When hearing a boisterous Los Angeles studio audience shout out those iconic words — “Wheel … Of .. Fortune!” — Andrew Bassan admits he felt like he was in a strange-yet-familiar dream.
“That was when Pat and Vanna were walking out and I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is really happening,'” says the 35-year-old Pikesville native, alluding to the longtime host and hostess of “America’s game show,” Pat Sajak and Vanna White. “And the audience added to all of the drama.”
A 2006 Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School graduate, Bassan appeared on the Jan. 15 broadcast of “Wheel,” which has continuously aired on TV since January of 1975.
Bassan, an attorney who lives in Silver Spring, came in second place to contestant Kyla Zajicek of Tomball, Texas, but won $10,200.
“I’m super-competitive and really wanted to win — at least a bonus round,” says Bassan. “But Kyla controlled the wheel the whole time. I do think I played well. I didn’t make any mistakes and gave her a run for her money. You’re always disappointed if you don’t win. But I did everything I could.”
Although he doesn’t consider himself a game show junkie, Bassan grew up watching “Wheel,” “The Price is Right,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and “Jeopardy!” “It was a dream of mine to be on a game show,” he says. “You never really think you’ll ever be chosen.”
Two years ago, he sent in a 30-second video application to the producers of “Wheel.” “I thought I might be a good person for the show because I’m sociable, competitive and have a big personality,” Bassan says. “But I never really thought I’d get a callback.”
Last year, he received an email about a two-part Zoom audition, and in October he received word from the producers that he would appear on the show.
Bassan soon learned that he was scheduled to fly out to Los Angeles and tape the episode on Nov. 17, only a couple of weeks after his wife, Amelia, would give birth to their first child, Grayson.
“When they originally emailed me, I was worried it wouldn’t work out. When it rains, it pours,” says Bassan. “But my wife and in-laws and family were all super supportive. My job was also super supportive.”
Bassan says he prepared for “Wheel” by diligently watching past episodes and playing daily puzzles on the game show’s website. He also grabbed his old “Wheel of Fortune” hand-held electronic game from his younger days and refamiliarized himself with the intricacies of the show. “I came into it like I was studying for an exam,” he says.
For his two-day trip to L.A., Bassan was accompanied by his longtime friend from Beth Tfiloh, Henry Sheller, and his father-in-law, Tony Chinn. “He’s a very big fan of ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ so I had to invite him,” Bassan says of the latter. “I think he was more nervous about it than I was.”
In fact, Bassan says he never felt any anxiety or jitters about appearing on “Wheel.” “It was really fun. I wasn’t nervous or scared at all,” he says. “I just cared about winning and having fun. It’s a game, and you forget you’re on TV. The whole experience was exhilarating. I was on cloud nine.”
He says it helped that his competitors, Zajicek and Robin Woodberry of Youngstown, Ohio, were “really awesome people. I really became close with them, and we still keep in touch. It’s so cool that we were strangers who spent five hours together, and I became close with them.”
As far as the stars of “Wheel,” Bassan says he didn’t spend too much off-camera time with either Sajak and White. He says he did chat with Sajak about Baltimore’s sports teams. (Sajak, 77, is a longtime Severna Park resident.)
“Pat is an incredibly nice, down-to earth guy,” says Bassan. “He told us a few stories. He’s such an icon, but a very cool guy.” He describes White, 66, who joined the show in 1982, as “super-nice. She came in [before the airing] to wish us all good luck.”
Bassan says he doesn’t have any immediate plans for how he’ll use his winnings from “Wheel.”
“I don’t really have anything fun planned,” he says. “It’ll probably go for something like daycare, or something for Grayson.”
Although he doesn’t plan to appear on any more game shows — “I love ‘Jeopardy!’ but don’t think I’m smart enough to get on” — Bassan says he would gladly welcome the opportunity to buy a vowel or consonant on “Wheel” again, if called upon.
“It was just such an awesome experience,” he says. “And it was great knowing I had a two-week-old baby waiting for me at home. I really missed him. I can’t wait to someday show [the broadcast] to him. I hope I make him proud.”
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