Changes: Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Seasons 29-31

Revision as of 01:13, 6 December 2014

A timeline for Seasons 29 onward of the nighttime Wheel of Fortune, which will likely never be complete due to the ongoing nature of the show.

Note: During the season (September-June), this page is generally updated Monday-Friday around 8:00 PM Eastern, so spoilers may be present for the most recently-aired episode. It is also updated at times from mid-July to mid-September as details of the new season are revealed.

Season 29 (2011-12)

Season Changes:

The Wii animations are retired as intros, though some return as the pre-Round 2 bumpers. The title card graphic is the same as last season's, but it starts with the colored strips flying into place around the logo, and the words "Wheel of Fortune" now appear on the gold center of the logo as they are chanted. Also, the camera now zooms in between the O and F.
The relatively consistent rule of having a Same Name or Before & After in every game is reverted, although both categories start appearing in Round 1 with increasing frequency.
Each week's theme is now shown on the scoreboards at the top of the show.
SPIN ID draws no longer award $50,000 to winners who have an active Sony Card.
The Prize Puzzle and Final Spin graphics are updated to use the color scheme of the Season 28 logo. The former now includes a graphic of a navigational compass, and the latter has two graphics of the Wheel with the words "Final Spin" on two rows in between.
The backdrop for Pat and Vanna's post-game chat is two spinning golden Wheels: one at the top, one at the bottom.
The green $700 is reduced to $500, and Wild Card moves from it to the pink $900.
Some Prize Puzzles this season are less obviously themed to the corresponding prize.
The wrong-letter buzzer now sounds after incorrect answers, albeit somewhat inconsistently.
Starting this season, the audience does not always shout out suggestions when a contestant decides whether to flip a Mystery Wedge.
Two male/one female games become increasingly frequent.
Only one locale is now used on road shows.
All sixth-episode weeks are once again called "America's Game". During these weeks:
- The category wipe is the Wheelmobile driving across the screen.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up has an American theme, a tradition which continues through Season 31.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a red-white-and-blue star which flips across the screen.
- On some of the episodes, Vanna does a bumper from an American landmark.
A lottery promotion runs during this season and through January 11, 2012. The winners receive a $15,000 trip for four to Culver City in April to spin the Wheel for cash or a prize; at least some of these are randomly chosen to play special Lottery Experience Games with Pat, Vanna, Jim, and the same rules as normal episodes.
- At least some of the winners spin a Wheel replica at their local lottery office around December, with hosting duties handled by Todd Newton.
- The Lottery Experience Games are recorded but not aired, with strict internet guidelines put on the contestants. Despite this, one such episode surfaced in April 2014.
Starting this season, ampersands are used much less frequently, mainly being used in cases where AND would make the puzzle too long (or in the cases of Toss-Ups and puzzles in Rounds 4+, more than two rows) or in Same Letter puzzles when necessary.
Starting this season, Season Finales are no longer mentioned on-air.

September 2011: (season begins September 19)

September 19 is Home Sweet Home Week, with family teams competing. The Wheel Prize this week (excluding the sixth episode) is $7,500 cash courtesy of Maxwell House.
Between September 19 and November 18, the map for SPIN ID draws always shows Alaska and Hawaii; previously, they only appeared if the SPIN ID owner was from one of those states.
On several episodes early in the season, a postcard-like graphic is briefly shown on the video wall at the start of the Prize Puzzle copy. This is retired around October.
On September 19:
- Pat briefly mentions that Jim Thornton is the permanent announcer.
- After the Bonus Round, footage is shown of Vanna at the Gary Center (a social service agency in La Habra, California) promoting the Maxwell House sponsorship.
On September 20:
- Round 2 is the first appearance of What's That Song? since February 8.
- A new graphic is introduced for the Mystery Round intro, showing money in a bank vault, a sequence recycled from the 2007 Combination Lock pilot. The show alternates between this and the existing graphic consisting of $100 bills on a green background.
- Bankrupt is hit four times in Round 3. During the second one (by the blue team), their scoreboard does not display the "Bankrupt" graphic.
On September 21:
- There is a $100,000 loss.
- At the end of the show, everyone in the audience receives a can of Maxwell House coffee.
On September 22:
- During Round 1, a contestant on the yellow team starts to call a repeated R, but catches herself and says S. She is credited with the S, which is in the puzzle.
- Vanna reads the second line of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- Before the Bonus Round, one of the winning team's mothers is shown off to the side of the audience in a wheelchair.
- Following the Bonus Round, Pat shows off his Lifetime Achievement Award.
On September 23:
- Though the red team earns the Wild Card in Round 1, it is absent from the start of Round 2 for unknown reasons. Round 2 does not appear to have a Bankrupt from the red team edited out; however, the team later hits Bankrupt in the same round. It is possible that the presence of the Wild Card was merely forgotten between rounds.
- Jim appears onstage with Pat and Vanna at the end of the show as they introduce him as the permanent announcer. He does the "Promotional consideration provided by..." tag from center stage, and stays with Pat, Vanna, and the winner during the credits.
The category wipe for the week of September 26 is a floating red flower. Strangely, the font is far narrower than usual when the strip reveals.
On September 26, the new ½ Kia tags are introduced. Except for Halloween Week, they offer a $15,000 Kia Soul. One is still on the blue $500 next to the red $900, but the other is now on the green $500 (formerly $700). They are not used on weeks with two-person teams, unless the teams are husband and wife.
- If it is not won, Jim plugs the car after the "Promotional consideration provided by..." tag.
- Until November 1, Pat explains how they work over an animation of them "flying" off their respective Wheel wedges and joining to form a license plate saying "CAR".
- For the first week only, contestants who claim ½ Kia tags have a "½ Car" license plate displayed on their scoreboard.
On September 27, contestant Bob is credited with $2,250 after solving Round 2 when he should have won only $1,750, due to being erroneously credited with five S's on $500 each instead of four. While this mistake does not affect the outcome, it is never acknowledged or corrected on-camera.
On September 28:
- $500 per consonant is now awarded with the ½ Car tag.
- The ½ Car (Kia) is won for the first time.
On September 29:
- Movie Quote debuts in Round 1. Strangely, Pat makes no mention of it being a new category.
- Round 3 is the last appearance of Headline until September 2013.

October 2011:

During the week of October 3:
- The category wipe is a driving boat.
- Vanna promotes the Mystery Round prize.
On October 3:
- TV Quote debuts in Round 2. Once again, Pat makes no mention of it being a new category.
- The ½ Kia graphic displayed on contestants' scoreboards is changed to match the tags.
- At the end of the episode, footage is shown of Vanna presenting Pat with his Lifetime Achievement Award (which is also the answer to Round 1).
On October 4, Bankrupt is hit six times in Round 2, a tie for the most known Bankrupts in one round; interestingly, five of them are on the Million-Dollar Wedge. All three contestants hit Bankrupt again in Round 3, the third of which claims both ½ Kia tags. Also, at least one other Bankrupt may have been edited out of Round 1.
On October 5:
- Contestant Ashley wins the Kia after picking up three tags: one in Round 1, two in Round 2. When the third tag is picked up, the graphic of the second tag disappears from her scoreboard and its animation is replayed.
- A Changing Lives segment is shown for a contestant who won on Soap Stars Week in February 2006.
On October 6:
- The Prize is a $12,140 Alaskan cruise.
- The right-letter ding does not sound when the L is revealed in Round 2.
- There is a ½ Kia win in Round 2.
On October 7:
- The Prize Puzzle trip is worth $11,500, a rare instance of one worth more than $10,000 on a non-team episode.
- The third-place contestant has $18,000, the highest known third-place total.
- The second-place contestant has $20,500.
During the week of October 10, the category wipe is a flying bird, and the Final Spin wipe is butterflies flying diagonally across the screen.
On October 13:
- Vanna reads all but the first line and value of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- Food & Drink makes its first appearance in the Bonus Round since September 20, 2010.
On October 14, a contestant solves incorrectly on the Jackpot wedge.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of October 10. This is part of an eight-loss streak starting on the 5th.
During the week of October 17:
- The category wipe includes a strip of sand and a palm tree, with the sand dissolving to form the strip.
- The Wii intro previously used for Desert Oasis week in Season 28, with the Pat and Vanna avatars relaxing against a desert background, is seen before the pre-Round 2 promotional plugs.
- The Mystery Round is in Round 2 and Prize Puzzles are in Round 3. Also, presumably to avoid having a contestant win two major prizes in the same round, the Prize wedge is now removed after Round 2.
On October 18:
- The scoreboards briefly shut off after the Prize Puzzle is solved. There is also an edit after the wide shot showing all three contestants and Pat, though the displays are still off afterward. They are back on after the trip description, but the winning contestant's round score disappears instead of the usual rotating animation.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- At the end of the show, a Changing Lives segment is shown, honoring Maxwell House's donations to a farmers' market in Denver called the Grow Haus.
Between October 20 and 31, the show holds a contest sponsored by The Popcorn Factory. Home viewers may tweet each day's bonus puzzle to the show's official Twitter account for a chance to win Halloween snacks and a $100 gift card. This contest is promoted during all six Halloween episodes by a pop-up at the start of the Bonus Round.
On October 21:
- The wide shot of the first spin in Round 2 appears to be reshot, as it shows contestant Michael passing the Million-Dollar Wedge only to land on it.
- Later in Round 2, Michael loses $400 cash, the Million-Dollar Wedge, the Wild Card, and the Prize to Bankrupt. An audience member can be heard cheering after it is hit.
- Two contestants in a row call repeated letters in the Speed-Up.
- Two "null" cycles in the Speed-Up, one of which includes the aforementioned repeated letter calls, are not edited out.
October 24-28 and 31 are Halloween Week. It is also the first taped week of Season 29, recorded on July 14. During this week:
- The set has fewer Halloween decorations than usual.
- Two category wipes are used: a jack-o'-lantern on an orange strip (accompanied by a moan) and a witch flying a broomstick on a green strip (accompanied by her cackle). The latter uses a different font during the reveal.
- A moan accompanies the Mystery Round chord.
- The "old" round structure from the start of the season is used.
- The previous season's Wii animation for Halloween Week, with zombie versions of the Pat and Vanna avatars rising from their graves in black-and-white, is used for the pre-Round 2 bumper.
- The ½ Car tags have "½ Car" in blue text, and offer a $14,999 Ford Fiesta. They also give $500 per consonant, despite not doing so on September 26 and 27 (the first two episodes taped with the ½ Car tags following this week).
On October 24, there is a ½ Car win.
On October 25, special projects coordinator Curtis Stanton dies.
Between October 13 and 25, What Are You Doing? is not used for eight consecutive shows. This results in the week of October 17 being the only known week until the week of December 16, 2013 that the category is not used.
On October 26:
- Wheel Deals is renamed Wheel Deals Wednesdays, and is only promoted on that day.
- Contestant Brandon sweeps the game but loses $35,000 in the Bonus Round.
On October 27:
- There is a $9,100 Jackpot win. Afterward, Pat comments that the off-screen Jackpot display on the Used Letter Board is "out".
- Against normal practice, the closed captioning uses proper punctuation (commas in CHEYENNE WYOMING and MORTICIA GOMEZ PUGSLEY & WEDNESDAY ADDAMS, and quotation marks in THE RAVEN BY EDGAR ALLAN POE) instead of reflecting how the puzzles are written on the board.
- Pat jokes at the start of Round 3 that the category Fictional Family has only been used eight times. At the end of the show, he is told that the category actually had been used only eight times to that point (albeit incorrectly, as this was actually the category's tenth appearance).
On October 31, Round 3 is the last appearance of What's That Song?, and the last use of a "bonus" category. Overall, the category is used only six times.

