Stamford resident Christina Derevjanik made television history on Tuesday’s episode of Wheel of Fortune, becoming just the fourth player to win the beloved game show’s grand $1 million prize.
Derevjanik’s total winnings are the largest of any non-celebrity competitor in Wheel of Fortune history, edging out 2013 contestant Autumn Erhard by nearly $5,000, with the only drawback being a potentially awkward conversation with her boss.
Before Derevjanik inserted the fateful $1 million card, host Ryan Seacrest pointed out that her boss was at the Burbank, Calif., studio and asked the Connecticut resident what she would do if she were to win the seven-figure prize. Derevjanik then joked that she “may be putting in my two weeks [notice],” – she currently works as a marketing manager at New York-based energy provider Con Edison, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Derevjanik was first asked to solve the game’s famous “fill in the blank” challenge, with the category being “living things.” After getting plenty of help with her four guesses, Derevjanik was able to guess the phrase “pack of coyotes.” Seacrest silently flipped the card over, showing that Derevjanik had won the $1 million prize, at which point the Connecticut contestant gave the television host a staggering bear hug before partially collapsing in emotion.
According to Good Morning America, Seacrest told the Connecticut resident she had become the biggest winner in the show’s history, to which Derevjanik responded, “I have no words!” – it’s the first time Seacrest has crowned a $1 million winner since taking over as host last year. “I was trying to manifest this. I was hoping for confetti, but I never thought it would actually happen,” Derevjanik added.
Along with the $1 million prize, Derevjanik also won a series of smaller prizes throughout the game. Derevjanik earned $35,155 in cash and had already booked herself a series of trips to Montana and Tokyo before advancing to the bonus round.
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