March 15, 1996 Recap

Let’s start off by meeting our contestants!

Steven Novak is from Santa Monica, California. He refers to himself as a “typical Los Angeles cliché” working three jobs; a massage therapist, a salesman for nutritional projects, and an aspiring actor.

Tiffany Dunn-Hay is from Pinkneyville, Illinois, which she says is near St. Louis. She’s currently a student at Belmont University in Nashville.

Sid Baumann is our returning champion from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He won $7,750 all cash on yesterday’s show. He spent 10 years in the Navy but now works for an architectural signage company in Virginia Beach, where he also has a five-and-a-half-year-old son.

Pat tells the contestants that $1,000 is the top dollar value for the first round.

Round #1
Category: Before & After
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_ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _

Steven, who drew #1, gets the game started by doubling his $400 with two N’s. He buys an A, but loses his turn on a dud E.

_ _ _ _ _ N _
_ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _
_ A _ _ / _ N _ _ _ _

Tiffany’s up with her first spin, but starts off with some bad luck by calling a dud T on $500.

_ _ _ _ _ N _
_ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _
_ A _ _ / _ N _ _ _ _

Returning champ Sid gets his first go at the wheel and doubles his $500 thanks to two S’s. But he loses his turn after buying a repeated E.

_ _ _ _ _ N _
S _ _ _ _ _ / _ _
_ A _ _ / _ N _ _ _ S

We’re back to Steven who gets the lowest dollar amount on the wheel, $150 thanks to a G. He then picks up $200 on an L. He buys four O’s before spinning again and getting his money back thanks to an F on $250. Steven doubles his $300 on two C’s, then doubles his $400 on two H’s. He then apparently decides to play doubles as he gets two K’s on $500, two R’s on $400 and two D’s on $500. Steven appears stumped, but it all becomes clear after he buys two I’s.

D R I _ I N G
S C H O O L / O F
H A R D / K N O C K S

Steven solves DRIVING SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS and gets on the board with $4,600.

Steven - $4,600
Tiffany - $0
Sid - $0

Round two means a prize will be added to the wheel, and today Charlie describes an outdoor pool table from Sun Billiards. While it’s designed for outdoor use, it can be placed inside your home as well. Total value is $2,645.

Round #2
Category: Fill in the Blank
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? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
? _ _ _ _ _ _

Tiffany starts off round two in a less-than-desirable way by hitting BANKRUPT.

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It’s the exact same story for Sid, who hits BANKRUPT as well. He even turns to Tiffany and says, “Monkey see, monkey do.”

? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
? _ _ _ _ _ _

Steven has some better luck, tripling his $400 haul on three S’s. He buys three E’s with his new cash, then gets his money back by getting $250 on a single N. But he can’t pick up $500 because of a dud L.

? _ _ E _ _ _ _ S _
? _ _ N _ _ E S S
? _ _ _ _ _ E

Tiffany’s back with a FREE SPIN that she picks up thanks to two R’s. She then actually gets some cash by collecting $250 on a single T. She fares better on her next spin, $750, after finding two D’s. She buys two A’s, then hits the big money space, $2,500, which she’s able to cash in on thanks to a solitary G. But that a lack of U’s causes her to lose her turn.

? _ R E A _ _ A S T
? _ _ N G R E S S
? D _ _ _ D E

Just like earlier with the BANKRUPT, Sid copies Tiffany again by picking up $2,500 thanks to a solitary C. He then gets an additional $350 on a B, then buys an O. But he can’t go any further thanks to a LOSE A TURN.

? B R E A _ _ A S T
? C O N G R E S S
? D _ _ _ D E

We’re back to Steven, who gets $800 from a K, then an F from $400. Once again, he appears stumped, and two I’s come to his rescue. But unlike last time, he decides to give the wheel an additional spin, almost landing on LOSE A TURN but the wheel instead gave him $450, which he used to find the last letter in the puzzle, a V.

? B R E A K F A S T
? C O N G R E S S
? D I V I D E

Steven simply reads off the puzzleboard ? BREAKFAST / ? CONGRESS / ? DIVIDE. While he’s glad he won $2,600, he also has a puzzled look on his face. Pat explains that he can pick up an additional $1,000 if he can guess what the common thread is. Steven makes two guesses of CONGRESSION and GREAT, before Pat tells him he’s only entitled to one guess. Steven tells Pat he has no idea, which causes Pat to chuckle and say, “That became painfully obvious.” The actual solution is CONTINENTAL.