November 2011:

November 1-4 is Fun & Fit week, a rare instance of a theme lasting less than a full week. During these four episodes:
- The category wipe is a personal watercraft.
- The ½ Car tags permanently revert to their Kia design, once again offering a Kia Soul. Also, Pat stops describing how they work.
- The "new" round structure introduced on October 17 is used.
- Vanna promotes the Mystery Round prize.
On November 1:
- The Wheel is not in the proper position before Round 1, as the yellow contestant's flipper is on the green $300 instead of $2,500. This was most likely due to it not being reset after practice spins.
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods, even though the rest of the week's Wheel prizes are trips.
- A Changing Lives segment is shown, in which Jack Wagner discusses his and his contestant's win during Soap Stars Week in February 2006.
On November 3:
- There is a $7,750 Jackpot win.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
November 7-22 are the Secret Santa Sweepstakes. During these episodes:
- Pat, Vanna, Jim, and the first two contestants of that night's show promote the sweepstakes before the intro.
- The set is decorated for Christmas.
- When the puzzle is revealed, the category strips have rows of Christmas lights at the top and bottom. During the rest of the round, the strips are "frozen" on the green cycle.
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 Sears shopping spree. Although the wedge is red, it is still in its normal spot on $350, unlike past episodes with red Prize wedges.
- Three SPIN IDs are drawn per game: ones corresponding to the second- and third-place contestants are drawn after the Speed-Up, and one corresponding to the top winner after the Bonus Round. The owner of each SPIN ID wins whatever cash and prizes his or her corresponding contestant wins. During the draws, the SPIN ID is shown on gold Christmas decorations on a white background with presents, a Sears card, and the Million-Dollar Wedge underneath, with the home viewer's name written in red letters that zoom in underneath the SPIN ID. All of these are covered up with the "Open to U.S. residents only" graphic when aired on CBC.
- Most Secret Santa Sweepstakes shows are moved from their originally-scheduled dates. It is known that November 7 was originally scheduled for the 11th (further evidenced by the Round 1 puzzle VETERANS DAY PARADE), November 8 for the 21st, November 9 for the 7th, November 10 for the 17th, November 11 for the 15th, November 15 for the 18th, and November 21 for the 10th. November 22 was not moved.
On November 7:
- A contestant takes the Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round. She wins $30,000 and is only two envelopes away from the $1,000,000.
- The segment in which Pat reveals the location of the $1,000,000 envelope is done in post-production.
On November 8:
- The blue contestant's scoreboard continues to display the $1,000 from the first Toss-Up, and immediately changes to $3,000 after she solves the second Toss-Up.
- For the only time since May 23, 2005, a "normal" category is followed by a bonus question. The Round 2 puzzle I'LL GET YOU MY PRETTY AND YOUR LITTLE DOG TOO! (Movie Quote) is followed by Pat asking for the movie that provides the quote; the contestant correctly identifies it as The Wizard of Oz.
- A tribute for Curtis Stanton is added in after the credits using a picture of Stanton with the caption "In loving memory of Curtis Stanton", which fades in and out.
On November 9, no wrong letters are called.
On November 10:
- There is a $7,500 Jackpot win by a contestant who hits the wedge twice before winning it.
- Vanna almost touches an H in Round 3 instead of a W.
On November 11, Pat holds the Bonus Round envelope too low at the end of the round, and it ends up being blocked by the contestant's end-game total. He shows the envelope again after Jim reads the Secret Santa SPIN ID.
On November 14, Round 4's puzzle TICK-TOCK TICK-TOCK is a very rare main-game puzzle with only three unique consonants in it. Because of this, a cycle of three lost turns is edited out after the T's are revealed, although the contestant's scoreboard is never shown. Pat references the cycle by saying "There's no S!" on the next aired turn.
On November 15:
- There is a Kia win in Round 1.
- Rounds 1-3 all have an ampersand in their puzzles.
On November 16:
- Round 1 is the last appearance of Family until November 20, 2013. For only the second known time since the early 1990s, the puzzle spells out AND.
- The category strip for Round 4 (an Occupation) accidentally changes to TV Title (the category of the $3,000 Toss-Up) after the round goes into Speed-Up.
On November 17, after the $2,000 Toss-Up TELEVISION DIRECTOR, Pat asks director Mark Corwin to "have the camera do something", resulting in Pat's face briefly distorting and turning blue while his hair turns bright yellow. Once Jim finishes the Prize plug, the camera shakes and Pat says "Mark Corwin is not only a fine director, but universally beloved", after which the shot cuts to a cue card with that phrase on it. Some extras can be seen in this shot, including a Mystery Wedge, a ½ Kia tag, and the red $300 that replaces the Jackpot in Rounds 2+.
On November 18:
- There are two duplicate categories: the $1,000 Toss-Up and Round 1 are Event, while Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
- Four ½ Kia tags are hit, but none are claimed.
On November 21:
- During Round 1, contestant Daniel tries to buy a vowel despite having only $50. He manages to call a vowel before Pat realizes the error and the "purchase" is voided.
- The home viewer's state is no longer mentioned during the SPIN ID draw. As a result, their name now appears in larger letters against a ring on either a green, blue, or purple background. According to the show's Facebook page, the state is no longer shown because some people inadvertently omit it when submitting the form.
On November 22:
- Contestant Ainsley mentions that she was in Tulane University's marching band when they played during College Week from New Orleans on May 9-13.
- A contestant takes the Million-Dollar Wedge and Wild Card to the Bonus Round. As was the case on November 7, she wins $30,000 and is only two envelopes away from the $1,000,000.
Since all 12 shows for the Secret Santa Sweepstakes are aired together, November 23-25 is Wheel Loves New York. This appears to be the first time since the Hershey's Pot of Gold Sweepstakes in 2002 that a theme has run for only three days. During these episodes:
- The opening consists of the regular logo, followed by New York City footage over a unique opening music bed.
- The category wipe is a taxi driving across the screen.
On November 23, the Prize copy includes a trailer for Arthur Christmas.
On November 24, the Prize includes tickets to Anything Goes.
Beginning November 25, the cameras no longer cut to the contestants before the transition to the split-screen shot when Pat's Final Spin lands on $5,000.
During the week of November 28:
- The category wipe is a snowman sliding across the screen.
- The Wii intro from the previous season's Christmas week, with the Pat and Vanna avatars ice-skating to form the logo, is used in the pre-Round 2 bumper.
- A graphic of a log cabin forms the contestant window in the Bonus Round.
On November 28:
- The ½ Car graphic on the scoreboards is the generic blue one.
- The bonus puzzle GLOBE is the first five-letter bonus puzzle since ICING on February 1, 2008, and the only one since November 3, 2009 that is shorter than seven letters. The contestant fails to solve it with only the B missing.
- The music bed for the "three-and-a-vowel" selection is not muted until three seconds after the timer begins, resulting in the music for the timer briefly playing over it.
On November 29:
- The Prize copy includes a trailer for Hugo.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 4 (during Speed-Up).
On November 30:
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the person who started them.
- There is a Kia win. The contestant picks up the second tag immediately after landing on it and puts it on the railing before Pat stops her. She puts it back on the wedge and calls a letter, then picks it back up once the letter is revealed.
- For the first known time, Places is used in the Bonus Round.

December 2011:

On December 1 and 2, Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
On December 1:
- Nobody solves the $2,000 Toss-Up, PONDEROSA PINES, the only ring-in coming with only the E in PINES missing. The same puzzle previously went unsolved on May 29, 2007.
- The Round 2 puzzle THREE LITTLE KITTENS THEY LOST THEIR MITTENS has the most known instances of a consonant in a single puzzle until October 2013, with 10 T's. Interestingly, they do not award any money, due to T being called on the Million-Dollar Wedge.
On December 2, Bankrupt is hit five times in the Mystery Round.
During the week of December 5 (America's Game), some elements are different than the surrounding weeks:
- The ½ Kia tags are absent on the 5th, as it is from the season premiere week.
- December 5-8 retain the "old" round structure.
- In an unprecedented streak, every episode has a Song Lyrics puzzle.
On December 5:
- Although the rest of the episodes in the taping session had $7,500 cash as the Prize, this episode has a trip.
- No vowels are bought in Round 1.
- As family pairs are competing, Jim refers to the $5,000 vehicle bonus in the Bonus Round as "$2,500 cash for each of you."
From December 6-16, Vanna announces the Mystery Round prize.
On December 8:
- The Prize copy includes a trailer for Sony Pictures Animation's The Smurfs, which was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on the 2nd.
- Jim and Vanna both read portions of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- A Changing Lives segment is shown for a contestant from Kansas City (specifically May 9, 2005, although this is not mentioned).
On December 9, the Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree from Beyond the Rack.com.
December 12 is Sandals Golf Getaway. During this week:
- The floor is blue, with the Sandals logo on the floor at center stage.
- A sweepstakes is held. Home viewers may submit the bonus puzzle to the show's website for a chance to win a trip to Sandals Emerald Bay.
- The opening logo is not used. Instead, Pat and Vanna promote the sweepstakes at the top of the show, followed by a Caribbean-sounding piece of music over golf footage.
- The category wipe is a golf ball being knocked into a hole, with the category written in a different font on the "green".
- The Wheel Prize is a trip to Sandals Emerald Bay plus Greg Norman apparel. For the first known time, Pat reads the copy.
- Vanna reads the pre-Round 2 bumper and Mystery Round bumper.
- All of the Prize Puzzle trips are to Sandals properties.
- Jim reads a plug for Sandals Resorts before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- December 14 is the only game this week not to have two male contestants.
On December 12:
- A spin from Round 2 appears to be added in post-production, possibly due to contestant Count placing the Million-Dollar Wedge on his podium with the front side facing up. This dubbed-in spin lands on the purple $600, though after Count solves on his next turn, his flipper is sitting on the green one. Also, the Prize wedge (which was claimed in Round 1) reappears in the spin, and the Million-Dollar Wedge has its reverse facing up.
- Vanna reads the Prize Puzzle copy.
- The Pat & Vanna chat is done from Sandals Emerald Bay.
On December 13, Vanna plugs the Reef Golf Course at Sandals Emerald Bay before Round 3. Pat, Lesly, and golfer Greg Norman are also seen in the clip.
On December 14:
- Vanna reads all but the first line of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- A contestant wins by $50.
On December 15:
- There is a $7,100 Jackpot win by a contestant who hits the Jackpot wedge twice before claiming it.
- Greg Norman plugs the Reef Golf Course after Round 2.
- Clips are shown of Pat, Vanna, and Greg at the golf course at the start of the Pat and Vanna chat before wiping back to the studio.
On December 16:
- Contestant Josh appears to say "chips" when solving the Round 2 puzzle CHOCOLATE CHIP SHOT, but this mistake is not realized.
- At least twice in Round 2, the camera zooms out during a letter call to show the contestant's scoreboard changing, an unusual approach which seems to develop out of nowhere mid-round and is used sporadically for a few episodes afterward.
- After Josh wins Round 2, his scoreboard displays $21,500, which Pat also says is his total at that point. At the start of Round 3, right after the Prize Puzzle chimes sound, Pat points out that his score is actually $11,500. As a result, the Prize Puzzle wipe does not appear until Pat's explanation is done. The discrepancy is due to the $10,000 Mystery Prize accidentally being added twice.
- When contestant Cathy picks up a ½ Kia tag in Round 3, the graphic on her scoreboard is the generic blue one from Halloween week, despite the correct graphic being used in Round 1.
December 19 (Great Escapes) is the first known Christmas week not to have a Christmas theme or decorations, although Christmas-themed puzzles are still used. During this week, the category wipe is a red car driving across the screen and peeling out.
Between December 19 and 29, clips of the staff wishing viewers a Merry Christmas are shown after Round 1. These reveal with a wipe of falling snowflakes.
On December 20, there is a Kia win in Round 1.
On December 21:
- The Prize copy includes a trailer for Midnight in Paris.
- Against precedent, the linking word in Round 2's Before & After (YOU HAD ME AT HELLO DOLLY) is not on its own line, even though it would fit.
On December 22:
- There is a $6,450 Jackpot win.
- Rounds 1 and 3 are Phrase.
On December 23:
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 1.
- Round 2 is PAT I'D LIKE TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE; while the last two uses of this or a variant thereof were categorized as Phrase, this one is categorized as TV Quote.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of December 19, part of an eight-loss streak.
The week of December 26 is Best of the Best. During this week:
- The "old" game structure of the season premiere week is used.
- The category wipe is a limousine with camera shutters clicking.
- The floor is once again black.
On December 26, a Changing Lives segment is shown of the show's staff helping out with Rebuilding Together at Watts Community Center in Los Angeles.
On December 28 and 29, second sets of holiday greetings from staff members are given after Round 2.

