Business student wins $9K on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

Joseph Promisco watches his episode of “Wheel of Fortune” Monday in a campus residence hall. Photo: Julie Jaidinger (click on image to download)

“Well, who doesn’t want a chance to win a million dollars?” asked Joseph Promisco.

The lucky UIC senior won $9,300 on the game show “Wheel of Fortune,” appearing in an episode of the show’s “College Week” broadcast April 7.

He watched the show, taped Feb. 14, with other students in a campus residence hall TV room.

A fan of the show since he was a toddler, Promisco described himself as a “game-show nerd.”

“I enjoy the challenge of game shows and being able to play along,” said Promisco, a finance major in the College of Business Administration.

His favorite moment on the show, Promisco said, was the first time he saw the wheel and puzzle board. “It was very cool to see in person what you’ve been seeing on TV for many years,” he said.

What he will probably remember forever, he said, is the moment the taping began.

“I’m looking straight at the puzzle board and down at the wheel and I heard Jim Thornton (the announcer) say, ‘From Sony Pictures Studios … it’s America’s game.’ That’s when you realize that this is it — you’re on ‘Wheel of Fortune.’”

Promisco plans to use his winnings to help pay tuition for law school.