Official Season 31 Information

I know. This is a lot like season 29 all over again, especially when the $700 wedge was no longer seen on the layout.

Now if they were going to bring back $550 next season and I could choose one wedge to place it, it'd be the blue $300 space. Now $650 had to wait for 33 years before it became a playable cash value again. I am NOT going to wait that long for $550 to return, and I'm sure no one else will either.

Another thing. You know you're going to get $500 when you land on a token or prize. Now I can see tokens covering up a $500 space, but the value under the prize wedge might as well be brought back down to $350 and have the blue $350 upped to maybe $850. Also have the pink $500 dropped to $300. And another thing, up the pink $900 to $950. We've been waiting far longer to see $950 be a playable value on our version than we have $650 just to return.

Because hey, that wasn't a bad idea in Season 29 when they had lots of $500 on the Wheel. Seriously, I know history repeats itself but I didn't think it'd be this soon.

Wheel, can we please refrain from changing anything for two whole seasons after said changes are made? It's like you guys can't decide what you want to be in the show...


Fixed that for...everybody.

Jackpot will be miss, as well for $550 (maybe for least for one year). But when will the staff ever gonna to stop adding $500s in the wheel. Might as well raise it from $300 as the lowest value. Do you think so?

Wait, never mind. The backdrop IS a video wall, only much bigger and it doesn't have the neon border. -_-



During filming, it looks exactly like the rest of the set.






Pat implies in this recent interview that it's actually the show's goal to change something every year without overdoing it...





Here's a nice close-up of the Wheel from our Twitter friend and show employee Amber Tubbs.




And here are some cool setup pictures I found.

Delurking first to say that my family (parents and sister) and I are going to the tapings on Friday and Saturday (August 2 and 3).

But I'm specifically delurking to answer your comment, StrangerCoug. I live here in Las Vegas, and it would be absolutely impossible to block off part of the Venetian for the tapings. The casino floor is so relatively small that it would shut down gambling activity, and likely block off access to other parts of the resort, and no casino can afford that, not least a casino owned by mogul Sheldon Adelson, who owns the Venetian and the Palazzo.

The Vegas auditions for the show were held in the Venetian Theatre, the former home of Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular (the gothic opera house theming is still prevalent in the theater, and the chandelier remains in the ceiling, though now without the programming to cause it to fall during the show, as there is no reason. All that was disconnected when the production moved out), and then Tim McGraw and Faith Hill moved in together, and moved out together (presumably coming back next year, but it didn't sound like a hit show), and then the Priscilla Queen of the Desert musical moved in and out. So now it remains vacant except for the occasional Rita Rudner appearance, while they figure out what to book next, what would last longer than the previous two productions have.

And yet, the Venetian Theatre is also too troublesome for Wheel of Fortune tapings. The contestants would be too far back for the audience to see clearly, the stagework for the show would bleed into the backstage area, and there's rising rows, and balconies on both sides of the theater. Imagine trying to seat that. Plus, most importantly, it would not be ideal for the camera crew as well. It looks elegant, but it doesn't work.

So, Sheldon Adelson also owns the apparently adjacent Sands Expo Convention Center, where Wheel of Fortune tapes when it's in Las Vegas. The section they use for the tapings is flat, the seating is even all around, and I'm sure the camera crew appreciates its ease. What surprised me is that when we received our taping tickets in the mail, we were informed in an instruction letter that all we have to do is walk down a hallway from the Palazzo or the Venetian, and we'd be right at Sands Expo. It seems impossible because when you drive past the Sands Expo, it doesn't look like there's any walkway of any kind connecting either casino to it. But apparently, there is. Keep in mind that I've been a resident for 10 months, so I'm still learning.

I'm also delurking to thank the heavens and all you fans for these boards. I'm doing research for a two-act play that has Wheel of Fortune in the background in the context of one of the regular Culver City tapings (one of my two characters is a contestant), and this site is a godsend.

If you ever do, StrangerCoug, research the casinos to figure out which ones appeal to you, and go for those first. That's a big help, because the Flamingo, for example, is a dump. It all depends on what you're looking for, but if you want to go bankrupt, there should be immense pleasure in the quick process. 