January 2012:

During the week of January 2 (California Coast):
- The floor is blue.
- The category wipe is a red plane flying across the screen.
- A California State Route 1 highway sign forms the Bonus Round window.
On January 2 and 3, the ½ Kia tag over the green $500 is crooked.
On January 3:
- In Round 2, a contestant tries to pick up a ½ Kia tag before calling a letter, but Pat stops her. She calls M, which is not in the puzzle.
- Following the Bonus Round, Pat shows a clip from the February 13, 1996 episode (erroneously identified as January) where he introduced his daughter Maggie, followed by a clip from the music video of her single "First Kiss". These events are likely done due to the episode airing on Maggie's birthday.
On January 4:
- A contestant is ruled incorrect for adding a redundant A to the beginning of the puzzle FLOPPY WIDE-BRIM HAT.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
On January 5, after a "null" cycle is edited out in the Speed-Up, the Final Spin music can be heard playing over itself from a different spot for the rest of the round. The second layer of music was added to mask the jump cut.
January 9 is America's Game.
On January 9:
- There is a Kia win in Round 1.
- For the last time, the "old" round structure is used.
- In the Speed-Up, contestant Jody calls a letter before the blue contestant (Anthony) is buzzed out. Later, she tries to call two letters in a row.
On January 10 and 11, the Wheel Prize is $5,000 cash from Ally Bank.
On January 10, 12, and 13, Vanna announces the Mystery Round prize.
On January 11, Pat remarks "There's no R, either. What's going on here?" after an incorrect R in Round 1 despite being the first aired lost turn of the game, signifying a "null" cycle was edited out.
On January 12:
- Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree at HayNeedle.com, although the wedge just has "Shopping Spree" on it rather than the company's logo.
On January 13:
- The floor is blue.
- Contestant Brady mentions that his wife was also on the show.
- Rounds 3, 4, and 5 are played entirely by the person who began them.
- Six rounds are played, for the first time since April 21, 2011.
- Two Final Spins appear to have been edited out, due to one landing on Lose A Turn and the other on Bankrupt.
- Mark takes both the Wild Card and Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round, where he wins $30,000.
- Unusually for a two-word bonus puzzle, the answer GOLDEN BOY is on one row instead of two.
During the week of January 16:
- The category wipe is a yellow flower on a purple floral background.
- The floor is blue.
- A graphic of a smiling sun with sunglasses forms the contestant window in the Bonus Round.
On January 16:
- The Prize Puzzle TONY AWARD WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL gives a trip to New York with tickets to Rock of Ages, despite it only having ever been nominated for such awards.
- During the Final Spin, the transition to the overhead shot is cut incorrectly. The shot starts from the Wheel passing an area that was already shown being passed in the wide shot. As a result, part of the music plays twice.
- During the Speed-Up, two "null" cycles are edited out. During the first shot of Pat used to mask the edit, the camera is pointed too far to his right. The camera centers him properly just before it cuts back to the normal split-screen shot.
Between January 6 and 16, seven Bonus Rounds in a row are played for $30,000.
On January 17, the bonus puzzle is still on the board during the credits.
On January 18, Around the House makes its first appearance in the Bonus Round since October 2008.
On January 19:
- Contestant Felix spins Free Play five times in a row in Round 3, calling all five vowels.
- When Jim announces the Prize Puzzle trip (to St. Thomas), a map of Jamaica is accidentally shown instead.
- The Final Spin is likely re-shot following the round, as the wide shot has the Wheel starting where the "official" spin had stopped.
On January 20:
- The Round 3 puzzle ACE KING QUEEN JACK uses all four rows, despite being small enough to fit on two. It is also not known why the puzzle does not use an ampersand or AND.
- Six rounds are played.
- The second-place contestant has $20,650.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of January 16, part of a seven-day losing streak.
For the weeks of January 23-February 6, the floor is black.
January 23 is Wheel Around the World Week. During this week:
- The hosts of international adaptations promote the theme at the top of the show: Hungary, Spain, Turkey, and Vietnam on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; Georgia and Turkey on Tuesday; and Georgia, Hungary, Spain, and Turkey on Thursday.
- The introductory logo is "Wheel Around the World" written on a globe on a blue background, with "Wheel" in the same font as the two-row logo, and the rest in cursive. It zooms in through the O in "Around".
- The intro logo is also used for the Prize wedge.
- The category wipe is a globe.
- A graphic of a passport getting stamped forms the contestant window in the Bonus Round.
- On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the hosts of the Spanish version greet Pat and Vanna after Round 1; on Tuesday and Thursday, the hosts of the Panamanian version greet them after Round 1 in subtitled Spanish.
- Clips are shown from an international adaptation during Pat and Vanna's chat: Turkey on Monday, Vietnam on Tuesday, Hungary on Wednesday, Spain on Thursday, and Georgia on Friday.
On January 23:
- The hosts of the Turkish version help announce the Prize, a trip to Istanbul.
- During the Bonus Round, the category strip is "frozen" on the green cycle.
On January 24:
- There is a $6,000 Jackpot win.
- In Round 2, contestant Margie stumbles off the contestant platform after revealing the Bankrupt side of a Mystery Wedge, but her stumble is edited out of the broadcast, and replaced with a brief jump cut to a side view. Because it was most likely displayed during the incident, the Bankrupt graphic is not shown.
- Contestant Kristen solves the Speed-Up puzzle COFFEE-TABLE BOOK (itself improperly hyphenated) with only the T showing.
- No wrong letters are called.
On January 25:
- There is a Kia win in Round 1.
- In an interesting coincidence, contestant Precious solves the bonus puzzle PRECIOUS CARGO.
On January 26:
- The hosts of the Spanish version help announce the Prize, a trip to Spain.
- Round 1, THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, is inexplicably categorized as Place instead of On the Map. Round 4 is also an On the Map puzzle.
During the week of January 30:
- The opening is stylized depictions of gourmet chefs in a kitchen, with the words "Fabulous Food" appearing on a plate of turkey with the two-row logo in pink above it. The camera then zooms in through the O in "Fabulous".
- Vanna announces the Mystery Round prize.
On January 30:
- New Orleans-based chef John Besh promotes the week's theme after Round 2.
- Round 4 is the fourth appearance of Fictional Place this season.
On January 31, a "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.

February 2012:

On February 1:
- After Round 1, Vanna is shown at Painters Ice Cream in her hometown of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, sampling a "Vanna Banana" flavor named for her.
- In Round 2, contestant Sean turns in his Wild Card, but gets buzzed out before calling a letter.
- After Round 2, chef Tory McPhail of Commander's Palace in New Orleans promotes the week's theme.
On February 2, the bonus puzzle DAILY WORKOUT is categorized as Thing. The last time it was used (March 30, 2004), it was categorized as Event.
On February 3:
- Round 1 is only the fifth known instance of Occupations (BARTENDERS AND WAITRESSES).
- There is no shot of the board during an entire turn in which a contestant gives a wrong answer to Round 2.
- Chef Scott Boswell of Stella! Restaurant in New Orleans promotes the week's theme after Round 2.
- During the Bonus Round, the category strip is "frozen" on the green cycle.
February 6 is Military Spouses Week, originally scheduled for March 12 with Wheel Goes Country originally scheduled for this week. It is not known why the latter theme was canceled. During this week:
- The intro includes military footage before wiping to the studio with the same red-white-and-blue star used as a Speed-Up wipe on America's Game weeks.
- Pictures of the contestants' spouses are shown during the interview.
- The category wipe is a series of red-white-and-blue banners which dissolve.
- The house minimum is $2,000.
- All contestants also receive a Sony Tablet S. If a contestant finishes with $0, he or she is presented with it after the final round.
- Jim promotes the Sony Tablet S after the Bonus Round.
On February 6, 7, and 10, the Wheel Prize is a shopping spree: at HayNeedle.com on the 6th and 10th, and at HomeGoods on the 7th. All three use the "Shopping Spree" wedge design.
On February 6:
- Michelle Obama gives a pre-recorded greeting after Pat and Vanna walk out.
- Three females play.
- In Round 1, Rebecca's score is still displayed as $1,100, her score from before her previous turn (where she earned $400), after she solves the puzzle. The $400 is added just after Pat reads her score as $1,100, briefly confusing him. Immediately afterwards, the other players' scores swivel out and Rebecca's score does the "emphasis" animation as usual.
- There is a Kia win in Round 2.
- From this point onward, there is no longer applause during most of the Prize Puzzle copy.
On February 7-10, Michelle Obama promotes joiningforces.gov after Round 1.
On February 7:
- For the first known time since March 2008, two forms of Title are used in the same episode: Round 1 is Movie Title, and Round 4 is Song Title.
- The yellow contestant calls two repeated letters in Round 3. After the second one, the blue contestant tries to buy a vowel despite having no money.
- After a "null" cycle is edited out in the Speed-Up, the Final Spin music can be heard playing over itself from a different spot for the rest of the round. The second layer of music was added to mask the jump cut.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
On February 8, for the first time since February 2003, a contestant wins two cars: a Kia in Round 3 and a Ford Explorer in the Bonus Round. Strangely, Jim does not say "your grand prize total" when promoting the latter.
On February 9, all three contestants are present during the closing. Pat gives two of them a Sony Tablet S, then surprises the third (Maryanne) by reuniting her with her husband.
On February 10:
- Three females play.
- The Jackpot display does not appear on-screen when that puzzle is solved.
- Before Michelle starts Round 2, Pat asks her to name her children, since she did not do so in the interview.
- There is a Kia win in Round 2.
February 13 is Sandals Romance Week. During this week:
- Before the logo, Pat and Vanna promote the sweepstakes.
- The floor is once again blue with the Sandals logo at center stage.
- Pictures of the couples are shown during the interviews.
- The Wheel Prize is a trip to Sandals Emerald Bay. Interestingly, Vanna reads the copy.
- The category wipe is Cupid shooting an arrow.
- Vanna promotes the Mystery Round via footage of her at Sandals Emerald Bay.
- As was the case on the week of December 12, all of the Prize Puzzles are trips to Sandals properties. Also, some of the puzzles themselves appear to be taken straight from Sandals websites and brochures.
- Two SPIN IDs are drawn after the Bonus Round. Winners receive a trip to Sandals Emerald Bay and $5,000 cash. These are also covered up with the "Open to U.S. residents only" graphic when aired on CBC.
- Jim promotes Sandals Resorts before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- When the week is rerun during the Summer, the opening clip of Pat and Vanna is replaced with a different clip of them promoting only the theme. All other references to the sweepstakes are removed, and the two SPIN ID drawings are replaced with promotional plugs.
On February 13:
- The Round 1 puzzle THE BACHELOR AND THE BACHELORETTE is TV Titles, the only known instance of any subset of Title being pluralized.
- An error occurs at the beginning of Round 2: $500 is added to the red team's scoreboard rather than $1,000, and after two vowels are bought, Pat tells them to spin. There is then a stopdown, followed by what appears to be a reshoot of the second vowel call, as their display shows the correct score of $750.
- Vanna reads most of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- The winning couple (which does not solve the bonus puzzle) is only two spaces from the $1,000,000 envelope.
- The closing segment is done from Sandals Emerald Bay.
On February 14, the closing segment begins with Pat and Lesly promoting Sandals Emerald Bay before cutting back to them in the studio.
On February 15:
- In Round 1, the husband of the red team calls K while his wife calls S. Pat asks them to decide on one letter, and they choose S, which is in the puzzle.
- Vanna reads most of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- Because of the Sandals plug, the Wheel Deals plug is before Round 3 instead of before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- In the final segment, Vanna promotes Sandals' WeddingMoons wedding arrangements.
On February 16, the husband of the blue team calls U, then changes to O. Pat tells him that they have to accept the U, which is in the puzzle.
On February 17:
- Husband & Wife (in Round 1) uses an ampersand for the last time.
- Vanna promotes Sandals Resorts' Junkanoo parties after Round 2.
- Jim promotes Sandals Resorts again after the Bonus Round.
- The closing segment is done from Sandals Emerald Bay.
During the week of February 20 (American Landmarks):
- The America's Game show is taped first instead of sixth.
- The category wipe is a dissolving graphic of the Golden Gate Bridge accompanied by a foghorn.
On February 20:
- The Round 1 puzzle THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of On the Map.
- The Round 5 puzzle CHECKMATE! is a now-rare maingame puzzle that is shorter than 10 letters.
On February 21:
- Contestant Ryne spins Free Play five times in a row in Round 1.
- Contestant Touwana hits Bankrupt five times over the course of four rounds.
On February 23, contestant Lou solves the $2,000 Toss-Up DESERT COYOTE as "Desert... no... coyote." The board briefly resumes filling in letters, but stops when her answer is accepted.
On February 24:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up LADY LIBERTY is inexplicably categorized as Landmark instead of Fictional Character, as "Lady Liberty" typically refers to the character herself.
- The Million-Dollar Wedge is picked up on the first turn of the game, then lost to Bankrupt immediately after.
During the week of February 27:
- The floor is again blue.
- A Hawaiian-sounding piece of music plays in place of the opening theme, and as a commercial bumper.
- The category strip features a dashboard hula dancer when it reveals.
- The Speed-Up wipe is an "explosion" of colorful flowers with a harp sound.
On February 27, there is a $7,300 Jackpot win.
On February 29, in an unusual move, every vowel purchase in Round 3 is followed immediately by a shot of all three contestants.

