Community Corner

Lincoln Park Attorney Wins Big On Wheel of Fortune

Justyna Kruk achieves childhood dream by being a contestant on the 'Wheel.' She also reveals a show secret about letter turner Vanna White.

When Justyna Kruk was in third grade she bragged to all her friends that she would one day appear on America’s game show, Wheel of Fortune. Kruk realized her dream May 15, winning $49,500 and a trip to Antigua for guessing the winning puzzle “Package Deal.”

The 28-year-old attorney from Lincoln Park got hooked as a kid watching the show with her mother and grandmother. A point of pride for Kruk’s mother, Emily, was that host Pat Sajak hailed from Chicago’s South Side, not too far from where they lived.

“My mother and grandmother both came from Poland. They watched the show to learn English words,” said Kruk, who grew up in Burbank.

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Justyna Kruk's official 'Wheel of Fortune' portrait. | ABC

Like most avid wheel watchers, Kruk went to an invitational audition last year at the Palmer House when the show’s producers were in town casting contestants for Chicago week. She wasn’t selected for the mock game on stage. She left the cattle call, dejectedly throwing her application into a bin with hundreds of others.

“The producers told us just because we weren’t chosen to audition on stage not to lose hope,” Kruk said.

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After months of not hearing from the show’s producers, Kruk forgot all about her shot at being a big time, TV game show contestant. She started a new job as an attorney at a downtown insurance firm, when she received an email from the show’s producers in November inviting her to a callback.

Kruk spent the audition playing wheel-less Hangman and doing word puzzles. Contestants also had to take a written exam.

“They want to hear you speak and call out letters,” she said. “They called back 15 people for interviews. They didn’t call my name. They told us there were some people leaving who would still be on the show.”

More months passed before Kruk received a call in January saying she had been selected to appear on the Wheel. She flew out to California (she had to pay her own airfare and lodging) for the March taping. Not only did Kruk have to keep her winning a secret for the next several weeks, so did her mom and two brothers who went with her for the show’s taping.

“They stress not to tell anyone the outcome,” Kruk said. “The producers want people to be surprised and anxious when they’re watching. I wanted my family and friends to tune in and see me win. It’s more fun that way.”

Rehearsals consisted of getting used to spinning the wheel. The wheel is heavier to spin than what it looks like on TV. The perennially young letter-turner Vanna White also visited the contestants’ makeup room.

“She said she wanted us to see what she looked like without makeup,” Kruk said. “She was so warm and gracious. It’s just fun and a game.”

Kruk plans to use some of her winnings to send her parents on a dream vacation to Poland. During the credit roll chit-chat Sajak told her she could take over for Vanna when she retires. Kruk also learned another deep dark, show secret about Vanna White.

“She never wears the same dress twice,” Kruk said.

COVER PHOTO: Justyna Kruk after she solved the winning puzzle, "Package Deal," on the May 15th airing of Wheel of Fortune.


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