An ACTIVE Marine wowed Wheel of Fortune fans and made Army vet Pat Sajak proud with a flawless performance on Wednesday night.
Alex, an Osprey pilot from Stafford, Virginia, flew for a total of $67,150.
5
5
The game show contestant revealed to Pat, 77, who has been in the Marine Corps for nine years: “It takes me around the world.”
He works in San Diego and abroad, all while balancing being a proud married father of two.
This is close to home for Pat, who previously served in the military.
Pat was born on October 26, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois, and began as a disc jockey and performed at several radio stations.
Read more about Wheel of Fortune
He also got a job serving in the US Army as a DJ for the American Forces Vietnam Network during the war, entertaining soldiers in Vietnam.
‘LOTS OF RUNNING!’
Alex solved a series of puzzles and a $10,000 cruise to Alaska – “Wow!” Pat said after a particularly clever solution. “He had some good rounds.”
After another solution, Pat commented, “He’s running a lot!” sending Alex on another trip to Aruba.
With $27,309, he made it to the special bonus round – choosing “Food and Drink” as his category.
Pat stood with Alex and joked, “Don’t tell me you’re nervous, you’re a Navy pilot for God’s sake!”
He chose a “HGPO” as additional letters, and the two-word puzzle read: “T_P_O_ _’ P _ _ _ __ NG’
In fact, the nerves didn’t matter, as when the 10-second timer started, Alex instantly nailed it as “Tapioca Pudding” and the crowd went wild.
FANS REACT TO THE BIG WIN
Pat revealed he earned an extra $40,000, making his payday total $67,150 — “That’s what we like to see!” Pat said.
Fans also loved watching and appreciated the moment of victory on social media.
“This guy on Wheel of Fortune just won $67,000 in cash and prizes, I assume he’s going to go back to the Hyatt and roll around in bed with all that money,” joked one fan on X.
“WOW!!! Alex was excellent!!! All the contestants won some money and that’s how we like it. Congratulations to everyone and thank you for your service, Alex,” wrote another.
PAT’S PACKED FILMING
Meanwhile, Pat not only marked his final day as host, but also recorded his farewell episode.
He will say goodbye to the masses in the season 41 finale on Friday, June 7, 2024.
But a rep for Wheel of Fortune exclusively confirmed to The US Sun that Pat filmed her final six-episode series on April 5, 2024.
This includes its final episode, aptly titled “Thanks For The Memories,” and it’s already filmed, the show is shared exclusively.
This means that Pat is done hosting the show and the episodes fans are seeing come after he is already retired.
The episode will be a TV milestone, as the presenter has been handing out puzzles and prizes alongside Vanna White, 66, since 1981 and 1982, respectively.
The show hasn’t said whether Pat’s farewell episode will be a total tribute to memories from all the years or simply a normal game ending with him saying goodbye.
Tickets for Pat’s penultimate five episodes opened to the public at the last minute, while her farewell episode was not open to the public and was invite-only.
Pat announced in spring 2023 that she would be leaving the iconic game show and that the 41st season would be her last.
Shortly after, Ryan Seacrest announced on Instagram that he would be replacing Pat as the new host in the fall of 2024.
Vanna will join Ryan for at least the first two seasons as host under her new contract.
The show airs weekdays at 7:30 pm ET on ABC, so fans can catch his farewell on June 7 at that time.
5
5
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