March 2012:

On March 1, contestant Jennifer wins a ½ Kia tag in Round 1; despite hitting three more tags (one in Round 2 and two in Round 3), she still does not win the Kia.
On March 2, the first letter of the SPIN ID does not match the name announced with it.
March 5 is America's Game. As a result:
- On March 5, 6, and 9, Vanna announces the Mystery Round prize. All three announcements use the same clip.
- On March 7 and 8, the floor is blue.
On March 5:
- In Round 2, contestant Ashley accidentally calls a vowel on the Wild Card. This is edited out, and she calls L, which is in the puzzle.
- In the same round, Ashley lands on the Mystery Wedge next to Lose A Turn but calls a wrong letter. Later, she lands on the one next to the Million-Dollar Wedge and flips it over to find $10,000 on the reverse.
- Ashley wins the Kia in Round 3.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- Ashley accidentally calls M twice in the Bonus Round, the second time from her Wild Card. She then solves WIND-UP TOY despite getting no help from her extra letters, making her the eighth contestant to get no help even with a Wild Card (and the first since May 24, 2010), and the first since September 2009 to solve a bonus puzzle despite getting no help from their letters.
On March 6 and 7, the Wheel Prize is $5,000 cash from Ally Bank.
On March 6:
- Against normal practice this season, the $1,000 Toss-Up (CUDDLY TEDDY BEAR) is not explicitly American-themed.
- After contestant Kim solves Round 2 with $750 and a ½ Kia tag, Pat asks Harry if her score is still increased to the house minimum of $1,000 due to the tag. He tells Pat "yes" just as her score changes to $1,000.
- In Round 3, a cycle of three lost turns is edited out despite not being "null"; the first lost turn is an incorrect vowel, resulting in a $250 inconsistency in contestant Laura's score. This also affects the final score (but not the outcome) as Laura solves the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt. The cycle was likely cut due to the first three rounds running overtime.
On March 7:
- Rounds 1-3 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
- The second-place contestant has $24,650.
On March 8, a contestant (who does not solve her bonus puzzle) misses the $1,000,000 by one envelope.
On March 9, neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
March 12 is Big Money Week. During this week:
- The "Big Money" logo on the center-stage video wall includes the "bank vault" Mystery Round animation introduced in September, but played in reverse to have the vault opening instead of closing.
- The category strips are a brownish-green, and feature a golden dollar sign when they reveal.
- The Final Spin wipe is a series of falling dollar bills.
- Amounts of $65,000, $75,000, and $85,000 are added to the Bonus Wheel. None are hit, and their envelopes are never shown otherwise.
On March 12, the right-letter ding is accidentally used on the first letter revealed in the Speed-Up.
On March 13:
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 3.
- There is a $100,000 loss by a contestant who lost the Million-Dollar Wedge to Bankrupt in Round 2.
On March 14:
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree at HayNeedle.com, using the January 12 wedge design.
- Two contestants pick up ½ Kia tags in Round 3, rendering it impossible for either to win the Kia.
On March 15, no vowels are bought in Round 1.
On March 16:
- Against normal practice, Jim's response to Pat's throw before the Jackpot plug ("I'm just having a ball, Pat, thank you for asking!") is not edited out of the CBC airing, most likely due to it setting up the below response.
- After Jim finishes the Round 1 Prize copy, Pat jokes that Jim "is sitting in a little 2-foot-by-3-foot cubicle alone, but he's having a ball." He is then shown in his booth.
- Two repeated vowels are bought in Round 1.
- Round 1's puzzle YOU SCRATCH MY BACK AND I'LL SCRATCH YOURS is the longest known puzzle with no E since September 30, 2009.
- No vowels are bought in Round 2.
- After calling a repeated R in Round 3, contestant Taylor grunts loudly, slumps over the railing, and tells contestant Dave "Have fun, man." Pat then walks over to console Taylor, and tells him jokingly to "man up".
- Unusually for a Speed-Up round, a stock audience groan is dubbed in after an incorrect letter.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
During the week of March 19 (Weekend Getaways):
- Vanna promotes the week's theme at the top of the show while standing outdoors. The pre-Round 2 bumper is also shot in various outdoor settings.
- The category wipe is a loaded station wagon driving across the screen.
On March 19:
- The Round 1 puzzle TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM is accidentally categorized as Quotation instead of Song Lyrics. This previously happened on October 6, 2008.
- The right-letter ding is accidentally used for the first letter revealed in the Speed-Up.
On March 20:
- There is an $11,050 Jackpot win.
- The Prize Puzzle copy includes a promo for The Adventures of Tintin.
On March 21:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, is inexplicably categorized as Things instead of Events.
- The Round 2 puzzle MOIST WARM BANANA BREAD uses all four rows, despite being small enough to fit on two.
- Vanna does another themed bumper after Round 2.
On March 22 and 23, in an unusual move, the $1,000 Toss-Ups (GETTING AN EARLY START and SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?) are themed towards the puzzles' respective point in the game (a practice commonly done with Speed-Up puzzles) rather than the week's theme.
On March 23:
- Round 2 is the last appearance of Fictional Family.
- Pat mis-hears contestant Daveon's call of S during the Speed-Up, and starts to tell him "no" while Vanna walks towards an S in the puzzle before turning around. Daveon then clarifies that he called S, and Vanna goes back to reveal the S's.
During the week of March 26 (Exotic Far East), the Final Spin wipe is a paper fan unfolding and folding.
On March 26, contestant Mike wins two cars: a Kia in Round 1 and a Honda Accord in the Bonus Round.
On March 27:
- Contestant Jeremy gets two ½ Kia tags (one in Round 1 and one in Round 2), but loses both to a Bankrupt in Round 2. He gets another in Round 3.
- After contestant Kristin finds the $10,000 Mystery Wedge, she places it on her arrow with the $1,000 side facing up. She corrects this mistake, though it is edited out, resulting in a jump cut showing the $10,000 side suddenly facing up.
- After Jeremy wins Round 3, his total is erroneously stated (and shown on his scoreboard) as $14,800, with Pat noting that it may be wrong. This error is because the value of the Prize Puzzle trip from the previous show ($6,900) was added to his total instead of that of the current show ($5,000). Before the $3,000 Toss-Up, Pat notes that Jeremy's score is actually $12,900.
- In Round 5, Jeremy asks to solve, then asks if he can spin instead. Pat allows him to spin since he did not give an answer to the puzzle.
- Six rounds are played. Round 6 is a non-sequitur answer of TWISTER & CLUE, a puzzle that was previously used on February 1, 2008.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
- At the end of the show, Pat accidentally reveals that there will be a $100,000 win this season, apparently not realizing that said episode (which would air April 26) had been taped, but not yet aired.
On March 28:
- Contestant Minnie mentions that her uncle was on the show about 25 years ago.
- In a very rare occurrence, RSTLNE reveals more than half of the bonus puzzle (BASIC REQUIREMENTS).
- Minnie accidentally calls L in the Bonus Round, then calls P twice.
On March 29:
- When contestant Amira hits Lose A Turn in Round 1, her scoreboard does not show the Lose A Turn graphic, despite the camera staying on her long enough.
- The Round 4 puzzle SECRET HEADQUARTERS is one space further to the right than usual.
On March 30:
- There is an $11,700 Jackpot win.
- When contestant Dennis picks up a ½ Kia tag in Round 2, his scoreboard displays $1,000 despite only getting one consonant. This does not affect the game since he does not win the round.
- Contestant Kym hits Bankrupt five times over the course of three rounds, one of which is from the Mystery Wedge.
Starting March 30, the cameras once again cut back to the contestants if Pat's Final Spin lands on $5,000.

April 2012:

During the week of April 2 (Back to the Beach):
- The category wipe is a yellow sports car peeling out.
- The online preview video uses the Wii avatar opening from last season's "World's Best Beaches" week.
On April 2, Pat does not prompt contestant Tina to use her Wild Card on $2,500 in Round 1. In Round 3, he does prompt her to use it on $3,500, which she does successfully.
On April 3:
- In Round 1, contestant Nathan spins $400 five times in a row.
- The Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for Titanic in 3-D.
- In Round 4, contestant Wendy calls M immediately after calling a wrong letter on Free Play, but before spinning again. Against precedent, she is asked after her next spin if she still wants to call M, instead of being automatically credited with that letter. The ruling is ultimately irrelevant, as she calls M regardless and fills in the entire puzzle by doing so.
- The original Bonus Round (EXACTLY ALIKE) is thrown out due to Pat accidentally crediting contestant Aysha with a right answer when she said EXACTLY ALIVE. That answer is reused on September 18, 2012.
On April 4:
- When contestant Temi picks up a ½ Kia tag in Round 3, she places it on her arrow instead of the railing.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
On April 5, there is a $7,000 Jackpot win.
The week of April 9 is Shopping Spree. During this week:
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree (from CreditCards.com on Monday, HayNeedle.com on Tuesday, Beyond the Rack on Wednesday, HomeGoods on Thursday, and Dick's Sporting Goods on Friday), all using the same wedge design from January 12.
- The category strips and Final Spin wipe are the same as on Big Money Week on March 12.
On April 9, contestant Annette wins the Kia after picking up both tags on her first two spins.
On April 10:
- In Round 5 (before Speed-Up), Pat says "We do have N's" despite no prior wrong letters, signifying a "null" cycle was edited out.
- Contestant Krystal solves the Speed-Up puzzle MOUNTAIN BIKING just ahead of the buzzer. After an obvious edit, Pat tells her that she is right, then the camera cuts to a full shot of the board.
- In a very rare occurrence, RSTLNE reveals more than half of the bonus puzzle (GET TO THE POINT).
On April 12:
- There is a $10,800 Jackpot win.
- The bonus puzzle A FEW LAUGHS is categorized as Phrase. The last time it was used (October 12, 2007), it was categorized as Things.
On April 13:
- Bizarrely, the third-place contestant wins the Prize Puzzle, the second-place contestant wins the $10,000 Mystery prize and two Toss-Ups, and the top winner does so with no prizes or Jackpot, nor any correct letters on the top dollar value.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
During the week of April 16 (Wheel Across America):
- Vanna promotes the theme at the top of the show against a shot of a cityscape.
- The category wipe is the Wheelmobile one used for "America's Game" weeks.
On April 16:
- Contestant Terry loses $20,500 and a ½ Kia tag to Bankrupt in Round 2; Holly loses $1,900 cash, the Gift Tag, and two ½ Kia tags to Bankrupt in Round 3. Overall, a total of $38,400 (counting the Gift Tag and Kia) is lost to Bankrupt. This is also a rare occurrence where the only Bankrupts in the game claim more than $10,000 each (counting the value of prizes).
- Before Holly starts Round 3, Pat briefly plugs the Portland tapings, since Holly is from Oregon.
On April 17:
- There is a $13,150 Jackpot win.
- Round 4 is SPEECHWRITER, suggesting that Rounds 1-3 ran overtime.
On April 18, there is a Kia win.
On April 19:
- Though Bankrupt is hit three times, no money or cardboard is ever lost.
- The bonus puzzle COOKIE JAR is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of In the Kitchen (the category it was given on its last use, the $2,000 Toss-Up on May 6, 2009).
On April 20, the lights go out after the Bonus Round. Surprisingly, this is left in.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of April 20, part of a nine-day losing streak starting on the 12th.
April 23 is America's Game. During this week:
- Vanna reads the Mystery Round copy.
- A graphic of the Statue of Liberty is added to the category strip for this and all subsequent "America's Game" weeks.
- April 24-27 were originally supposed to air on the 25th, 24th, 27th, and 26th, respectively.
On April 23, the floor is blue for the last time this season.
On April 24, some broadcasts appear to have muted contestant Kristine saying "damn it" after losing the Bonus Round.
On April 25:
- Contestant Whitney loses $21,150 to Bankrupt in Round 2.
- There is a Kia win in Round 3.
- The Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
- Pat and Vanna promote Maxwell House and Rebuilding Together in the final segment. From this point onward, Rebuilding Together once again receives a $2,500 donation for every Bonus Round win.
On April 26:
- Despite being the sixth episode from Military Spouses Week, the house minimum is $1,000 and the contestants do not receive a Sony Tablet S. The reduction of the house minimum ends up affecting the outcome: contestant Eva wins $1,200 in Round 2, then loses the game by $622.
- Three females play.
- There is a $100,000 win, the first of the season. The puzzle, BACK IN A FLASH, previously resulted in a $100,000 win on May 15, 2006. Unusually, Jim announces the win as "We're giving you a check made out to cash..."
On April 27:
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the person who began them.
- Vanna reads part of the Prize Puzzle copy from Sandals Whitehouse European Spa & Village.
The weeks of April 30-May 21 are taped at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon on March 30-31 and April 2-3, the first time since Season 12 that four consecutive weeks are done from the same locale. They are also the last tapings of Season 29, barring the unaired Lottery Experience promotion. During all the Portland episodes:
- The on-screen bug reads "Wheel in Portland".
- Vanna does the promotional consideration bumpers and Mystery Round copy from various Portland-area landmarks.
During the weeks of April 30, May 7, and May 21, Vanna promotes the theme at the top of the show, followed by a title card reading "Wheel of Fortune [name of theme week] from Portland" against a cityscape graphic, while the first few bars of the opening theme play. A unique music bed plays under footage of the city, but it changes back to the normal opening theme (oddly cued up at the 0:44 mark instead of picking up from where it left off) as Jim introduces Pat and Vanna.
April 30 is Going Green Week. During this week, the category wipe is a garbage truck and the Final Spin wipe is the same as on Big Money Week.
On April 30:
- Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
- Two contestants in a row call D in Round 1.
- All of the cardboard except one ½ Kia tag is removed from the Wheel in Round 1, but all of it is lost to Bankrupt: the Gift Tag, Prize, Wild Card, and other ½ Kia tag from contestant Manny, and the Million-Dollar Wedge from contestant Emily immediately afterward.
- Emily gets both ½ Kia tags in Round 2, but does not solve.
- Emily wins the $100,000.