Steven - $7,200
Tiffany - $0
Sid - $0

And now, the big moment you’ve all been waiting for…the debut of a brand-new category on Wheel of Fortune!

Round #3
Category: Show/Song
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_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ’ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _
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Sid begins this historic occasion by finding three S’s on $300. He buys two E’s, two A’s and four I’s before Pat tells him he’s almost out of money so he has to spin (he’s only got $150). Sid then gets $1,200 thanks to three N’s on $400, then buys two O’s. But Sid loses his $1,100 thanks to a BANKRUPT attached to the $10,000 space.

S O _ _ _
_ A _ I _ I _ ’ S
_ O _ N _ E _ / _ _ A N
S _ _ I N _ _ I _ E

Steven gets $250 from a single M, then doubles his $250 on two P’s. But like Sid, he hits a BANKRUPT attached to the $10,000 space and loses his $750.

S O _ _ _
P A _ I _ I _ ’ S
_ O _ N _ E _ / _ _ A N
S P _ I N _ _ I M E

Tiffany gets a shot at it and hits the big bucks, $3,500. She’s able to double her haul thanks to two R’s. She finds two G’s on $400 and three T’s on $700. Tiffany tells Pat she’ll spin one more time and gets two H’s on $600. But apparently she didn’t know the puzzle, because she spins again and can’t cash in on $400 because of a dud D.

S O _ T H
P A _ I _ I _ ’ S
_ O _ N G E R / T H A N
S P R I N G T I M E

Sid begins his quest to earn back his money and gets $600 from an F. He then gets to pick up the BILLIARDS package thanks to two C’s. But he loses out on $400 because of a dud L.

S O _ T H
P A C I F I C ’ S
_ O _ N G E R / T H A N
S P R I N G T I M E

Steven wants to buy a vowel, but Pat points out he has no money, so he has to spin if he doesn’t know it. It becomes obvious he doesn’t when he guesses a bad B on $600.

S O _ T H
P A C I F I C ’ S
_ O _ N G E R / T H A N
S P R I N G T I M E

But Tiffany can buy a vowel, and that’s what she does, finding the last two U’s in the puzzle.

S O U T H
P A C I F I C ’ S
_ O U N G E R / T H A N
S P R I N G T I M E

Tiffany says she’s just going to solve it, and makes history by getting SOUTH PACIFIC’S YOUNGER THAN SPRINGTIME. Not only has she become the only player to solve this category, but she also got $10,850 for all her efforts.

Steven - $7,200
Tiffany - $10,850
Sid - $0

Heading into round four, Tiffany has a massive lead, while Sid still has yet to get any more money as the current champ.

Because the show’s off-Broadway revival of South Pacific went a little long, Pat has to give the wheel its final spin. Vowels will be worth nothing, but consonants will be worth…$900 apiece.

Before contestants can start calling letters, Steven actually grabs ahold of the wheel and starts spinning it before Pat tells him he only needs to call a letter.

Round #4
Category: Same Name
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
& / _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Steven – 3 S’s
Tiffany – 2 N’s
Sid – No T
Steven – 2 L’s
Tiffany – No R
Sid – 1 M
Steven – No F
Tiffany – 1 D
Sid – 1 Y
Sid solves VANESSA & ANDY WILLIAMS for $1,800, meaning all three players won something tonight.

Although Sid didn’t win, he’s still taking home $1,800 more, making his two-day all-cash total $9,550.

Steven - $7,200
Tiffany - $10,850
Sid - $1,800

Thanks to her knowledge of Broadway musicals, Tiffany has won tonight’s game and will be heading to the Bonus Round!

There are four prizes left in the Bonus Round; a Ford Thunderbird, a trip to New York City, a savings bond and the $25,000 cash.

W – H – E – E – L

Tiffany picks the first E.

Bonus Round
Category: Thing
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_ _ _ _ _ _

As always, Pat asks for the R, S, T, L, N and E.

_ R _ S _
_ R _ _ _ E

Tiffany picks C, D, M and A…

_ R _ S _
_ R _ _ _ E