Breanna Webb wins big on Wheel of Fortune

Portland State communications senior Breanna Webb now has enough money to buy 240.8 vowels.

Webb recently participated in Wheel of Fortune’s “College Week,” which was shot at Portland’s Oregon Convention Center. The episode, which aired Monday, May 14, featured Webb walking away as the show’s winner—with $60,200 in cash.

“Breanna was one of our better college players,” said Gary O’Brien, Wheel of Fortune’s Contestant Producer. “She was an excellent puzzle-solver, and it showed.”

A native of Portland, Webb grew up watching Wheel and applied for the show on a whim.

“All of our contestants go through the same process. We bring about 60 or 65 people to the auditions and have everyone stand in a row and call out letters and try to solve puzzles, and then we judge them on how well they keep the game moving along, their general vibe, presence and enthusiasm, their focus and whether they are nervous,” O’Brien said. “And it’s hard! The viewers want to see contestants with natural enthusiasm, and Breanna had all that.”

Wheel of Fortune is an American game show created by Merv Griffin in 1975. Though originally hosted by Chuck Woolery, Wheel has been home to host Pat Sajak and hostess Vanna White since 1982. With more than 5,000 aired episodes, it is the longest-running syndicated game show in television history.

While the show has been around for nearly four decades, this was Wheel’s first time shooting in Portland.

“We had never been to Portland, and it’s just a really nice, progressive city,” O’Brien continued. “We worked with the local TV station to bring the show in because it’s a beautiful part of the country, and we wanted to present that to the rest of America.”

In this interview with the Vanguard, Webb discussed the puzzles, her fellow contestants and what she’s planning to do with $60,200.

Vanguard: Why did you apply for Wheel of Fortune?

Breanna Webb: I applied because I’ve always been a fan of the show. I used to watch it at my grandpa’s house, and then we started watching it at my house, and I saw the advertisements for auditions and figured, “Why not?”

VG: What is the application process like?

BW: It’s a little different for everyone, like, some people applied online and others in person. I applied in person with 100-plus people—I actually had to skip class for it—and they just took my information down and brought it back to California. And that seemed to work out OK [laughs].

VG: When did you find out you’d been chosen?

BW: I found out I had been chosen in the middle of February. They called me when I was actually walking into a class at PSU, and I saw it was from California and thought, “No way…” But I answered the phone, and they told me I was going to be on it!

VG: Were you excited to play in Portland?

BW: It was great to play in Portland. More of my family could go, and my friends from Portland State could go, and I didn’t have to pay to travel anywhere. So that was an added perk [laughs].

VG: What was the set like?

BW: It was really cool! It was decorated to look like Portland: It had the Portland sign from in front of the concert hall, a bridge and lots of greenery.

VG: Did you get to spend any time with the other contestants?

BW: It’s funny; there were two other contestants I hung out with the whole day—one of them was Julia from my show, and the other was Chad from Washington State [University]—and we all had our own viewing parties and went to each other’s, too, and then ended up going bowling and stuff afterward. So we’ve kind of kept in touch since the show.

VG: Were the puzzles harder or easier than you expected?

BW: The puzzles were about [the level of difficulty] I expected. What I was worried about was whether I could play well, because obviously I had never done anything like this before. I didn’t know if I would completely freeze up and not know anything, but it ended up going a little better than I expected [laughs].

VG: What are you planning to do with your winnings?

BW: I don’t know exactly yet. We don’t get the money for a couple months, but everyone keeps telling me to buy a house [laughs]. I mean: I’m 23, single and I don’t know where I’ll be in five years! For now I’m going to take a couple thousand dollars to do whatever I want, like go shopping or take a trip [laughs], but then the bulk of it will be put away for a while. Or maybe I’ll buy a car.

VG: Is there anything you wanted to add?

BW: The one thing I wanted to say when Pat gave his little interview was that I’m a big Blazers fan. I’ve lived in Portland all my life, and so I get to see them play all the time. I thought he would ask about that, but he didn’t [laughs]! So maybe you can add that in there for me.