Destined to be a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ winner

BELLEVILLE, NJ — For Belleville resident Liam Oakes, deciding to apply to be a contestant on his beloved show, “Wheel of Fortune,” was an obvious decision. Less obvious to Oakes, who said he is a “lifelong fan” of the show, was the fact that he would become the next winning contestant.

He had no expectation of winning, he said, and joined for the “once in a lifetime experience” on its own. However, Oakes’ experience in the game, combined with his humble personality, made him destined to be a winner.

Oakes said he first became hooked on “Wheel of Fortune” as a young child, when his parents put on the game show channel, and he began to watch the show every night at 7:30 p.m. He loved solving puzzles, watching people spinning the wheel and winning money — and even played the “Wheel of Fortune” video game as he was growing up.

After completing the application and an interview on Zoom, Oakes said he realized he would fulfill his dream when, on his birthday, he received the email which said he had been accepted to be a contestant on “Wheel of Fortune.” Throughout the following five months until the big day, Oakes said he prepared by binge-watching “Wheel of Fortune” episodes, playing the game on his phone, and solving as many as 600 word puzzles in a practice book he bought from Amazon, as he sat on the beach at his community lake.

When asked how he felt about the one day of filming — which consisted of six tapings — Oakes revealed that it was “almost everything I dreamed it to be.” Oakes has only positive things to say about his experience on “Wheel of Fortune” and said he was “just excited to be there,” no matter the outcome.

“I came into the studio knowing it would be the experience of a lifetime,” said Oakes in an interview with the Belleville Post. “I didn’t go to the studio with high expectations or overconfidence. I would be OK if I lost, because I still made it to the show.” He further expressed that he was “speechless throughout the entire day, being in the studio as opposed to watching it on television . . . I was meant to be there.”

Despite being nervous about going on stage, Oakes said he knew he had to remain focused on solving the word puzzles. The warm and fun atmosphere with the other contestants also helped him keep his cool. He described the contestants as “such lovely people” who shared “a lot of laughs” and supported one another throughout the game.

Oakes admitted he was in last place for most of the show, as he was “bankrupt for a lot of the game.” He said he knew he had to “start playing strategically and focus on puzzle solving — solving puzzles in time is the most important part of the show.” However, he knew that, for him, what truly mattered was the experience itself, along with the other contestants.
“We all came into the show knowing that, whatever the outcome will be, we would have a great time,” he said.

While Oakes said it was hard for him to come up with a single favorite moment, as he enjoyed the entire day, he highlighted his special experience at the end of the show. The winning contestants were invited to stand in the middle of the stage and engage in a conversation with Wheel of Fortune’s legendary hosts, Pat Sajak and Vanna White. After watching them on television for most of his life, Oakes finally had the opportunity of not only seeing them, but talking to them in person, describing White as “very sweet and nice” and Sajak as “a genuine and funny guy.”

“It took me three days to remember what happened,” said Oakes.
His memory has since returned, as he revealed that “there has not been a single day that I haven’t thought about what happened on that day.”

Oakes won $56,900 in cash and prizes, including an $8,000 trip to the Bahamas. He plans to save some of the money, as he is “not a big spender,” and is still figuring out what he will do with the rest of it. He said he is looking forward to going to the Bahamas.

“I encourage everybody to apply, even if they think they won’t make it,” said Oakes. “They are always looking for contestants and the application is very easy.”

For future “Wheel of Fortune” contestants, Oakes shares his words of wisdom: “Vowels are your best friends — a lot of people frown upon people buying a lot of vowels, but that is what made me win.”