May 2012:

On May 1:
- Wheel is pre-empted in many Central and Eastern affiliates airing the show at 7:30 PM Eastern due to a speech from President Obama, as it is the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. Broadcasts pick up just before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 1, three of which are consecutive. It is hit three more times in Round 3.
- Vanna and Portland mayor Sam Adams do a bumper before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
On May 2:
- Contestant Adam has his roommate spin the Wheel for him.
- Vanna and Sam Adams do a bumper after Round 1.
On May 3:
- Two of Pat's comments to contestant Jerod in Round 2 reference "null" turns that were edited out: first, saying that he will "break the logjam" after calling a correct letter despite only one other wrong letter airing, and later saying "You know, that's been called." when he calls a repeated A on Free Play, suggesting that one of the edited-out turns was also a repeat.
- The unsolved bonus puzzle reveals like one that is solved: the entire answer is put up at once (instead of the letters revealing one at a time in a zig-zag pattern) and the board's border flashes.
On May 4, the final segment shows footage from an electronics recycling event held by Wheel, Sony, and IMS Electronics Recycling at Washington Square Mall in Tigard, followed by Pat promoting Sony's Ecotrade program.
May 7 is Portland Week. During this week, the category wipe is a leaping pink deer and the Final Spin wipe is a rose.
On May 7:
- Vanna and Sam Adams promote the week's Bonus Round car after the Speed-Up.
- Vanna does the closing segment from Voodoo Doughnuts before cutting back to the studio, where Pat and Vanna sample various doughnuts, including one decorated to look like the Wheel.
On May 9, there is a $7,850 Jackpot win.
On May 10:
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 HomeGoods shopping spree, using the "Shopping Spree" design seen several times this season.
- For the first time, a contestant gives a wrong answer while on Free Play without calling a letter first.
- There is a very rare occurrence of a contestant solving the Speed-Up without any money.
- In the Bonus Round, Pat forgets to ask contestant Jamie for the extra consonant from her Wild Card until he is reminded from offstage.
- Interestingly, none of the puzzles (including the Toss-Ups and bonus puzzle) have S in them.
- In the final segment, Vanna narrates a short segment about Portland's environmentally-friendly practices.
On May 11:
- Vanna does two bumpers: one from Crown Point after Round 1, and one from Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- For the entire second spin of Round 2, the camera stays focused on the puzzle board. After the Wheel stops, there is then a cut to Pat saying "$450"; the contestant area is never shown, nor is the overhead shot of the Wheel until after the cut to Pat. It is not known what caused the odd editing, but a "null" cycle is unlikely as the puzzle has all of the common consonants.
May 14 is College Week. During this week:
- Oregon Basketball's band plays music during the intro and commercial bumpers, and the University of Oregon cheerleading team introduces Pat and Vanna. Unlike the other Portland episodes, there is no cold open before the title card.
- The show holds a sweepstakes via Twitter. A partially-filled puzzle is shown at the bottom of the screen during the contestant interviews, and viewers may tweet the correct response to the show's Twitter account with the hashtag #WOFCollegeWeek for a chance to win $500. When the week is rerun during the Summer, all references to the sweepstakes are removed.
- The category wipe is a white banner reading "College Week".
- The wipe for the Jackpot plug is a graphic of the Oregon Convention Center's front.
- The Wheel Prize is $5,000 courtesy of Ally Bank.
On May 14:
- The category strip disappears briefly in Round 2.
- In Round 4, contestant Breanna calls a single consonant on $5,000, buys all five vowels, then solves.
- Rounds 1, 2, and 4 are played entirely by the person who began them.
- Contestant Caleb finishes in second place with $26,930.
On May 15, contestant Zach accidentally asks to buy an N in Round 2, then corrects himself to say I. Against normal practice, Pat rules it as an I, although the ruling is irrelevant due to I having already been bought anyway.
On May 16, Contestant Alyssa lands on a ½ Kia tag in Round 3. As this occurs one turn after the other tag in that round is lost to Bankrupt, her tag is useless.
On May 17:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up EXTRA CREDIT is inexplicably on one line instead of two.
- Round 1 is a rare What Are You Doing? puzzle without an "-ING" suffix: in this case, HANDSTANDS SOMERSAULTS AND BACKFLIPS.
- The winning contestant leaves with only $8,200.
On May 18, after contestant Shasta loses her turn in Round 3, the red area's neon housing stays lit while Danielle plays; although the yellow area's housing is not lit, the scoreboard displays the flashing arrows. The problem is corrected after Danielle loses her turn.
May 21 is Great Outdoors. During this week, the category wipe is a row of trees, and the Final Spin wipe is a bike route sign.
Apparently, May 21 was originally scheduled for May 24.
On May 21, there is a $7,950 Jackpot win.
On May 22:
- The Prize copy includes a trailer for Men in Black 3.
- There is a jump cut to Pat during the Speed-Up, causing the music to play over itself for the rest of the round. It is not known what was edited out, since the puzzle (AND THE CROWD GOES WILD) does not lack any of the common consonants, and the edit came after only the third turn.
- In the final segment, Vanna narrates footage of Pittock Mansion.
On May 24, Vanna does a short bumper about Portland's bike trails before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
On May 25:
- The $1,000 and $3,000 Toss-Ups (FISHING TRIP and MOUNT HOOD, respectively) are inexplicably on one line instead of two.
- Contestant Brad starts to say the answer to the $1,000 Toss-Up without ringing in, allowing contestant Devan to cut him off by ringing in with the right answer.
- In Round 3, contestant Hannah loses a ½ Kia tag to Bankrupt, then hits the other (now-useless) ½ Kia tag.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna eat a replica of a $1,000,000 envelope.
During the week of May 28 (Great Adventures):
- The category wipe is an ATV.
- The pre-Round 2 bumper uses the Wii avatar opening from last season's "Gone Fishin'" week.
On May 28, Pat and Vanna do a Changing Lives segment on contestant Nancy Kenzler, who won $114,650 on December 21, 2007.
On May 30:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up (AT A MOMENT'S NOTICE) is not explicitly themed.
- No wrong letters are called.
- Rounds 2, 3, and 4 (which ends as a Speed-Up) are played entirely by the person who began them.

June 2012: (season ends June 15)

On June 1:
- Pat accidentally asks Vanna to start revealing the contestant's Bonus Round letters before she has called a vowel.
- Pat and Vanna do their chat from the board. A single blank is on the board as Vanna demonstrates how the monitors work.
June 4 is Newlyweds Week. During this week:
- The category wipe is a pair of doves carrying the strip in their beak. Both during the wipe and Toss-Up rounds, the strips are teal.
- During the interviews, pictures are shown of each couple.
- The Bonus Wheel chime is replaced with chimes playing two measures of Felix Mendelssohn's "Wedding March".
On June 5:
- The wide shot of the first spin of Round 3 is re-shot following the round, evidenced by the Wheel starting in the exact same position as when the round ended. For this shot only, the ½ Kia graphic is missing from the blue team's scoreboard (they claimed a tag in the previous round).
- The bonus puzzle IN A HURRY is entirely on one line; this appears to be an accident, as Vanna is standing closer to the middle of the board but suddenly backs up when the blanks appear.
On June 6:
- No vowels are bought in Round 1.
- Round 2 is the first instance since February 2008 of Author/Title being used instead of Title/Author.
- There is a Kia win in Round 3.
On June 7:
- The right-letter ding does not sound when the I is revealed in Round 2.
- The second place has $21,510.
On June 8:
- A team solves the $1,000 Toss-Up BRIDESMAIDS with only the second S showing.
- Husband & Wife reverts to spelling out AND.
- The video wall freezes in one round, causing a stopdown.
June 11 is America's Game. During this week, Vanna reads the Mystery Round copy.
On June 13, the Prize copy includes a trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man.
On June 14, all three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 2.
On June 15, Round 1's puzzle JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! is a very rare main-game puzzle with none of the five most common consonants in it. Because of this, the round starts with five consecutive lost turns with the latter three edited out.

