By Marion Lynch
RUMSON – Christina Gauss says she wants to live her life collecting moments.
One such recent moment was her appearance as a contestant of the perennially running game show, “Wheel of Fortune.”
Gauss, a Rumson resident and Spanish teacher at Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School, competed during the show’s Teacher’s Week, which aired last week.
What inspired her to take a turn at the Big Wheel?
Gauss said after watching the show at home with her family, her three children suggested that she become a contestant.
So she sent a video to the show’s producers, and was called in to New York City for a three-hour audition, where she completed written puzzles and participated in activities to determine her fitness as a contestant.
She and the others attending were told that they would be notified within two weeks if they were selected.
Two weeks later, there was no word from the show.
Two weeks and one day later she received word that she was chosen for the show, and to expect a call in about 18 months.
Ten days after that, the producers contacted Gauss and told her to report to their Los Angeles, California studios in 10 days.
So in mid-July she and her husband were off to LA. Gauss and her fellow contestants for the week were brought to the studio, where they got a chance to practice spinning the wheel and were given an orientation.
“They made it really fun,” Gauss said. “They taught us where to stand and how to clap so that it doesn’t interfere with the microphones.”
All of the week’s shows are taped on the same day, so the group congregated in a green room waiting for their chance. Hostess Vanna White visited the group – without makeup and her wet hair pulled back in a ponytail – and chatted with the contestants.
Once the live audience entered the studio, Gauss said she could feel the excitement building. She was one of the three contestants selected to be on the first of the week’s show taped that day.
So how did she do?
As Gauss describes it, the big wheel was not in her favor. In the first round, worth $1,000, Gauss had the correct answer, but came in too late to earn the cash.
The next round was a book title: “Where the Wild Things Are.”
“I knew the answer,” Gauss said. “If I had solved the puzzle, I would have won the game.”
But she took a chance and spun the wheel. It landed on Bankrupt, wiping out Gauss’s earnings and denying her the chance to solve the puzzle.
In the end, she came in second, earning just over $20,000. After taxes were deducted, her windfall was cut in half, and after deducting travel expenses for her trip, she netted about $5,000.
Her experience of stepping out of her comfort zone into the bright lights of a game show stage can be carried over to anything in life, she says.
I tell my students, “If I can go on and do this, you can do anything.”
Gauss shared some fun facts about the longest-running game show on television. The big wheel weighs 2,400 pounds and spinning it requires some skill. “I did some research to learn some strategies, but once I was under the lights I forgot them all,” she said.
Contestants stand on platforms that move up and down so that everyone stands at the same level.
Host Pat Sajak doesn’t meet the contestants until the show is taped.
All travel expenses to and from Los Angeles, including hotel and meals, are the responsibility of the contestants.
The show’s legal department requires contestants to not discuss the results of the show or their winnings until after the show airs. So for two months, Gauss had to keep her experience a secret. The show aired on Sept. 14, the first of the show’s 33rd season.
Gauss joined her family and friends at a viewing party at Tommy’s Tavern and Tap in Sea Bright.
“I wore the same shirt that I wore on the show, along with by nametag,” she said.
With her winnings, Gauss plans to treat her colleagues to something special.
She will also support her friend and former colleague, Jennifer Chauhan, who leads Project Write Now, a Red Bank-based literacy program. “I’m so happy to send some money her way,” she said.
One special experience for Gauss was the opportunity to talk about her international trips that she takes with students. Last summer, she led a group of Spanish students to Guatemala where they volunteered on a coffee farm and practiced their conversational skills.
This November, she and some students will travel to Peru, volunteering at an orphanage and visiting the cultural treasure Machu Picchu.
“I love to watch them as they learn about themselves and the world,” she says.
“It’s amazing to see that transformation before your eyes.”
