‘Wheel of Fortune’ superfan spills audition secrets producers probably don’t want you to know
Ted Slauson is a 'Wheel of Fortune' superfan who never made it to the final round but learned enough tricks through his audition experiences. Slauson is known for his 2017 documentary ‘The Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.’ The elementary school teacher was also a ‘The Price Is Right’ fanatic who memorized product prizes and helped contestants make the perfect bid. The documentary provided a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Slauson assisting contestants by shouting out the bids while seated among the live audience. Slauson, who was ultimately banned by ‘TPIR,’ admitted that he also auditioned for ‘Wheel of Fortune’ not once but twice.
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In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Slauson revealed, “When I auditioned, it was back in 2001 or 2002, the whole first part is everyone’s there. [The producers] call you randomly, you stand up, and you take a couple turns, and then you sit down, and they have somebody else stand up." Slauson described it as a practical exam where the producers gauge how many puzzles auditioners can solve and how quickly they can do it. “They give you very few letters to start with, and then they kind of reduce the group down to the people they think would make the best contestants,” he added.
“They have them audition some more, and then they, you know, if you hear from them, great. And if you don’t, you don’t,” Slauson explained. The math teacher ended up being the second contestant to be picked by the producers, much to his surprise. “It kind of surprised me because I don’t ever get picked first for anything,” he noted. Slauson revealed that the first contestant had picked a letter that appeared on the puzzle. During his turn, he chose another letter and bought a vowel, and both appeared on the puzzle. Slauson shocked the auditioners when he decided to solve the puzzle at this point.
“Everyone kind of looked at me like, ‘What?’ It was diamond earrings,” he added. No one could believe he solved the puzzle at that stage. Slauson also believed he nailed his audition, but little did he know, the incredible solve would not let him in. However, he wasn’t disappointed. In 2015, another opportunity came Slauson’s way during the Wheel of Fortune Wheelmobile, when the show visited San Antonio, Texas. “I went to that event,” he revealed. Slauson revealed that he had to speak about himself and his career for 20 seconds before playing a trial ‘Wheel of Fortune’ round.
“Five of you at a time are playing the same puzzle, and it’s like the speed round where you each pick a letter, and they light it up if it’s there,” Slauson shared. Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure out what the puzzle was and kept staring at it. The superfan revealed that watching the game show will help contestants guess the puzzles easily. “Because if you watch the show a lot and you do like crossword puzzles and cryptograms and stuff that are very similar, and you start recognizing letter combinations,” he added.