Monday, September 16, 2013

Game Show Spotlight: "Wheel" Premieres Today With New Season and New Wedge

Alongside Jeopardy! and Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune returns today for a brand new season filled with new contestants, new puzzles, new prizes and new ways to win. Beginning today, the long-running syndicated game show will introduce a new wedge to the Big Wheel called the "Express Wedge". The "Express Wedge", which will replace the 16-year old "Jackpot Wedge", will only be active during the third round, which is also the Prize Puzzle round. 

Upon landing on the special wedge, the contestant must call a consonant. If they call the right letter, the contestant will win $1,000 per letter and may choose to either "pass" or "play". Passing resumes the game as normal, while playing enables the contestant to keep calling consonants for $1,000 a letter without having to spin the wheel. However, if (s)he should call an incorrect letter during the turn, they will go "Bankrupt" and lose their turn. 

Although I will miss the Jackpot round, the Express round will be interesting to watch because it will add an exciting, high risk element the Jackpot round never had. According to the season premiere teaser promo, there is a good chance we will see the Express Wedge in action sometime this week. Wheel of Fortune will kickoff its 31st season debut week at The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas. A total of 30 episodes have been filmed in Las Vegas this season with theme weeks including "Las Vegas Vacation", "New Year's From Las Vegas" and "Venetian Valentine's Day". Along with the contestants, home viewers will have a chance to win more cash through the upgraded "$5K Every Day Plus" giveaway promotions. Wheel Watcher Club members will now have a chance to win up $10,000 in cash if they are an active Sony Card holder. 

I think it's only appropriate to give the now-defunct Jackpot round a proper send-off by showing you one of the biggest Jackpot wins in the show's history, which coincidentally occurred during its debut year in 1996. 


Source: Sony PR

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