Two changes for WoF Season 39

[chris319]

I remember Pat at one point saying that he could hit the $5,000 anytime he wanted to, and that always seemed like it posed a problem to me. How many of your final spins, then, are truly luck-based?

Pat should not have said that, even if it is BS which I suspect it is. You want everyone thinking it is a truly random process and fair to all players.

[Mr. Armadillo]

Depends on when he said this, honestly.  IMO, it'd have much different implications if he said it within the last few years as opposed to, say, 1986.

[whewfan]

I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.

[Kevin Prather]

I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.

That seems utterly unenforceable. I can see not visibly going "Hmm, where's that $5000? Over there?", but most people could dart their eyes down at the wheel without anyone even noticing.

[jjman920]

Depends on when he said this, honestly.  IMO, it'd have much different implications if he said it within the last few years as opposed to, say, 1986.

Yeah, I doubt he can hit it whenever he wants now. Back in the day when he'd spin maybe it'd at least be in the vicinity and he'd just undershoot it or over shoot it. As he's gotten older, sometimes it seems like the spins barely make it halfway to the $5K. And that's something that it would appear hasn't improved since he had to have his emergency abdominal surgery.

I wouldn't be surprised if part of this move to the new rule was to help out Pat. If not, and it's purely COVID or gameplay related, I'm sure he might enjoy the benefits of it.

[chrisholland03]

Keep in mind there's been more than Wheel in his career.  The current one is quite heavy, unlike the one in the NBC days.

[Strikerz04]

I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.

I attempted to do a Woolery in Season 23, and didn't get ANY rule about it.

[PYLdude]

Keep in mind there's been more than Wheel in his career.  The current one is quite heavy, unlike the one in the NBC days.

Okay, I’ve really been meaning to get some confirmation on just how heavy the wheel is and, concurrently, how easy it spins.

Any of you who’ve been on, can you enlighten me?

[nowhammies10]

Currently, the Wheel is reported to weigh two tons. I'm sure that includes the base as well, but it certainly looks a lot heavier in its current all-steel construction rather than the plywood construction of years gone by.

[vtown7]

I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.

When I was on (sadly many moons ago) the only rule is that you couldn't "beat the house" - ie. $3500 is five wedges away and you really don't give it your all when you spin.
I picked up pretty quickly that I would get the wheel around a full revolution (give or take a few revolutions) and you'd better believe that became part of my game play.  I suspect many others surmised how far they could get the wheel to spin in practice although not everyone might have factored that in.
Ryan.
Class of '97

[DJDustman]

Class of 2016. The wheel made my arm sore af.

[MSTieScott]

Okay, I’ve really been meaning to get some confirmation on just how heavy the wheel is and, concurrently, how easy it spins.

Any of you who’ve been on, can you enlighten me?

I've never been a contestant, but I did visit the show approximately five years ago and got to spin the wheel exactly once. I was able to spin it one complete rotation, give or take a wedge. I'm guessing that if I were a contestant who had to spin it multiple times, I probably wouldn't be able to maintain that strength.

For comparison of what my arm strength is, I can get The Price Is Right's Big Wheel to spin an average of one and a half rotations. I'm not particularly strong.

It doesn't much matter how heavy each wheel is -- it's all about the braking system installed on each. When the Adam Sandler movie Jack and Jill had a duplicate TPIR Big Wheel built (they needed a wheel they could attach things to for a gag that ultimately was cut from the script), they deliberately left off the pads that provided friction to make the wheel slow down. Even though the duplicate wheel was likely a similar weight to the official show wheel, once you spun that thing, it would keep spinning for minutes on end.

[Strikerz04]

Keep in mind there's been more than Wheel in his career.  The current one is quite heavy, unlike the one in the NBC days.

Okay, I’ve really been meaning to get some confirmation on just how heavy the wheel is and, concurrently, how easy it spins.

Any of you who’ve been on, can you enlighten me?

Class of 2005.
I felt like I was about to separate my shoulder after spinning it.

[SuperSweeper]

One thing that hasn’t been noted yet (I think) is that the Wheel was loosened significantly in the middle of this past season, presumably for Celebrity Wheel.

Pat’s spins went noticeably further after that, and he even hit $5000 a few times - something that had only happened once before this last season (and I’m pretty sure it was in a round that didn’t start as a Speed-Up). I guess it wasn’t enough for them to change the rules.

[colonial]

More changes announced as Pat and Vanna sign on to host through 2024 ...

https://deadline.com/2021/09/pat-sajak-vanna-white-host-wheel-of-fortune-through-2024-1234829089/


-- Announcer Jim Thornton will have an "expanded on-scene presence"
-- Pat adds "consulting producer" to his business card
-- "Changing Keys" returns as the theme with a "modernized arrangement"
-- Free Play wedge is gone, minimum Bonus Round win is $39,000 (for 39 seasons)