While Wheel of Fortune winners typically walk away with vacations, cars, and piles of cash, the odds of the show crowning a millionaire are pretty slim.
Still, you might’ve noticed the green $1 million wedge that appears on the wheel — proving that there is always a chance to win a million dollars on the show, even if it doesn’t happen very frequently.
So, how does it work exactly? Read on for everything you need to know about the million dollar wedge, including who has won in the past!
What is the million dollar wedge on Wheel of Fortune?
Typically sandwiched between two bankrupt wedges (making it even harder to land on), the million dollar wedge is a space on the wheel which offers players a chance to take home a million dollar grand prize.
How do you win the million dollars on Wheel of Fortune?
Winning the million dollars isn’t easy, and Wheel of Fortune certainly makes their contestants work for it. In order to win the big money, players must spin the wheel and land on the million dollar wedge, then proceed to win the game in order to keep the wedge. If that happens, the million dollar wedge would be added to the bonus wheel, which the finalists spin at the end of each game.
The player would have to spin the bonus wheel, land on the million dollars, and solve the bonus puzzle correctly in order to walk away $1 million richer.
How many spaces are on the Wheel of Fortune bonus wheel?
There are 24 spaces on the bonus wheel, meaning all contestants who have a million dollar wedge added to the wheel have a one in 24 chance of taking home the big win. When a the million dollar wedge is added to the bonus wheel, it replaces the next biggest prize, which is the $100,000 wedge.
Has anyone won the million dollar prize?
There have been three people since 2008 who were lucky enough to bring home the million-dollar prize: Michelle Lowenstein, Autumn Erhard, and Sarah Manchester. Watch all three wins here:
There was one memorable close call back in 2017, when the contestant made it all the way to the bonus round with the million dollar wedge, and even landed on the wedge with his bonus spin, but failed to solve the puzzle correctly. With the category of Food & Drink, the contestant and audience members were both stunned to hear that the correct answer was “Baked Zucchini.”
“Unbelievable,” the contestant said in disappointment. Still, he walked away with more than $26,000 that evening, but that doesn’t exactly sound as nice when a seven-figure prize was so close within reach.
@WheelofFortune what’s the difference in baked and fried zucchini? A: one million $$ 😞 #bummer #WheelOfFortune pic.twitter.com/fSTPbi7oMZ
— michele (@shelinoz) November 16, 2017
Wheel of Fortune, Weeknights, 7:30/6:30c, ABC
