How This Wheel of Fortune Champ Manifested a Jaw-Dropping $1 Million Win—And What It Means for Your Mindset Too!
After spinning through 43 remarkable years of puzzles, letters, and those classic suspenseful rounds, can you imagine the thrill when the iconic Wheel of Fortune finally hits its million-dollar jackpot—not once, not twice, but only for the fourth time since 2008? It’s like finding a hidden cheat code in a game you’ve played your whole life. This time, the game show hero isn’t just any contestant—she became the biggest winner in Wheel’s history, amassing a jaw-dropping $1,035,155. And honestly, who wouldn’t wonder—what’s running through your mind the moment confetti rains down and you realize you just flipped your life upside down forever? Let’s dive into the epic moment that had everyone talking and meet the brilliant woman who cracked the puzzle: “Pack of Coyotes.” Trust me, it’s nothing short of legendary. LEARN MORE.
After 43 years on the air, the beloved game show Wheel of Fortune has awarded its coveted $1 million prize for the fourth time ever. That, mixed with the contestant’s other earnings, made her the biggest winner in the show’s history. We take you inside the viral moment and introduce you to the lucky winner below!
What to know about the biggest ‘Wheel of Fortune’ winner
On Tuesday, September 30, Wheel of Fortune awarded Christina Derevjanik $1,035,155 in prize money. That total was calculated by her $35,155 in cash and prizes—including her trips to Montana and Tokyo—as well as her “bonus round” puzzle prize, the highly sought after $1 million. She won after she correctly guessed “Pack of Coyotes” as the answer to the puzzle.
“I have no words,” Derevjanik, from Stamford, Connecticut, said. “I was trying to manifest this. I was hoping for confetti, but I never thought it would actually happen.”
This is only the fourth time someone has received the million-dollar prize since its addition in 2008. It’s also the first time host Ryan Seacrest has seen it happen.
“Congratulations!” Seacrest, who took over for Pat Sajak in September of 2024, told Derevjanik. “You’re my first million-dollar winner. I have a tear in my eye.”
When Derevjanik is not winning big on Wheel of Fortune, she can be found running, doing puzzles, watching Hallmark movies or hanging out with her dog Hazel. She works in marketing for Con Edison, a utilities company on the east coast.
You can watch the video of her winning below!
A look ahead at the rest of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ season 43
Wheel of Fortune season 43 is currently in the middle of airing on cable TV, Peacock and Hulu, starring Seacrest and Vanna White.
“She’s [White] so super generous and sweet and kind,” Seacrest told People in December. “She even brought me—because I was saying, I drink very strong black coffee and my teeth, sometimes you can see it—she brought me white strips. She brought me white strips. She went to the store the next day. She brought me white strips.”
“She is an institution, an icon,” he continued. “She’s amazing. She’s everything you think Vanna White will be when you meet her!”
White, 68, has no plans to retire any time soon. “I thought I would step away with Pat [in 2024]. My thought was, how am I going to continue working with a new person? It’s a scary thought to bring somebody new in. And then I thought to myself, Am I ready to retire? And the answer was, in my heart, no. I still love what I do,” she said in 2024, per Collider. “I’m still doing what I did the first day I started. I’m on TV as myself. I’m not playing another person. And I might not talk that much, but I’m hoping I can give a good feeling to people out there. That’s my whole reason for doing this job.”
The job has changed over the years, she said. “When I first started, I had to physically turn every letter.”
“Then they switched to TV monitors, so I just had to touch the letters and they would light up. Now the board is operated by a laser. It’s like a flat screen. And when I go to touch the letter, the laser catches my movement. It’s crazy, right?”
If you missed Christina’s win last night, you can stream it all week on Hulu and Peacock. Wheel of Fortune airs weeknights, check your local listings.
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