‘Wheel of Fortune’: Ryan Seacrest Takes Swipe at Show When Pat Sajak Was Host
Cheap dig! Ryan Seacrest took a swipe at Wheel of Fortune for being cheap when Pat Sajak was the host.
At the end of the April 16 episode, Seacrest said he was doing some “Spring Cleaning.” While he was cleaning, he found an old box of Wheel of Fortune merch and wedges.
“I had the dust buster back there and look what I stumbled upon,” Seacrest said to Vanna White. White pulled out a WOF lunchbox and a wedge that had Bankrupt and $10,000 on it. It was the equivalent of the One Million Dollar wedge in the current game.
“This was the top limit way back when,” she said.
“Now, it’s a million. You guys were cheap back then, huh?” Seacrest joked. The crowd laughed.
White also pulled out two license plates that said “1/2 car” on them. “When you spun the wheel, you had to get both of these to win a car.”
“Vanna, I remember. I watched Wheel of Fortune before I worked here,” Seacrest said. The box also featured a Vanna White doll, a Jackpot wedge, a Free Spin circle, a drink koozy, a pin, and more.
According to the show’s Wiki, the $10,000 wedge was introduced in 1994. It was located on an orange $800 from 2002 until its retirement, orange-yellow $300 from 1996 to 2002, and on the Bankrupt between the pink $600 and the red $500 from 1994 to 1996.
Just like the One Million Dollar wedge, the $10,000 wedge, if landed on, gave one contestant the chance to win $10,000 at the end of the game if they picked that envelope on the wheel. The $10,000 wedge was retired in June 2008 at the end of Season 25. The $1 million wedge was brought in the next season.
Pat Sajak hosted Wheel of Fortune from 1981 until his retirement in 2024. Chuck Woolery hosted before that from its inception in 1975 until 1980.
Seacrest took over hosting the game show in the fall of 2024. White, who joined when Sajak did, stayed on as hostess, so she has gotten to see all of the changes that the game show has gone through, including sets, hosts, wedges, and more.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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