I’d like to buy a vowel: Brooklyn native spins the “Wheel of Fortune”

MIDWOOD — Naami Wagschal of Midwood always wanted to be a contestant on the popular television game show “Wheel of Fortune.”  On Tuesday, Feb. 18, she finally got a chance to spin the giant wheel.

Wagschal, a school speech therapist who likes spending time with her nieces and nephews, grew up watching “Wheel of Fortune” with her grandmother and still loves tuning in every night. She took her first steps to become a contestant when she applied and submitted a video through WheelofFortune.com in hopes of winning enough money to go on a vacation.

She ended up playing “Wheel of Fortune” alongside her best friend since preschool, Temimah Friedman of Baltimore, Maryland, during the show’s “Girlfriend Getaways” week. This special week of shows features pairs of friends teaming up to compete and win once-in-a-lifetime vacations, new cars and cash prizes.

 “Temimah and I both watched ‘Wheel of Fortune’ growing up,” Wagschal told this paper. “I thought it would be fun to go on the show with my best friend, so we decided to apply together way back in the summer of 2013.”

She called the contestant experience fun and added, “It was cool to see the inner workings of such a well-oiled TV production.”

Wagschal was also thrilled to meet the show’s hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White. “Vanna came to wish us all luck while we were getting ready,” she said. “She was incredibly sweet and looked beautiful before she went to have her hair and make-up done. Pat was the consummate professional and made us all feel more comfortable while playing the game.”

And the experience certainly paid off for Wagschal, who counts designing and sewing clothes among her hobbies. She got the vacation she hoped for after she and Temimah won $41,400 in cash and prizes, including a trip to Antigua for each of them.