BY T K I NG A HANC A C E ASTORIA ‘WHEEL OF FORTUNE’ FAN COMPETES ON SHOW CRISTABELLE TUMOLA She wasn’t the big winner, but Astoria resident Lizzette Colon cashed in big during her appearance on Wheel of Fortune last month. Colon, 42, has been watching “Wheel of Fortune” for more than 30 years, since its early days when contestants could still shop for prizes with their winnings. But it wasn’t until a seemingly fake email landed in Colon’s inbox inviting her to audition for the program this summer that she decided to try out for the live version. “Working in a school, you have to have a pretty big personality as it is and I thought, ‘Why not?’” the high school guidance counselor at SoHo’s NYC iSchool said. “One thing I talk about with my students is going for it and taking risks,” she added. After first believing the email from “Wheel a Fortune” inviting her to audition was spam, she submitted a video, taped at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, showcasing her desire to be on the show. Colon then got a chance to audition in July at a Brooklyn hotel, where she had to do several simulated games and puzzle tests and talk about herself as if the show’s host, Pat Sajak, was in front of her. Two weeks later, and still no letter saying that she had made the game show, Colon started to lose hope. It was the same devastating feeling she had when she tried out for the show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics!” and got cut in the final round. But after one more week, the letter finally came. Colon flew out to Los Angeles, along with her husband and 9-year-old daughter, the following winter and on Feb. 27 taped the episode. Though she said the studio seemed smaller than it does on television, the experience “felt larger than life.” The wheel was also not quite what it seemed from watching at home, Colon added: “It’s super heavy. It’s ridiculous. They have us practice and now I understand why.” And when it came to playing the game, nerves got the best of her at times, Colon admitted. But what Colon said she actually likes about the show and her experience as a contestant is that “everybody wins something.” Colon picked up $9,350 in cash plus a $1,000 gift certificate to Omaha Steaks. She earned $4,000 in taking two toss-up puzzles, in which guests ring in as letters are revealed on the board. She also solved the mystery round puzzle, picking up $5,350 in cash and the Omaha Steaks prize for correctly guessing “Oscar Winner Julianne Moore” in the show biz category. “It’s still very surreal. I’ve sort have been walking around saying ‘this really happened,’” Colon said about watching the May 22 episode and reliving the experience. “I’m not on television, I sort of live an everyday life, and now I can say I was on a television show. It’s mine and no one can take that away from me and that’s what is really exciting about it.” Colon won the first toss-up puzzle worth $1,000, then the mystery round worth $5,350 in cash and a $1,000 gift certificate to Omaha Steaks. She missed out on the prize puzzle, but picked up the $3,000 toss-up puzzle. All told, she picked up a combined $10,350 in cash and steaks. Although she came in second, she said she feels good about what she was able to win and plans to use some of her winnings to take a trip to Costa Rica with her husband and daughter. Colon added that it was also nice to feel so many people support her especially throughout the borough she calls home. “What was really nice about it was representing Queens,” she said. “It was something about the fact that my school knew about it, former students knew about it, and it felt for a moment like a smalltown vibe. It was something about feeling that I have a tons of people rooting for me. That was really cool.” Photo by Carol Kaelson
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