Minnesota Wheel Mobile Synopsis With Some Questions For You!

And PS....the Wheel Mobile is headed to Fresno, California next, just FYI

At my Wheelmobile event, I distinctly remember someone from my group who said to Marty, "I don't like getting up and talking in front of people." My next thought was, "What the hell are you doing here, then?" (Needless to say, I don't think she advanced.)

My general advice to people going to these sorts of things is, "Be yourself, only bigger," with a caveat--don't overdo it, because it's so easy to tell when you're overdoing it. Judging from what you said, these people did exactly what I'd tell people NOT to do. It's free money, yes, but you have to convince the people who decide who gets that free money that you're likeable enough to merit that money. You have to make America want you to get that free money.

Hi Mario, thanks for the response!  Yes, the Wheel Mobile is heading back to CA next....and wow---both you and "Prizes" got picked for auditions with an email?  So basically there is some hope?  Like I say, I really would love them to have at least a chance. 
And yes:  lots of duds, only a few "with it" people who stood out and were personable and able to play the game intelligently.  UGH.
Hopefully the Wheel Mobile makes it's way back to the Mid West soon, guess we'll see......thanks again!!  Dana

Oh tenpoundhammer, I SO hear you, on everything you said!!!!!  Sounds like a rerun of my experience.  And see, again, not to sound mean, but holy Hannah!  THESE are the people who are getting called down to the stage, while the nice, normal people who have prepared and really want to be there remain shut out.  That's the part I'm really taking issue with, but I guess you just can't help whose name is drawn.  I kind of wish there were a better system set up to "weed" some people out.  But anyway---I really hear you on what you said, definitely.  Oh yeah, alot of times, no one would react when their name was called, as you said.  I was just sitting there shaking my head by the end of it all.  TenPound, can you elaborate?  You said you went to the WheelMobile in Detroit, but didn't get called....was the St. Louis audition just a little bit ago or something?  Do you have a post that tells about your Wheel experiences?  I would love to read it, I'm trying to get my hands on everything connected to how people are getting their auditions....I'd love to see my sister/boyfriend end up with those beautiful emails saying they've gotten a second audition sometime in the future ;---)  Thanks again!  Dana

Hi everyone. Long-time lurker. First time poster. I also went to the Wheelmobile in Hinckley and have pretty much the same impressions as Dana. Here are some of my thoughts.

Marty and Tracey were both very high energy and very fun. They made it exciting and enjoyable even for those of us who didn't get picked. Marty was also good at knowing when to move on from people who were having difficulty during the interview.

The crowd who got picked was interesting to say the least. Not trying to be mean, but as my wife joked, you should expect a certain crowd when you have it at a casino (give the fanny pack to someone else if you get called up on stage).

I was surprised by how little people were reacting to being picked, especially since Marty said the audition started when you got up from being picked. There were very few people who seemed excited or made noise when they were picked. There was usually more of a reaction from the people around the one who got picked!

I thought the women who was speaking Italian had a good gimmick to start but she was too over the top and carried it on so long it just became annoying (probably not a good reason for being memorable).

Most of the people were more memorable for negative reasons than good ones (I remember one women saying she didn't have anything exciting to say about herself). I can understand the first set of people getting tongue tied because they didn't know what questions would be asked, but after the first few rounds, I would think people would have been planning what they would say if they were called up.

It has been mentioned here before, but if you mention something about dancing, be prepared to show off some moves. Everyone who mentioned it had to dance. I don't remember seeing any singers, but would assume the same holds true.

It seemed like Tracey was picking applications that were crumpled/creases. I read on here somewhere she seemed to pick flat ones. Maybe it's a recent change, but it didn't seem to be the case with this time.

One other thing that was kind of surprising was how many couples or people from the same group that got picked. There were quite a few times when someone would tell Marty that he had talked to his/her spouse in one of the other games. There seemed to be a bunch of people who got picked that were there to support someone else.

Lastly, there was someone who solved the puzzle with very few letters showing and Marty said "New Baby Buggy"!

Ooooh, Hi again Emil!  You are quite the celebrity   Thank you for your nice words---nah, we won't give up hope.  As Vanna said on last night's show:  "Never give up, on WHEEL or in life".  I thought that was nice.
Anyway, I hear you on everything you said, thanks for chiming in!!  YES, I would say the duds make up a big portion of the room.  Which bodes well for others I guess, and hopefully us if one of our group happens to get that second invite email ;--)   And yes, I am ready to coach the life out of them if that happens, ha ha ha.
From the sounds of it, you've witnessed some good interviews, as opposed to my experiences. 
You should go to Fresno----I'm sure Marty would welcome you on stage with open arms 
Take care Emil, thanks for your good, positive thoughts!!!  Dana

With these Wheelmobile reports, I'm starting to wonder if I should go through with my business plan I wrote as a senior year project and write a book about my experience/ how I get on; then do a tour across the country giving seminars on how to audition.

Honestly, your story matches in mine terms of oddballs, and general, geez, stupid raffle spinner luck! Check that out if you haven't, I think I posted it January 8th. I put it in the 'So You're Going to a Wheelmobile Event?' thread, basically copying every single puzzle, in my phone. I went to all 6, Mario only went all of the 2nd day, met fellow admin MarioGS (oh, the fun we had!), neither of us picked, throughout all the time. I covered every player, every puzzle, on my trusty iPhone, both for record purposes, and the hilarity and WTFery that comes out of these things. I think I'd view it as a bizarre perk, in Marty's position (or one of the traveling Vannas, like Tracey).

