FOR EMBARGOED RELEASE Following 9/17/14 Broadcast of Wheel of Fortune

Suggested Tweet:Sarah Manchester is @WheelofFortune’s third-ever millionaire! Watch herehttp://youtu.be/zDSETMZ4YEM  

Culver City, CA (September 17, 2014) – On Wednesday night, Sarah Manchester, a math teacher from Silver Spring, Md., became the third contestant to win the $1 million dollar grand prize on Wheel of Fortune.

“This is a once in a lifetime event,” said an excited Manchester following her win. “I’m just soaking in every minute of it!”

Manchester’s $1,017,490 win did not come easy.  The game was close with only $6,000 separating the first and third place finishes.  Manchester solved the Prize Puzzle, winning a trip to the Dominican Republic and then brilliantly solved the third Toss Up Puzzle, “The Pacific Ocean,” with just a few letters revealed.  

Going into the Bonus Round Manchester was so caught up in the moment she forgot she was going to be playing for the chance at $1 million dollars.  “Oh, I forgot!” she said when host Pat Sajak reviewed her winnings with her. However, there were no problems when the bonus round puzzle “Loud Laughter” was revealed.  “I saw it right away, so I called the letters and was able to solve pretty easily,” said Manchester of her winning solve.

The big win came during Wheel of Fortune’s “Teacher’s Week,” which kicked off the 32nd season of America’s Game®.

The $1 million dollar grand prize wedge was added to the Wheel in 2008, at the beginning of the show’s 26th season. If a contestant collects the wedge, solves the puzzle and makes it to the Bonus Round without hitting bankrupt, the top $100,000 cash prize is replaced by $1 million dollars on the Bonus Round Wheel. The first $1 million dollar grand prize was won by Michelle Lowenstein in October of 2008 and the second by Autumn Erhard in May of 2013.  

Manchester is a middle school math teacher and coach of the math team at Tacoma Park Middle School, the same middle school she attended as a child. She has had a lot of practice solving Wheel of Fortune puzzles, having watched with her parents growing up and now challenging her own kids with cash prizes for each puzzle they solve before she does.  Manchester was joined at the show’s taping by her father, Paul; husband, Dan; and children Alden and Raina.

“What a way to start the season,” said Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak following the win.

During the show’s closing segment, Sajak asked the newly minted millionaire if being a math teacher she had calculated the probability of winning the million dollars to which she gushed, “I assessed that the probability was low, but even unlikely events sometimes happen!”

For Photos and Clips of the Win: Please visit CBSPressExpress.com or contact Krista Ostensen Osche at krista_ostensen@spe.sony.com

About “Wheel of Fortune”

Wheel of Fortune has been the number one syndicated game show since its inception and has earned seven Emmy Awards, including a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show. With more than 26 million viewers per week, syndication’s most successful series continues to attract a larger audience than many primetime television shows.  Wheel of Fortune is produced in High Definition by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company.  It is distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Studios International, both units of CBS Corp.

Contact Information:

Krista Ostensen Osche

Director of Communications

Wheel of Fortune

310-244-6286

Krista_Ostensen@spe.sony.com