Thursday's Internet Edition, May 15, 2008.
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According to a press release from the game show, 24-year-old Melissa Foley won a trip to Milan, Italy, provided by Vacationcompare.com, in January.
“It was unreal,” Foley said of winning the trip. “I have never won anything. It was so unexpected.”
Foley, who has watched the show for the most of her life, is a member of the Wheel Watchers Club in which viewers can win cash and prizes just for watching.
Since January, Wheel of Fortune has given away 15 trips to Wheel Watcher members, Winners have won trips to exotic locations such as St. Croix, Costa Rica, Fuji, Milan and more. Additionally, two winners drove off in new cars.
As members of the Wheel Watchers Club, the first-ever, online viewer loyalty program in television history, viewers are rewarded in unique ways for tuning in to the show. They can watch “Wheel of Fortune” each night to see if their SPIN ID appears on screen during the show. If it does, they have 24 hours from the time of the broadcast to log on to wheeloffortune.com and claim the same prize just won by the contestant on the show.
Foley, a East Davidson High School graduate, realized she won the trip while watching the game show with her husband, Derrick. The two Thomasville natives just had their wedding in September 2007.
“It is going to be like a second honeymoon,” she said. “One of the things about Wheel Watchers is that the contestant or whoever wins the prize gets to make up their itinerary.”
Since its national launch in March 2003, the Wheel Watchers Club has attracted more than 4.3 million members and has given away nearly $2 million in dream vacations and cars to 170 Spin ID winners.
Foley plans on taking the trip with her husband in August.
Staff writer Darrick Ignasiak can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 231, or ignasiak@tvilletimes.com.