The Lottery Experience Game:

Taped April 26 (after the last Season 29 tapings but before the first of Season 30), these special episodes have several things different than the norm:
- The puzzles all appear to be deliberately recycled from various episodes from Seasons 24-28. On the first episode, the second Toss-Up MILLIONS AND BILLIONS originally used an ampersand.
- During the intro, a banner reading "The LOTTERY EXPERIENCE Game" flies onscreen from the bottom and settles above the logo. The logo is also present on the center-stage video wall, but forms differently: the "LOTTERY EXPERIENCE" banner drops in from above the logo, with "The" and "Game" sliding in from the left and right, respectively.
- The above banner appears in the bottom-left corner for most of the show, moving to the bottom-right for the Prize Puzzle and top-left for the Bonus Round.
- The Wheel Prize is $5,000, using the "$100 bills" Mystery Round intro graphic (although the font is one not known to have been used on the normal show). The wedge is blue with a white border, with "CASH" written horizontally and "$5000" vertically in the Clarendon font. This is the first known time since April 1998 that a Prize wedge uses text instead of a graphic.
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash, represented by a $1,000 bill.
- Before the Bonus Round, an ad is shown for the Wheel of Fortune lottery game, with Pat and Vanna as convenience store workers who sell a ticket to a female patron before cutting to them and Jim promoting the game. The ad also includes footage of the yellow arrow landing on the Million-Dollar Wedge, placed reverse-up on the pink $300 (which would become the wedge's actual position in Season 31).
- The Bonus Round car is a $44,115 Chevy Camaro convertible, and the cash bonus is increased from $5,000 to $15,000. This is the most expensive car known to be offered since the Bonus Wheel's debut in Season 19.
- During the Bonus Round, the 10-second timer is shown counting down (in tenths of a second) between RSTLNE and the contestant's letters, displayed in a blue ellipse similar to the kind used for the category strips in Seasons 14-17. Given when this was taped, it is possible that this was an experiment for the use of an onscreen timer beginning in Season 30.
- Following the Sony Pictures Television logo, a segment is shown of Jim interviewing the winner at the contestant area; the video wall shows the Season 29 logo.
- As the episodes are not meant for broadcast, many aspects are different from standard episodes:
  - The Jackpot "sponsor" is Wheel itself, using the Season 29 logo. Jim's copy notes that the show is "Celebrating 30 years as America's Game!"
  - The Prize Puzzle and Bonus Round car copy do not include any sort of promotion.
  - There are no promotional consideration plugs, instead going straight from the sign-offs to the credits.
  - The episode is not edited for time in the same fashion as normal episodes, as Wheel spins are not shortened and "null" cycles are not edited out of at least Speed-Up rounds. Despite not being bound by the standard half-hour runtime, Round 4 starts with the Final Spin, although Pat notably does not say that they are running out of time.
  - Oddly, the audience is still "sweetened" by prerecorded cheers and applause like on normal episodes.
On one of the episodes in the above taping session (Mary/Eric/Guy):
- The slate notes the episode is #MDI-1, separating it from the nighttime show's "#S-[number]" designation. It is not certain what "MDI" stands for.
- Guy accidentally says the answer to the $1,000 Toss-Up (THE GANG'S ALL HERE) without ringing in.
- Guy picks up the $10,000 Mystery Wedge, but puts it on his arrow with the $1,000 side facing up. Possibly because the episode was not intended to air, Pat does not prompt him to fix this.
- In Round 3, Eric lands on a ½ Kia tag immediately after the round's other tag is lost to Bankrupt, but he calls a wrong letter on it.
- During Round 4, Guy accidentally tries to buy a vowel after calling a correct consonant.

Season 30 (2012-13)

Season Changes:

Wheel and Jeopardy! are dropped from CBC's schedule. In Ontario, they move to CHCH. In British Columbia, they move to CHEK.
Wheel and Jeopardy! are also dropped from stations owned by The E.W. Scripps Company in favor of its new shows Let's Ask America and The List, moving to other stations in the same markets.
With the above moves, there are no longer any stations in the United States or Canada that air Wheel before 7:00 PM Eastern, with CBC and New York station WLNY being the last to do so, the latter dropping it in March 2012 due to syndex laws.
Due to a partnership with Closed Captioning Services, VITAC now provides closed-captioning for Wheel and Jeopardy!, resulting in slight stylistic changes. On weekend repeats of Season 29, the captioning is at least partially redone by this company, but in most cases retains the style of Closed Captioning Services.
The traditional logo is replaced by the two-row style. Above this logo is a cursive "30th Anniversary", while underneath is a Wheel with raised values in the Clarendon font, similar to that of the Season 26 opening. Behind the logo are vertical strings of lights reminiscent of the 1975-76 curtain. In the opening, the Wheel is first seen face-up as a cursive "30" is written in the center. It then vanishes as the Wheel rotates onto its side as a classic clip plays. Once the clip ends, the logo continues as normal until after the chant, at which point it slants and zooms forward to cut to the studio.
- Retro clips generally replace all past music cues with their respective current-day counterparts, except for most uses of the 1994-97 puzzle-solve cue and the 1975-83 theme "Big Wheels", and one use of the 2000 Toss-Up cue. As early as December, repeated clips begin appearing.
The ½ Car now rotates among a $15,090 Ford Fiesta, a $14,660 Chevy Sonic, or a $14,330 Smart Car, except where noted. As a result, the tags revert to the blue "½ Car" design. Also, Jim no longer promotes the car before the fee plugs if it is not won.
The Wheel is altered again, presumably to adapt to a new rule regarding tokens and the Prize wedge (see below):
- $350 is upped to $500, the blue $300 becomes $700, the purple $600 is changed to $650 (its first use as a cash value in gameplay since 1979 and first overall since Wheel 2000 ended in 1998), the green $300 is changed to $500, the blue $500 (between $900 and $300) drops to $350, the red $900 drops to $600, the pink $300 becomes $500, the blue $500 (between $300 and $800) becomes $300, the red $300 becomes $700, the yellow $500 becomes $900, and the green $600 decreases to $500.
- The ½ Car tag on the blue $500 (now $350) is moved to the green $500 next to the space it previously inhabited (formerly $300).
- The Wild Card moves to the green $500 (formerly $600) next to the top dollar.
- The Prize wedge, Gift Tag, and Wild Card now award $500 per consonant (plus $500 towards the Jackpot in Round 1).
The contestant scoreboards are altered:
- The neon housings are removed, making the displays and contestant arrows touch each other. Despite this, the font for the scores is made narrower.
- The blinking turn indicator arrows are changed to bars.
- The week's theme is now displayed across the entire area during the intro. As before, the final segment (Bonus Round, post-game chat, and closing credits) displays the words of the logo over the three displays: "WHEEL" on the red, "of" on the yellow, "FORTUNE" on the blue.
- There are new Bankrupt and Lose A Turn graphics.
Pat's area now has a similar monitor which displays a logo against a background fitting the theme. During Toss-Ups and Speed-Up rounds, the logo either disappears or is replaced with the purple background (including the light strings) used in the title card.
The yellow light strips along the Wheel's border are changed to blue.
The blue rings on the base of the Bonus Wheel now flash as it spins.
The logo bug is replaced with a "30th Anniversary" graphic during the contestant interviews, which oddly uses the Season 25 Round 4 Wheel layout.
The contestant window in the Bonus Round now has a visual timer, the first time one has been used since the Star Bonus Round in 1978. The timer begins as a light blue circle divided into 20 segments; for each second, two segments turn red to denote how much time is left, starting at the top of the circle and going down either side until they meet at the bottom when time expires.
A "$5K Every Day" Cash Giveaway is held throughout the season, albeit given more attention than it had in Season 26: rather than an "aside" during the contestant interviews, the SPIN ID drawing replaces the plugs after the Bonus Round. Only the SPIN ID is announced, with no name.
Going into the commercial break after Round 2, a Bonus Round from an older episode is shown, accompanied by a voiceover from Vanna saying, "Can you solve this puzzle from [year]? The category is [category]. We'll give you the answer when we come back, right after this." Most clips are slowed down or paused if the puzzle was solved quickly. A short plug is shown, followed by the reveal of the answer. During the first few weeks, Vanna's voiceover for the reveal is "Here's the correct puzzle solution. Did you solve it?" These are not used during sponsored weeks.
An "Ask Pat & Vanna" segment is introduced, with Pat and Vanna answering questions submitted on the show's website. Oddly, only three questions are asked throughout the whole season.
Various graphics are altered:
- The wipe of the Jackpot wedge dropping into place on the Wheel is updated to reflect the changes in the Wheel layout, albeit with a pink $500 underneath Jackpot. Oddly, the similar wipe for the Mystery Round still has the Season 24 wedge design dropping onto the orange $800 of the Season 25 Round 3 template.
- The wipe coming out of the Prize copy is now a blue explosion.
- The category strips now shimmer more across the border.
- The Jackpot readout is now two glowing blue lines with the amount written in white numerals in between.
- The "drop down" graphic in Round 3 is slightly changed to have a more "shiny" appearance.
- The prize value graphics and post-Bonus Round totals become gold and use the Contax Sans font.
Prize Puzzle prizes are no longer awarded to home viewers, and the round no longer uses a wipe or bug. Despite this, weekend repeats of Season 29 still have new SPIN IDs and still announce the names.
The backdrop for the post-game chat uses the golden wheels from last season, but the background is now purple with shiny silver beads.
The 70's, The 80's, and The 90's return, and all three begin appearing in Toss-Ups more frequently than they did in the early 2000s. Unlike their past incarnations, they are predominantly used for movie- and television-themed puzzles. Oddly, no new categories are introduced.
This is the first season since Season 12 not to have a College Week. Further, no episodes from last season's College Week are rerun on the weekend feed.
On "America's Game" episodes, Vanna does a bumper from an American landmark after Round 1, and announces the Mystery prize.
Throughout the season, Sheldon is hidden somewhere on-set.
Likely starting this season, full credit rolls no longer put a gag credit over Pat's name.
Wheel Deals Wednesdays is retired.

September 2012: (season begins September 17)

September 17 is Spa Getaway, taped July 12. In a departure from normal practice, the first taped week is also the first to air. During this week:
- Except on Tuesday, Pat's monitor displays the two-row logo bug (the same one used on the category strip) against a sky background. On Tuesday, the animated Season 28 logo is used there.
- The category strip has a purple flowered pattern when it reveals, and its wipe is a pink flower.
On September 17:
- The retro clip in the opening is Vanna's first entrance as permanent hostess on December 13, 1982 (complete with "Big Wheels"), despite the fact it happened prior to the nighttime debut. This was likely used to commemorate Vanna's 30th year as hostess.
- Contestant Matt is not given $500 for the letter he calls on the Prize wedge in Round 1, although it is still added to the Jackpot. His score is corrected at the start of Round 2.
- There is no graphic showing what is on the reverse of a Mystery Wedge.
- Two "null" cycles are edited out of the Speed-Up, the first coming at the very beginning, as there is a jump cut to Pat immediately after the Speed-Up wipe, and he says "R's we have." on the first aired turn.
On September 18:
- The retro clip in the opening (Pat and Vanna discussing a 1999 Bonus Round of NIGHTGOWN) retains the first few notes of the 1997 "Changing Keys".
- In Round 1, contestant Tony accidentally asks to buy a W, then a Z, before correcting himself and saying O. Pat says "We'll take the first vowel we heard." and rules it as an O, which is in the puzzle. This ruling and others like it on later episodes suggest that contestants are no longer penalized for accidentally asking to buy a consonant.
- Rounds 1-3 all appear to have at least one "null" cycle edited out.
- The Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for Titanic and a trailer for its Blu-Ray release, as the trip includes a visit to "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition" in Vegas.
- Round 4 reintroduces The 90's.
On September 19:
- Contestant Mary Beth is accidentally given an extra $50 in Round 3. Pat also notes that her score may be incorrect. Though her total is never corrected, this does not affect the outcome.
- Mary Beth takes the Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round. She wins $30,000 and is only two envelopes away from the $1,000,000.
On September 20:
- There is once again no graphic showing what is on the reverse of a Mystery wedge, possibly due to the wedge being turned over too quickly.
- The Round 2 puzzle is the first of only two Same Names this season (out of 23) to use an ampersand.
- The $3,000 Toss-Up reintroduces The 80's.
On September 21, the $3,000 Toss-Up (YELLOW BRICK ROAD) is both the fourth known instance of Fictional Place as a Toss-Up and the last appearance of the category.
September 24 is Wheel Around the World, taped August 9. For this week:
- The closed captioning style reverts to that of Closed Captioning Services, though VITAC is still credited as the provider.
- The logo on Pat's podium is just "WHEEL" in red letters, in the style of the "Wheel Around the World" logo. When not in use, the contestants' scoreboards display the "Around the World" part.
- The ½ Car is shown on the set, behind where Pat stands.
- Instead of classic clips, the hosts of foreign adaptations are seen in the intro.
  - On Monday, the hosts of the Estonian, Spanish, and Romanian versions promote the theme.
  - On Tuesday, the hosts of the Romanian, Egyptian, and Spanish versions promote the theme.
  - On Wednesday, the hosts of the Spanish version wish the show a happy 30th Anniversary.
  - On Thursday, the hosts of the Estonian version wish the show a happy 30th Anniversary.
  - On Friday, the hosts of the Romanian version wish the show a happy 30th Anniversary.
- The hosts of a foreign version also throw the show to commercial after Round 1: Spain on Monday and Friday, Romania on Tuesday, Estonia on Wednesday, and Egypt (in subtitled Arabic) on Thursday.
- The category wipe is a globe, and the Speed-Up wipe is a differently-colored one.
- The Prize wedge has the "Wheel Around the World" logo.
On September 24:
- The hosts of the Spanish adaptation help present the Wheel Prize, a trip to Spain.
- Contestant Joe buys all five vowels in succession in Round 3, but only $1,000 is deducted from his score. This does not affect the game, as he later loses $27,100 (or $26,850 if his score had been corrected) to Bankrupt.
- A total of $39,850 in cash and prizes (or $40,100 counting the aforementioned scoring error) is lost to Bankrupt.
On September 25:
- The Wheel Prize is accidentally placed over the red $800. This does not affect the game, as neither it nor the purple $500 is hit in the first two rounds.
- There is a $7,350 Jackpot win.
- Contestant John misplaces his ½ Car tag after picking it up in Round 2. It is recovered before Round 3.
- John wins the ½ Car.
On September 26:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up EUROPEAN VACATION is not the full title of the movie (National Lampoon's European Vacation).
- Strangely, every time the green $500 next to the top dollar value is hit (after the Wild Card is claimed), a spin filmed in post-production landing on the green $500 between $350 and $900 is edited in. This happens three times, using the same dubbed-in shot every time. This is more obvious as the ½ Car tag that should be covering the wedge and Gift Tag are missing in each dubbed-in shot. Also, the ½ Car tag sitting on the wedge is hit right after one of these spins.
On September 27, contestant Monica picks up both ½ Car tags, but loses them to Bankrupt in Round 3.
On September 28:
- After solving the $2,000 Toss-Up, Nancy insists that Pat call her "Nancy Maria" (second name pronounced like "Mariah"), which he does for the rest of the show.
- The hosts of the Romanian version help present the Wheel Prize, a trip to Romania.
- A teaser for the "Ask Pat & Vanna" segment airs before the Prize Puzzle. In it, Vanna says that she does not get to keep her clothes, and Pat says that she is just as nice off-camera. These ones were likely put into the teaser to help prevent viewers from asking them. This teaser is also shown during a few subsequent episodes.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- The bonus puzzle CAN I HAVE A HUG? is the first known use of a question mark in the Bonus Round.

