewer @sartinteam commented on Popovits' post.