Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak discovered himself relegated to the sidelines throughout this previous Friday’s episode as he watched an enthusiastic contestant take management of the proceedings throughout his profitable spree.
As the long-running sport present’s Teen Week got here to an in depth that day, Ohio highschool sophomore Ross Campbell proved to be a ball of power as he solved a sequence of puzzles and proved victorious in opposition to his opponents.
In a clip shared on Wheel of Fortune‘s verified Twitter account, Campbell, 15, was seen touchdown on the $1,000 wedge with a thriller tag hooked up. He yelled and cheered because the letter B, which he guessed, was added to the phrase puzzle.
Presumably making ready to ask Campbell whether or not he want to play the thriller wedge—the place contestants can enhance their winnings to $10,000 or lose every little thing in the event that they encounter a bankrupt tag—Sajak began to say, “There you go. Well…”
“I like money! Wooh!” Campbell interrupted, seemingly unwilling to attend for the host to construct up any suspense on the matter. He grabbed the wedge and held it aloft to disclose that his gamble had paid off with a five-figure enhance.
“Yeah!” Campbell yelled as he jumped up and down and the viewers applauded.
This time, Sajak didn’t get a phrase in in any respect as Campbell yelled: “I’d like to solve!”
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Shouting out the proper reply for the puzzle, the scholar mentioned: “I before E except after C,” cheering and applauding because the remaining letters had been revealed.
The digital camera then minimize to a speechless Sajak, who regarded across the studio and on the digital camera in silence for a number of seconds.
“There’s really no need for me at all,” the TV character quipped.
Seizing the second to get again into presenter mode, Sajak pointed towards Campbell as he mentioned: “You know what? You made someone at home very happy too because they’re going to win $10,000…”
“Spin ID! Someone at home! Yeah!” Campbell shouted, once more not giving the host an opportunity to ship his common polished traces.
As the clip got here to an finish, Sajak was seen playfully shaking his head in defeat.
A caption accompanying the video read: “This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.”
Campbell’s affect on the present went past his enthusiasm, as he went on to win $30,450 in money and prizes in addition to a visit to Puerto Rico.
In an interview with Ohio’s Dayton Daily News, Campbell mentioned he utilized on-line to compete on the present after seeing on the present’s social media web site that purposes had been open for teen contestants.
After auditioning on Zoom, he discovered by way of e-mail in late November 2022 that he had been chosen as a contestant.
“It was about 9 o’clock at night and I was sitting on the couch when I got the email telling me that I was selected as a contestant, and I jumped up and down and was so happy because I have always been a fan of the show,” Campbell recalled.
Taking three days off from college, he flew along with his dad and mom to Los Angeles to tape his episode in early December. The present is shot on Sony Pictures Studios’ Culver City lot, and Campbell visited the Jeopardy! set earlier than taping.
A golf fanatic, Campbell instructed the Daily News that he plans to save lots of the majority of his winnings for school and to purchase a brand new laptop and hopefully a automobile.
“I am planning on going to college either at Wright State University or Miami University,” he mentioned. “I would like to double-major in journalism and Spanish since you never know what language might be needed when doing interviews. And I love being in front of the camera.”