October 2012:

October 1 is Fun & Fit, taped July 13. During this week:
- The captioning reverts to the VITAC style.
- Pat's monitor displays the two-row logo bug when the scoreboards are not in use, and the animated Season 28 logo against a blue background with a pink flower otherwise.
- The category wipe is a personal watercraft, and the Speed-Up wipe is a beach ball.
- Strangely, this week's contestant blog on the show's website features a third-place contestant (Sherdena from Monday). The blog almost-always features winners and on rare occasions, second-place contestants.
On October 1:
- The Wheel is not in its proper position before Round 1, as the yellow contestant's flipper is on the orange $300 instead of $2,500.
- After contestant Brandon lands on Free Play in Round 1 and calls E, Pat accidentally tells him that he must choose a consonant before calling himself an idiot. On the next turn, he jokes "Yes. There is no T." He does the same for an incorrect E on Free Play in Round 4, fooling the audience into applauding before the buzzer sounds.
- In Round 2, when contestant Missie calls B on $3,500, she is accidentally credited with $42,000 instead of $7,000. After she solves, her scoreboard very briefly displays $43,850 instead of the correct total ($8,850 not counting the Mystery Wedge) before going blank, leaving Pat unable to announce her total. The correct total is announced before Round 3, and is displayed along with the other contestants' totals before that puzzle is revealed.
- For unknown reasons, the overhead shot of the Final Spin is added in post-production, as the dubbed-in spin (possibly taken from another episode) is shown landing on the green $500 next to $5,000, even though it actually landed on the one between $350 and $900, as seen after the puzzle is solved. Also, the shot shows Pat's monitor displaying the "30th Anniversary" logo used during the Southern Hospitality and Bed & Breakfast weeks.
- The third-place contestant has $12,900.
On October 2:
- Against precedent, the retro clip in the opening is not dated, although Jack Clark is heard (and mentioned by Pat as he walks out); the presence of the Helvetica chyrons and 1984 walls (with no snowflakes) dates it to between February 1985 and November 1986. Also, the prize's music cue ("Frisco Disco") is mostly edited out despite being untouched when the clip was shown during Season 25, likely to avoid paying royalties to Merv Griffin's estate.
- In the Speed-Up Round, Michele tries to solve right away, but Pat stops her and suggests calling a letter first; she does so, then solves. Pat claims that she would have lost had she not called a letter, though she actually would have won by $30.
On October 4:
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods. It uses the same "Shopping Spree" design seen several times in the latter half of Season 29.
- A cycle of three lost turns is edited out of Round 1 despite not being "null"; the first lost turn is an incorrect vowel from contestant Jashawn, as her score is off by $250 for the rest of the round. Pat references this edit twice: first by saying "There we go" after Jashawn buys a correct E (the first aired turn after the edit), then by mentioning that the Jackpot is nearly $10,000 despite the graphic displaying only $8,800.
October 8 is Home Sweet Home, taped August 24, although unlike last season it is not a Family Week. During this week:
- The logo on Pat's monitor is a brown two-row logo on a white background with a brown floral border, styled like a cross-stitch wall hanging.
- The category wipe is butterflies.
- The Prize is $7,500 cash courtesy of Maxwell House.
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Homes.com.
- The Wheel is set before Round 1 so that the yellow contestant's flipper is on the right edge of the Prize wedge rather than the center of $2,500.
On October 8:
- The retro clip in the opening is Pat's first entrance and monologue from December 28, 1981 (despite the fact it happened nearly two years prior to the nighttime debut), albeit in lower quality than when it was shown during Season 25. Like the 1982 clip, "Big Wheels" is retained.
- The Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
- In the final segment, Vanna promotes the Maxwell House and Changing Lives sponsorship. Footage is shown of her at the Carmen Flores Recreation Center in Oakland, California.
On October 10:
- The retro clip in the opening (Pat and Vanna in a hot tub, likely from the early 1990s) is not dated. A posting of this clip on the show's Facebook page erroneously states that it is from the early 1980s.
- There is a $9,950 Jackpot win.
- Round 3 is Things, and the $3,000 Toss-Up is Thing.
- Contestant Jerry wins two cars: the ½ Car in Round 2, and a Honda CRV in the Bonus Round.
On October 11:
- After Pat tells contestant Jeff the destination of the Prize Puzzle trip he wins, he exclaims "Holy crap!", though "crap" is censored (likely to maintain the show's TV-G rating). After the copy, Pat pretends to punch him to "calm him down", with a punching sound effect dubbed in.
- Pat and Vanna promote the Maxwell House sponsorship in the final segment, and give out cans of Maxwell House coffee to everyone in the audience.
On October 12:
- There is an $8,650 Jackpot win.
- Round 2 reintroduces The 70's.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show off Sheldon the ceramic Dalmatian.
October 15 is Southern Hospitality, taped July 26. During this week:
- The category wipe is a white flower, and the Bonus Round window wipe is a mint julep glass.
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Southern Living magazine.
- Vanna announces the Mystery Prize.
On October 15:
- Pat's monitor displays the Season 28 logo.
- There is a $7,750 Jackpot win.
- Contestant Bill initially mispronounces the first word in the Round 2 puzzle THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND CHIMES, garbling the "O" sound to the point that it sounds like a cross between "throw" and "threw". He is prompted by Pat to say the answer again, after which he gives the right answer.
- For the first time, the retro Bonus Round predates the three-and-a-vowel format (specifically, 1983).
- Bill wins the ½ Car in Round 3.
- After Bill solves Round 3, his score is erroneously stated as being $29,600 due to $15,000 being added for the car instead of its correct value of $14,660. Before the $3,000 Toss-Up, Pat points out that it is actually $29,260.
- Vanna reads all but the first line of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- Oddly, there is a brief jump cut to Pat after the second turn of the Speed-Up. It is not known what happened; two people present at the taping confirmed that a "null" cycle was not edited out.
On October 16, there is a very rare instance of RSTLNE revealing more than half of the bonus puzzle (QUITE AN EVENT). Contestant Adam solves it despite getting no help from his extra letters.
On October 17:
- Pat's monitor alternates between the Season 28 logo and the two-row one.
- There is a $100,000 win.
On October 19:
- All three contestants hit the Mystery Wedge next to Lose A Turn consecutively. The first contestant declines to flip it, then buys a repeated vowel; the second contestant calls a wrong letter; and the third flips it over to find $10,000 on the reverse.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.
- The second place contestant has $24,400.
October 22 is Teachers Week, taped August 10. For this week:
- The ½ Car is once again behind Pat.
- Pat's monitor is a white two-row logo against a dark green background, styled like a chalkboard. Unlike other weeks, the logo remains during Toss-Ups and Speed-Up rounds.
- The category wipe is a school bus.
- On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Pilot pens.
- During the opening, the video wall displays a modification of the Wii avatar opening from Season 28's Teachers' Week. This graphic is also used as the Mystery wipe.
On October 22:
- The retro clip in the opening (a school counselor giving an incorrect Toss-Up guess of "AN UGLY CHILD" on April 11, 2002) is not dated.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY is only the fourth known instance of Titles.
- The Jackpot is tallied incorrectly. The first spin of the round is $350, though only $300 is added. Later, when the orange $300 is hit, nothing is added. The round ends with the unclaimed Jackpot displayed as $7,200 instead of the correct value of $7,550.
- For unknown reasons, the overhead shot of the first spin of Round 4 is added in post-production, as the dubbed-in spin is shown landing on the green $500 between $350 and $900 (using the same shot dubbed in three times on September 26), even though it actually landed on the one between $450 and $300.
- The final segment is a Wheel Changes Lives profile on 2010 contestant Gentry.
On October 23, Drew Lachey wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle.
On October 24:
- The Wheel Prize is a Sony electronics package including DVD and Blu-Ray copies of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. A short trailer for the film is also shown.
- In Round 3, contestant Daydra tries to pull Free Play off the Wheel.
- The board refuses to activate for a few seconds during the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- In Round 4, Pat tells contestant Lindsay "This time there is a T." despite no prior aired T calls being wrong, indicating that a "null" cycle including a T from Lindsay was edited out during Round 3, the only main puzzle with no T (AWE-INSPIRING OCEAN VIEWS).
On October 25:
- The Wheel is not in its proper position before Round 1, as the yellow contestant's flipper is on the Bankrupt between $900 and $650 instead of $2,500.
- Vanna's voiceover is absent when the retro Bonus Round answer is revealed.
On October 26, the Round 2 puzzle is the second of only two Same Names this season to use an ampersand.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of October 22, part of a seven-day losing streak beginning on the 18th. Interestingly, all five of them are Thing.
October 29 is Halloween Week, taped August 23. For this week:
- Pat's monitor has bones spelling out the show's name.
- The Mystery Round wipe is a spooky forest background.
- A moan accompanies the Mystery Round chord.
- The category wipes are the same as last season's Halloween Week.
- The pre-Round 2 sponsor bumper uses the Wii opening from Season 28.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a jack-o'-lantern that wipes from the far left of the screen, stops in the center, then wipes to the far right.
- A "Tweetstakes" is held via Twitter to promote The Amazing Spider-Man. During the interviews, a partially-revealed puzzle and category are shown, and viewers have 24 hours to tweet the answer to enter a drawing for a prize package.
On October 29:
- Wheel is pre-empted in most Eastern and Central markets airing the show at 7:00 PM due to extended news coverage on Hurricane Sandy.
- The Round 2 puzzle JACK BLACK CAT is an extremely rare occurrence of a puzzle with only one vowel.
On October 30:
- There is a $10,350 Jackpot win.
- The closing chat contains the first "Ask Pat & Vanna" question, though it is not known if it is legitimate, as the website was not yet taking questions at the time this week was taped.

