‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Berto Borroto Spills Show Secrets After Stunning $100K Win
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There have been some excruciating near misses on Wheel of Fortune as of late, but one contestant made up for that on Wednesday night (March 20) by winning the $100,000 bonus prize.
The contestant in question was Berto Borroto, a performer and drag queen from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who told host Pat Sajak that he’d come to California to escape the cold and hopefully get some cold hard cash.
As part of Marvel Week, Borroto faced Pamela Davis from Sherman Oaks, California, and Melinda Smith from College Park, Maryland. He started slowly, trailing Smith after the first couple of rounds. However, he sprung into action in the Express Round, winning a Caribbean Cruise aboard the Marvel Day at Sea (worth $11,667) and boosting his total to $19,917.
From that point forward, Borroto was unstoppable. He went on to win the episode with $21,917 cash and advance to the Bonus Round for a shot at the $100,000 grand prize.
Borroto picked the dreaded “Phrase” category, along with the additional letters “W, M, G, A, and F.” This left him with a five-word puzzle that read, “W E / A R E / _ N / A / _ _ R R _.”
Before the timer even started, Borroto looked confident. As the clock began, he instantly solved the puzzle as “We Are In A Hurry.”
Sajak took a peek at the prize envelope and said to Borroto, “Let me ask you something. You already got the cruise; you’re happy about that?”
“Yeah,” Borroto answered.
“Would you like some confetti… is that good?” Sajak added as he revealed Borroto had won the $100,000 prize.
“Oh my god!” Borroto yelled as he jumped in the air, and confetti rained down from above.
Sajak got in on the celebration, too, draping Borroto in streamers. “The things you gotta do,” the long-time host quipped as Vanna White came to the stage to congratulate Borroto.
He ended up walking away with a total of $121,917 cash and a Disney Cruise. He also becomes the third grand prize winner of the season.
Back home in Minnesota, Borroto dressed in drag to host a live Wheel watch party for friends on March 20 and posted a video of it online. He dished on how he came to be on the show and revealed some fun behind-the-scenes details.
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After the show, Maggie Sajak interviewed Borroto for the Wheel of Fortune Instagram page, where he talked about his amazing victory and how Marvel has inspired him.
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“It feels like a dream. It feels like I’m gonna wake up any second and wish it was real,” Borroto said.
“Marvel Week is really important to me,” he continued. “I am a full-time drag queen and my drag name is Aranya, which means spider in Spanish. It’s inspired by Spiderman and so these comics and this world that has been built has just inspired me and it continues to bless my life.”
He added, “I feel like little nerdy secret identity me is living a great life because I get to put on that super suit when I’m in drag and it means the world.”
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Born in Orlando, Florida, Borroto attended a Performing Arts high school, where he developed his love for being a performer. He went on to attend the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His acting roles include the SpongeBob Squarepants Musical, The Seagull, and Twelfth Night.
But it was after watching a production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie on the West End that Borroto was inspired to start doing drag.
“I perform all over the Twin Cities with Flip Phone Events, and at Lush, the Saloon, and the Gay 90’s,” he told CanvasRebel.com. “When watching me perform you can expect a polished and conceptual performance. I’ll either make you laugh, dance, cry, or feel extremely nostalgic…the point is you’re gonna LOVE IT!”
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