This was October 2013, 8th and 9th, I believe and my audition email came 12/31/13. I mean, what a treat for the new year, right? I get into the audition through surprise email, just as I got back from a trip to Atlantic City (well huh, more signs, gambling, plus the Vegas parallel!) and I yelled loud enough to shatter glass, leaving everyone else wondering what the hell was going on with me, as I mentioned at an (unaired) interview with my Wheel affiliate, WPRI. I also showed them how I screamed, which, yeah, true experience, right?

Audition was January 9th, so I had to find some clothes, prep for the day of my life, so I found a good excuse to go to Target, buy me a wardrobe. I get in, sit next to a fellow member (convinced her to join!) who was on her 4th audition. Unlike the others who told Jackie just "hi!", I gave her, out of kindness, if potentially showing I knew a bit much, I gave a unique, hopefully to stand out, "Hi Jackie!" Won't do that again. I also made a point of doing this, to shake her hand, among others, post-audition, to leave a lasting, hopefully positive, impression, with maybe a little bit of class in there. I was surprised how few did so, maybe 5, tops, of my remaining 21, of those surviving the quiz.

I sit and watch, take note of the puzzles, get excited for those $5,000 hits, probably more than the actual players at that time--though I never got one, FP, Bankrupt or LAT (well, I got Bankrupt right away on my first spin, but it was moved immediately to $900), which, for as much as I played, I found weird. I get called up fairly early on, at a fortunate time, where I just know the puzzle. Call 'em out of consonants, belt the letters and solve; fittingly an Food & Drink puzzle, which is not only my favorite category, but I'm a foodie, so I'm feeling crazy confident at that point. I get my 'Spin This!' shirt, and begin flailing my hands in the air to do a dance, as if I was swimming with water on top of me. I was genuinely THAT excited, you couldn't contain me. I was also on no sleep, had by far the most energy, because Wheel, well, Wheel is life, as Mario's sig indicates.

I get through that, basically know I'm a lock, do the quiz. I was a touch worried, but I knew I got like 10-12 right, on a rough day. Heck, I remember half the puzzles I did, so I'll be in good shape next time. Some folks said they didn't get ANY right. Ouch. I was like one of the last 3 called, which forget the 'woo!' they tell you to, I did a 'WhoaoooooooooaaaaoOOOOOOO!' Genuine thrill, just my natural, if a bit primal, reaction; got everyone to look at me. Namely, because I knew my puzzle solving skills were a bit off at that point, and the quiz was my biggest fear, and at that moment, I feel nothing was going to stop me from spinning that 2400 pound wheel, interacting with Pat, maybe even solving the bonus round, playing the game I've done since age 2, my first, my beloved, even once making a puzzleboard out of old milk cartons to turn.

I only played (and solved) a 2nd puzzle, as opposed to everyone else's minimum of 3. My second legit stumped me, at first, which was a scary thought. Thankfully, I thought to just use the too-common CDMA letter package, of those that hadn't been used, since they're so common in most words, bought vowels, made sure I was loud. I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot to smile when I solved, but as soon as Jackie said so, I was on it, and she noted right away I did. I play intense, so focused, and could follow directions, all of which I think were good signs, for the future. All good there. Ditto my interview, which got a few laughs, regarding me being a foodie ('It's faaaaaaabuuulous!') made me seem like the family type I am, my various travels, and my goal with the money (hit up all continents before 30, which mom thought was a bit showy--I thought it was something to have them remember me by, especially since it's trips). Apparently, I nailed that part of it, Jackie kept tapping, circling my paper, and others said I was a lock to get on post audition, including a team who was on Girlfriend Getaways earlier this season.

And the weeks came, past, about 15 day, my friend Richard at a later audition made it, I did not. No letter. My undoing was likely, of all things, in my name, if they do a background check. My legal name at the time did not match the one I put down on my application (why that is, I'll spare you, long story). It was just annoying, and emotionally very depressing since I knew I had done everything right, knew rules, played well, not remotely nervous, etc. I'm still bitter about it, but never once a bit on the part of the Wheel staff; I'm more mad at myself for failure, and doing something wrong, and still can't figure out what, exactly. I had convinced myself if I just got ONE chance, at an audition, especially if I passed the quiz, I could do this. Not to mention, I feel like I let the site down, still do, to be honest, in that I make a bad rep for the site, by proxy, of doing this dang site, but not being able to get on (see the avatar), making me look like that much more of a failure of a leader and admin.

Apologies about the derail, though I thought it might be good to have a brief refresher of what the audition actually is, past the Wheelmobile, if your boyfriend and/or sister get that first letter of awesomeness!

Obiwan, what's shaking?  Ha ha.  We went to all three of the Hinckley sessions, but did not go to Milacs...now of course I'm wondering if that's where should have gone too.  Milacs was where my name was drawn, back in the day in 2005---ahhhh, such good memories     YES, please let me know if you hear anything from WHEEL in the future---private message me if you want to!  And I will do the same for you, for sure.  The best of luck to you and your wife!  It's such a fun time, I really wish everyone could experience it.