# Wheel of Fortune? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [July 27, 2025, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371 "2025-07-27T03:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/1 "2025-07-27T03:07:53Z")
At the end if the show a guest is sometimes awarded a cash sum. When it occurs more often than not it’s 40,000.00. I assume the money is probably paid by one of the sponsors. W/regard to whoever pays the money, does is its exposure to risk mitigated by an insurance policy of some kind? ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/2 "2025-07-27T04:01:04Z")
I don’t know how WoF does it, but just to get the wheel rolling (ha!), I remember “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” had some trouble with its insurance underwriter who paid out the large prizes: > **['Millionaire' No Prize for Insurance Company](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-feb-20-mn-751-story.html)** > > TV: Lloyd's of London, which pays show's big winners, decries easy questions. By contrast, its British predecessor asks, 'What is the SI unit of magnetic flux density?' It made the news because the insurance company said that the ABC version of the show was too easy and that too many contestants were winning the top prizes. Perhaps WoF might have a similar insurance policy to pay out the large cash prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/3 "2025-07-27T12:00:53Z")
I assume that the prize money is just part of the production budget. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/4 "2025-07-27T15:41:43Z")
They might have the million (and possibly the 100 grand) insured but not the other prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/5 "2025-07-27T16:12:59Z")
I’ve been watching lately and the million-dollar prize seems _really_ unlikely to be won. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/6 "2025-07-27T17:49:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I assume that the prize money is just part of the production budget. That’s what I always thought too. No evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/7 "2025-07-27T18:03:37Z")
Only four people have won the $1,000,000 prize, including one on _Celebrity Wheel of Fortune_. ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/8 "2025-07-27T18:04:28Z")
> [@19USMC69](#): > > When it occurs more often than not it’s 40,000.00. There is almost no transparency about the distribution of the prizes. They say there is one wedge with the top cash value (either $100,000 or $1,000,000), and one wedge for the car. Occasionally someone lands on $50,000 or $75,000, so I assume that those also are one wedge each. That leaves the default $40,000 on all other wedges. My best guess. That’s a nice amount, even after taxes. Many other shows are far less. Even on Jeopardy! a one day win is commonly $10,000 to $20,000, but of course they get to come back. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/9 "2025-07-27T18:19:04Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I assume that the prize money is just part of the production budget. Yeah, $40,000 is chickenfeed. If it was sponsored by someone, you’d know! As for insurance, that is for rare events, like a $1,000,000 payout, but $40,000 is common. I think most of the trips are sponsored, since they plug the resort/travel service pretty heavily. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/10 "2025-10-01T18:20:41Z")
On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, a contestant won the million dollar prize. Together with her winnings in the earlier part of the program, she won $1,035,155. That makes her the largest prize winner in the history of the program. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wheel-of-fortune/1021371/11 "2025-10-01T18:37:03Z")
I believe she’s the largest non-celebrity prize winner. She won $1,035,155 while Melissa Joan Hart won $1,039,800 on the celebrity version of the show.