EVERYTHING IS COMING UP ROSES FOR "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" FIRST $1 MILLION DOLLAR WINNER

CULVER CITY, CA (October 14, 2008) - Michelle Loewenstein, a 24-year-old newlywed and floral designer from Santa Monica, Calif., hit the jackpot and won the first-ever $1 million on Wheel of Fortune since the show introduced the One Million Dollar Bonus Round at the start of the season in September.  

"What an incredible wedding present...we just arrived home from our honeymoon a few days ago.  I still can't believe I won $1 million, but I had a feeling something good was going to happen today," Loewenstein said just after the taping.  "My biggest problem is going to be keeping the secret."

This season, Wheel of Fortune has increased its top cash prize ten-fold since the start of the $100,000 Bonus Round seven years ago, giving away the cash prize to 16 lucky winners.

As the first-ever $1 million winner on Wheel of Fortune, Loewenstein becomes the biggest money winner in the show's 26-year history. The Edison, N.J. native solved the Bonus Round puzzle -"Leaky Faucet" - on a day (08-08-08) that she considers lucky.  "I have been a fan of the show since I was a kid and now watch every night with my husband. Without a doubt this is the only game show I watch," she said, adding that she and her husband haven't even thought about what they will do with the winnings.

Loewenstein will be watching her big television debut with her family and friends in New Jersey.

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