Winning A Million Dollars On Wheel Of Fortune, Explained

Another factor hindering millionaire winners are the qualifications to win the money, themselves. According to Time, in order for a contestant to qualify to win the million (even after landing on that tiny wedge nestled comfortably between two bankruptcy wedges), they must make it to the bonus round without going bankrupt. Only then, does the contestant have the opportunity to solve the puzzle first, then win the cash.

Still, even with all those rules and requirements to win, "Wheel" has produced three millionaires. The first contestant to win the big prize was in the inaugural year of the million-dollar wedge. Michelle Loewenstein, a teacher from New Jersey, won a total of $1,026,080 on October 14, 2008. Five years later, Autumn Erhard won a total of $1,030,340. And finally, it's been seven years since "Wheel" had its last million-dollar winner; Sarah Manchester, a math teacher from Maryland, won $1,017,490 in 2014 (via Cheat Sheet). With a streak that long in the works, it's only a matter of time before "Wheel of Fortune" crowns its next millionaire.

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