“Wheel of Fortune” just awarded the biggest cash prize in the history of the show.
Connecticut woman Christina Derevjanik won a whopping $1,035,155 during the Tuesday, Sept. 30, episode of ‘Wheel of Fortune.” Sweetening the deal, her boss was sitting in the audience.
Before host Ryan Seacrest showed Derevjanik the $1 million envelope, she joked that she would put in her two weeks notice at work if she won the seven-figure prize. After correctly solving a puzzle with the phrase “PACK OF COYOTES,” Seacrest informed Derevjanik that she is now “a millionaire.”
Derevjanik couldn’t contain her excitement, jumping up and down and throwing her arms around Seacrest. Vanna White then walked over to hug the champion and tell her, “I’m so happy for you.”
Derevjanik immediately began thinking about how the prize will change her life.
“I can pay off my student loans,” she said. Derevjanik graduated from Siena University in Loudonville, New York in 2012.
Seacrest, who got misty-eyed over his “first million-dollar winner” since taking over for former host Pat Sajak in 2024, asked Derevjanik if she had a message for her boss.
“We’ll have a discussion once we get back to the office,” Derevjanik said with a laugh. Despite the quip, Derevjanik revealed that she’s “going to be staying at work” during a Wednesday, Oct. 1, appearance on “Good Morning America.” She reiterated that her first priority is paying off her student loan debt.
“It’s something that, you know, the last 15 years I’ve been out of college, I’ve just been like, ‘How am I ever going to pay this off?’ And now, it is just going to be such a relief,” she said. “And then [I’ll] hopefully invest in a home in the next couple of years.”
Derevjanik is one of only four contestants to win the $1 million prize on “Wheel of Fortune” since the show premiered in 1975. Prior to solving the $1 million clue, she also racked up $35,155 and trips to Montana and Tokyo.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
