{"id":2062817,"date":"2025-10-01T19:55:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2062817"},"modified":"2025-10-01T19:55:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T19:55:55","slug":"wheel-of-fortune-contestant-makes-show-history-with-record-breaking-million-dollar-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wheel-of-fortune-contestant-makes-show-history-with-record-breaking-million-dollar-win\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Wheel of Fortune&#8217; contestant makes show history with record-breaking million-dollar win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/ryan-seacrest-spills-wheel-fortune-secret-surprises-co-host-vanna-white\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:&quot;Wheel of Fortune&quot;;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">&#8220;Wheel of Fortune&#8221;<\/a> just made history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During Tuesday&#8217;s episode of the beloved game show, contestant Christina Derevjanik from Stamford, Conn. took home a cash prize of $1,035,155, the largest prize in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/entertainment\/game-shows\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the show's history;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the show&#8217;s history<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After making it to the bonus round, Derevjanik solved the puzzle that read: &#8220;PACK OF COYOTES.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">To everyone&#8217;s surprise, host <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/ryan-seacrest-takes-pat-sajaks-spot-wheel-fortune-host\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ryan Seacrest;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Ryan Seacrest<\/a> opened the prize envelope that read, &#8220;1 Million.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/former-wheel-fortune-host-pat-sajak-makes-rare-public-appearance-ahead-return-game-show\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Former \u2018Wheel Of Fortune\u2019 Host Pat Sajak Makes Rare Public Appearance Ahead Of Return To Game Show;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong>Former \u2018Wheel Of Fortune\u2019 Host Pat Sajak Makes Rare Public Appearance Ahead Of Return To Game Show<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Co-host Vanna White rushed over to Derevjanik and said, &#8220;I\u2019m so happy for you!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS\/mvaj7wvj\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Read On The Fox News App;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong><u>Read On The Fox News App<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Congratulations, you\u2019re my first million-dollar winner. I have a tear in my eye,&#8221; Seacrest quipped.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While Derevjanik is the fourth &#8220;Wheel of Fortune&#8221; contestant who has earned the million-dollar grand prize, she became the first since Seacrest took over hosting duties for Pat Sajak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Ecstatic doesn\u2019t even cover it, my first million-dollar win just set a new Wheel record!&#8221; Seacrest wrote on Instagram. &#8220;Biggest win ever. Biggest grin ever. I\u2019ll never forget this moment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Like What You\u2019re Reading? Click Here For More Entertainment News;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong><u>Like What You\u2019re Reading? Click Here For More Entertainment News<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Ryan Seacrest took over hosting duties for Pat Sajak last year.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In December, Seacrest seemed to have <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/ryan-seacrest-hopes-achieve-one-mega-wheel-fortune-goal-2025\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:manifested the big giveaway;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">manifested the big giveaway<\/a> when he opened up about his one goal for 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">During an interview with Fox News Digital, the longtime television host, who took over <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/ryan-seacrests-wheel-fortune-debut-left-out-pat-sajaks-name-vanna-white\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sajak's hosting duties;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><u>Sajak&#8217;s hosting duties<\/u><\/a> in September 2024, opened up about his hopes for his upcoming episodes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I am always impressed and grateful for what the show has meant to me before I even started working there and what it means to so many people and generations around the country,&#8221; the &#8220;American Idol&#8221; host said while attending the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Dec. 6 at the Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I love giving away the money. I get so excited when people win the money, and they win a lot of money. I&#8217;m hoping to give away a million dollars in 2025.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong><u>Click Here To Sign Up For The Entertainment Newsletter<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In June 2023, Sajak announced he was exiting the show. A week later, it was announced Seacrest would be <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/american-idol-host-ryan-seacrest-admits-one-thing-cannot-do-wheel-of-fortune\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:taking over as host;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><u>taking over as host<\/u><\/a> in Season 42.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Vanna White and Pat Sajak posing together on the &quot;Wheel of Fortune&quot; set\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ajOJGne6m8_1HEQMGsBnbw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/fox_news_text_979\/837e51a8ae8faed9228faece7b88b849\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Sajak announced in a post on X in June 2023 he would be leaving the show after its 41st season.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After Sajak&#8217;s final episode aired, Seacrest took to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/C775z8npFF5\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:social media;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><u>social media<\/u><\/a> to bid the longtime host farewell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Pat, congratulations on an incredible run with Wheel of Fortune! Your dedication, charm, and wit have made the show a beloved part of American television for decades,&#8221; he wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of himself, Sajak and White.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Your partnership with Vanna has been nothing short of iconic, and together, you\u2019ve created countless wonderful memories for viewers. You\u2019ve set the standard for hosts everywhere, and this marks the end of an era. Best wishes for all your future endeavors!&#8221; <\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><i>Fox News Digital&#8217;s Tracy Wright contributed to this post.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Original article source:<\/em> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/wheel-fortune-contestant-makes-show-history-record-breaking-million-dollar-win\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:'Wheel of Fortune' contestant makes show history with record-breaking million-dollar win;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">&#8216;Wheel of Fortune&#8217; contestant makes show history with record-breaking million-dollar win<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Wheel of Fortune&#8221; just made history. During Tuesday&#8217;s episode of the beloved game show, contestant Christina Derevjanik from Stamford, Conn. took home a cash prize of $1,035,155, the largest prize in the show&#8217;s history. After making it to the bonus round, Derevjanik solved the puzzle that read: &#8220;PACK OF COYOTES.&#8221; To everyone&#8217;s surprise, host Ryan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2062818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[384943,346868,38130,21872,346633,39864],"class_list":["post-2062817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-christina-derevjanik","tag-contestant","tag-pat-sajak","tag-ryan-seacrest","tag-vanna-white","tag-wheel-of-fortune"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wheel-of-Fortune-contestant-makes-show-history-with-record-breaking-million-dollar.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2062817"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2062819,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2062817\/revisions\/2062819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2062818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2062817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2062817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2062817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}