The Cosmopolitan's my favorite casino on the Strip, not because of the gambling, but because it's the only casino out of all of them that genuinely cares about art, not how Steve Wynn does it, in showing off art he's bought simply because he's rich. Also, you'll never find another parking garage like the Cosmopolitan's. There are small red lights above all the parking spaces that each turn green when that particular space is empty, so you know exactly what's available and don't have to drive around aimlessly, praying to every god known to humanity that that parking space that looks empty is actually empty, and doesn't have a motorcycle parked in it.

You're welcome. You're all worth it.

Has what's new in Round 1 been revealed already on this board besides the end of $550? I scrolled through the previous pages and couldn't tell. If it hasn't, I'd be happy to report back if it's allowed here.

I'm not sure yet if my play is going to go that deep. Possibly, because the contestant's emotions in real life differ wildly from how he's seen on the show, and that's what causes major consternation for the other character because he's lived with the other person for years, and it's a surprise to see that other side come out so easily for this.

As I go along in the writing, I'll see what pops up in gameplay and seek guidance here as necessary. It'll be quite a while before I get to the draft script stage, but when I do, I'd be glad to upload it for you all.

I don't think I'd be mounting the play myself. I'd mainly be searching for producers, even small-time but respectable, that would be interested enough to put it on, or however the process works. I don't dream of untold riches from it, because I know the reality of it. But I still want to try, and I'm in pursuit of a full-time job in a library, either public or in an elementary school (I'm currently a substitute elementary school library aide in the Clark County School District, and I also recently went for a job interview to become a full-time circulation specialist at the Green Valley Library in nearby Henderson, where my family and I are moving to in September). That's the way of it for most writers: We have a day job (or night) and we write on the side. It's even better if it's a job we love, that we can get ideas from too.

Graphics, possibly, possibly not. I'll say right now that the play takes place entirely in a cheap-enough hotel room located near Sony Pictures Studios, since both characters have driven from Las Vegas for the taping. The first act takes place the evening before the taping, and the second act takes place the evening after the taping.

It's a family drama, I'll say that much, based on my own experiences living through my parents' marriage (I know that's not a unique take, and I didn't expect it to be, but my father's the Berlin Wall of emotion), though the taping aspect is entirely fictional, even though it's based on my dad nearly making it onto the show, if not having to have missed the recent final audition here in Las Vegas because our former PT Cruiser broke down thankfully next to a gas station on Pecos and Sunset, even though it was in 110+-degree heat. Fortunately, we were towed quickly.

In fact, when I told my mom that the theme of the tapings on Saturday will be "A Taste of the Good Life," she turned to dad and said, "See, you could have had a taste of the good life if you had gotten the Corolla earlier than you did."

We'll try again the next time Wheel of Fortune comes to Las Vegas. I know that's annoying to some, that they keep coming to Las Vegas, but I hope they keep coming until we make it on. 

Actually, the reason Wheel of Fortune keeps coming to Las Vegas is because it's cheap. We're basically Southern California's weekend playground, and that works out for the production, too. Plus, Sheldon Adelson seems to always cut a good deal with the show, which is why they keep coming back. It's good promotion for him, too. The less negotiations they have to do with another location if they were to go further out into the United States, the better it is, the easier it is for them. My family and I existed near Los Angeles for nine years, before we moved here, so you learn a lot about Hollywood matters, even on the periphery. I used to write movie reviews, and still love reading about Hollywood history (not the gossipy way about it today, but mainly the studio system in the 1930s), so I pick up on a lot of things through pop culture osmosis.

It will be a pleasure to contact you three about the info if I glean any of it. My research will be made a lot easier simply by being on these boards, so whatever I can do for you all, I will.

After Charlie O'Donnell died, I was hoping that Randy West would become the new announcer, because I loved listening to him on Supermarket Sweep. I wasn't happy at first when Jim Thornton got the job, but I became a great fan of his just like I was with O'Donnell because he fit so well in the show right away. That's a rare quality.

As to what may be edited out of the show, I'll have to either really remember or write down what I saw because I know the shows I'm seeing aren't airing until early next year.