‘So Much in Common’ Puzzle Boosts Local ‘Wheel Winner’ to $78K in Cash and Prizes

Jason Miner was the big winner when he played Wheel of Fortune – but he had to keep it a secret until last week.

Family and friends of the former teacher filed into the WNIN Public Theater for the experience of a lifetime — to see Miner compete on Wheel of Fortune — and win.

An avid game show watcher said he doesn’t actually always win while “playing” at home, but he did win big when he flew out with family to Los Angeles to record.

He said he’s not sure why they chose him for the show.

“I’d like to think maybe it’s a little bit of personality,” he said. “Maybe I got some of the riddles right when I did the Zoom interview, but I think they could see how excited I was and how much I really wanted to be a part of the show.”

Miner had forgotten that he had applied for the show in the fall of 2023. Producers eventually contacted him for a series of zoom interviews that led to being on the show.

He said they filmed six other shows that day and his was the last. He said that the first time he saw stars Vanna White and Ryan Seacrest, he was a little starstruck.

“But they were so down to earth, so friendly, so kind – it was like having your neighbor in your room. So they in no way put themselves on a pedestal.”

He said there wasn’t much of a strategy to winning. He studied a lot of words and word prefixes and suffixes before he left. “It might have helped a bit, but I think luck also plays a lot,” he said. “It’s just kind of knowing which letters are missing, which letters belong together.”

Solving puzzles in front of a studio audience was more difficult than solving at home from his couch, but after watching five show tapings, he was pretty relaxed.

He had the most money at the end of the game and solved the most puzzles. A cheer erupted from the crowd as he called out the winning puzzle: “So much in common.”

He won nearly $78,000 in cash and prizes – $18,000 in cash, a trip to Las Vegas and a Mercedes Benz he gets to pick out of the lot in LA.

He said he is getting money and prizes on a delayed schedule. He gets the money 120 days after the broadcast and the car 150 days. The trip must be booked within the next 12 months.

“It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. I went in thinking, ‘let’s just go and have fun and not make a fool of yourself’. And I don’t think I did. I had fun,” Miner said.

“Winning was the furthest thing from my mind. So when it happened, it was a big surprise. It was an amazing experience. And I’m glad I don’t have to keep the secret anymore.”

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