November 2012:

On November 1:
- The Wheel Prize is the Sony electronics package offered on October 24, albeit with DVD and Blu-Ray copies of The Amazing Spider-Man instead.
- What Are You Doing? makes its first appearance in the Bonus Round since April 12, 2011, and only its seventh overall. For the rest of the season, the category is used in the Bonus Round at least one a month, except January 2013.
- ABC broadcasts feature an alternate closing segment where Tom Bergeron promotes the new season of Dancing with the Stars.
On November 2:
- All three contestants ring in with wrong answers on the $1,000 Toss-Up, RUBBER MASK. The second and third ring-ins both come with the first word completely revealed, and no letters in the second word. Oddly, the wrong-letter buzzer sounds after the third wrong answer.
- Pat initially forgets that contestant Janet is not penalized after calling a wrong letter on Free Play, though it is edited out.
- Rachael Taylor wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
November 5-8 are America's Game, the first time a sixth-show week comprises something other than the standard five shows.
On November 5:
- Contestant Sharonda picks up both ½ Car tags and the Million-Dollar Wedge in Round 2, but hits Lose A Turn. She picks up a third in Round 3, also losing it to Lose A Turn.
- Contestant Jeremy fills in the bonus puzzle ON THE PHONE completely.
On November 6:
- Wheel and Jeopardy! are pre-empted in many markets of the United States due to Presidential election coverage.
- The Wheel is not in its proper position before Round 2, as the yellow contestant's flipper is on $600 instead of $3,500.
- Contestant Lindsay gives Pat her Wild Card at the end of the Round 2 segment, and it remains absent for the rest of the show. According to Lindsay, Pat motioned for the Wild Card while talking to another player, and she did not know that she was not supposed to give it to him.
On November 7:
- Vanna and Jim both read portions of the Prize copy.
- Bankrupt is hit four times in Round 1, the first three of which claim no money or cardboard.
- After contestant Robbie declines to flip a Mystery Wedge and solves, Pat shows its reverse ($10,000), though it is edited out for time. The wedge can be seen lying on the Wheel during the outro.
On November 8, for the second time this season, the retro Bonus Round predates the three-and-a-vowel format (specifically, 1984).
November 9 and 12-16 are Military Families, taped October 17. During this week:
- The ½ Car tags are not present.
- The intro does not feature retro clips. Instead, it starts with footage of soldiers and their families displayed over top the Season 29 logo, with "Military Families" written off to the side. After this, more military footage is shown over the road-show opening music.
- The category wipes alternate between the red-white-and-blue banners used last season and a trio of airplanes flying across the screen.
- Vanna announces the Mystery prize.
On November 9:
- For the first time since September 2010, a "null" cycle is not edited out of a regular round (Round 2; incorrect calls of R, L, and H). They are also the only lost turns of the round.
- When the retro Bonus Round answer is revealed, the last sentence of Vanna's voice-over is changed from "Did you solve it?" to "Watch tomorrow night for another classic puzzle", despite "tomorrow" being a Saturday. Given that November 12 does not feature one, it is possible that the puzzle originally intended for use on the 12th was simply moved up without changing the voice-over.
- In Round 3, Pat prompts the red team to use their Wild Card on $900, which they do.
- The Prize Puzzle copy includes a trailer for Skyfall.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
On November 12:
- The intro is cut down so that it goes directly from the title card to Jim's introduction of Pat and Vanna.
- A team solves the $1,000 Toss-Up A FEW GOOD MEN with only the N showing.
- The Prize is a Sony home entertainment package, whose copy is preceded by a trailer for Arthur Christmas. Jim's copy does not imply that copies of the movie are included in the package, although they are seen in the shots.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done after Round 2. This and the shortened intro may result from the game running overtime and having no turns to edit out.
On November 13, all three teams consecutively guess SITTING ON THE HOT SEAT on the Speed-Up puzzle SITTING IN THE HOT SEAT. Pat accidentally rules the second team correct, but catches himself. The third team then manages to give the right answer before time expires. Overall, six wrong answers are given among the last three turns of the round.
On November 14, Pat and Vanna once again show off Sheldon in the final segment. They state that he has been hidden somewhere on the set every day this season.
On November 15, the Wheel Prize is $7,500 credit for RetailMeNot.com.
On November 16:
- Vanna's voice-over for the answer reveal to the retro Bonus Round reverts to "Did you solve it?"
- The Wheel Prize is a $7,500 Sears shopping spree; the wedge is placed over $650 instead of the purple $500, most likely to keep the red wedge from being next to the red $800.
November 19-30 are the second Secret Santa Sweepstakes, taped September 6-7. During these episodes:
- All three contestants, along with Jim, Vanna, and Pat, promote the theme at the top of the show.
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 Sears shopping spree; except for Round 1 on the 19th, it is on $650. Strangely, it still offers only $500 per letter if picked up.
- The category strips have Christmas lights on the top and bottom when the blank puzzle is revealed.
- The Speed-Up wipe is an ornament with the Season 28 logo.
- The retro opening clips, retro Bonus Rounds, and $5K Every Day drawings are not done.
- The backdrop for the Mystery Round announcement is silver dollar signs falling on a snowy field.
- Sleigh bells replace the usual chime when an envelope is selected from the Bonus Wheel.
On November 19:
- The Prize wedge is accidentally placed on the blue $700 in Round 1. It moves to $650 in Round 2 to make way for one of the Mystery Wedges. This does not affect the outcome, as $650 is not hit in Round 1.
- Six rounds are played.
On November 20:
- Contestant Tim spins $3,500 three times in a row in Round 2.
- Hélio Castroneves wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle.
- Event makes its last appearance in the Bonus Round until March 2014.
On November 21:
- There is a $10,200 Jackpot win.
- No vowels are bought in Round 2.
- There is a $100,000 win. Against precedent, the winner does not write the contestant blog.
On November 22, there is a $100,000 loss, resulting in the first instance of that envelope being hit on consecutive shows.
On November 26:
- Round 2 introduces a new wipe which consists of the Wii avatar of Pat driving Santa's sleigh, with Vanna next to him. This is used on even-numbered rounds for the rest of the Sweepstakes, with the existing Christmas lights wipe staying for odd-numbered rounds.
- After Round 2, Dave Annable wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary.
On November 27, the Jackpot is not adjusted in post-production after a "null" cycle, as it suddenly jumps from $11,100 to $12,150 before the last spin of the round is added.
On November 28:
- Contestant Steve spins right as the Speed-Up bells ring at the start of Round 5, but he is quickly stopped, and there is a 10-minute stopdown as the Wheel is reset for Pat to do the Final Spin. According to one of the day's contestants, a staff member (unnamed, but most likely either John Lauderdale or Harry Friedman) gets angry at Pat during the stopdown for not hearing the bells. These events go against precedent, as several other contestants who have spun during the Speed-Up bells have been allowed to complete their turn, and doing so in this case would have taken considerably less time.
- When the bonus puzzle HIGH VOLUME is solved, the U does not appear until about two seconds after the rest of the answer fills in.
On November 29:
- Unlike the rest of the Secret Santa Sweepstakes episodes, the $1,000 Toss-Up (BORDER COLLIE) is not themed. Coincidentally, it is solved by a contestant named Collie.
- There is a rare instance of RSTLNE revealing more than half of the bonus puzzle (EXPERT IN THE FIELD).
On November 30, when contestant Ashley lands on a Mystery Wedge, her letter is not lit up after she decides not to flip it, making her call the letter a second time.

December 2012:

December 3 is Bed & Breakfast, taped July 27. During this week:
- The category wipe is chirping birds carrying the strip in their beaks.
- The retro opening clips, retro Bonus Rounds, and $5K Every Day return.
- The Mystery Round announcement is a graphic of a bedroom, which then zooms out of the window to show the outside scenery.
On December 3, the footage of the retro Bonus Round pauses instead of slowing down.
On December 4:
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 2.
- Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke Charvet wish the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle.
- Not counting the retro Bonus Round, neither Thing nor Phrase is used.
On December 5:
- When contestant Casey hits Bankrupt in Round 2, his scoreboard displays only $650 before being covered with the graphic, instead of his actual total of $700.
- Contestant Pat gives two wrong answers to the Round 2 puzzle DOZING OFF THE BEATEN PATH. Strangely, the buzzer does not sound after the first one, but does after the second.
On December 6, for the first time, the retro clip in the opening is not from the show itself: rather, it is a set of outtakes from a 2003 promo for Medford, Oregon affiliate KDRV.
On December 7:
- The retro clip in the opening (a contestant solving a Rhyme Time puzzle of TEENY-WEENY) is mis-dated, as the graphic claims it to be 1997 even though Rhyme Time did not debut until November 12, 1998.
- Contestant Toni claims a ½ Car tag in Round 3 right after Alex loses the round's other tag to Bankrupt. As a ½ Car win is now impossible, Pat immediately asks Toni and Jenna (who claimed one tag in Round 2) to hand in their tags, which they do.
December 10 is American Heritage, taped October 18. During this week:
- The category wipe is the same set of banners used on Military Week.
- For no particular reason, every retro clip except for Wednesday's is one that had already been used earlier in the season.
On December 10:
- Vanna's voiceover for the answer reveal to the retro Bonus Round changes back to "Watch tomorrow night for another classic puzzle".
- The reveal of the retro Bonus Round's answer jump-cuts over Vanna turning the remaining letters, and goes straight into a shot of the fully-revealed answer.
- Just before the $3,000 Toss-Up, there is a shot of the contestants holding their buzzers with their totals displayed, which is obviously added in post-production.
- In the final segment, Vanna promotes Maxwell House's Drops of Good project before Pat announces that the company has donated $165,000 through its association with Wheel.
On December 11:
- Laura accidentally calls D twice in the Bonus Round, the second time as her Wild Card letter. Pat corrects her, and she calls B.
- The Wild Card graphic in the Bonus Round fades out instead of turning.
- The Bonus Round timer graphic does not appear.
On December 12, Pat does a Changing Lives segment on Season 29 winners Karen and Ryan Buchanan.
On December 13:
- The retro clip in the opening (a contestant picking up a Wild Card on a 2008 Hawaii episode) is mis-identified as being from 2009, even though the first airing of this clip on October 5 had the correct date.
- For no particular reason, "We'll give you the answer when we come back, right after this." is absent from Vanna's voiceover of the retro Bonus Round, resulting in several seconds of only the background music before the Sony Rewards plug appears.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 3.
- The second-place contestant has $22,200.
- Rounds 2, 3, and the Bonus Round are Place, resulting in only the second known instance since 2003 of a category being used three times. (Interestingly, the retro Bonus Round is also a Place.)
On December 14:
- Wheel is pre-empted in most Eastern and Central markets due to extended news coverage on the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
- After Round 1, Jeff Probst wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary from the set of The Jeff Probst Show, complete with a cheering audience.
- Vanna's voiceover for the retro Bonus Round is now "Did you solve it?" on Fridays only. Oddly, the closed captioning on this episode still says "Watch tomorrow night for another classic puzzle", suggesting that this was a last-minute change.
- Retro Bonus Round clips begin pausing instead of slowing down.
- In the Speed-Up, contestant Joe asks to solve immediately. Pat suggests calling a letter first, though he declines. He wins the game regardless.
- The bonus puzzle JACK BE QUICK is the fifth known appearance of Quotation in the Bonus Round, and its first known appearance there since November 1991.
December 17 is Home for the Holidays, taped September 21.
For the weeks of December 17-24:
- Various members of the staff wish viewers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays after Round 1: the production staff on Monday and Thursday, the post-production staff on Tuesday, the promotion and marketing departments on Wednesday, and the control room staff on Friday of the first week. On the second week, the greetings are done by the producers on Monday, the art department on Tuesday, the contestant department on Wednesday, the camera and audio department on Thursday, and the stage crew on Friday.
- Various instrumental versions of Christmas songs are played as bumpers.
- The Mystery Round announcement has a rock version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and a graphic of a reclining snowman.
- The category wipe for odd-numbered rounds is the same wipe of Pat and Vanna driving Santa's sleigh that was used during the second half of the Secret Santa Sweepstakes; even-numbered rounds use a snowman sliding across the screen.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a Christmas ornament with the Season 28 logo.
From December 17 through January 4, the logo on Pat's monitor is the two-row logo with ice-style letters topped with snow.
The car envelope is hit every day between December 17-20. It is won on Monday and Wednesday, and lost on Tuesday and Thursday.
On December 18:
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree from Beyond the Rack.
- The licensing and clearing department also wishes viewers a Merry Christmas before Round 3.
- Contestant Shannon solves the Speed-Up puzzle ALBUQUERQUE NEW MEXICO with only the N showing.
On December 19, contestant Renee is ruled incorrect for leaving off the G when solving the Round 4 puzzle SEVEN SWANS A-SWIMMING (categorized as Living Things instead of Song Lyrics), which sparks controversy across various media outlets as well as on YouTube videos featuring the puzzle and results in several demands for the show to compensate Renee. The show never comments on the incident.
On December 20:
- The retro clip in the opening (the $100,000 win of October 24, 2008) is mis-identified as being from 2006.
- Contestant Michael Rufus is referred to by his last name (also displayed on his nametag) throughout the show.
- Rufus shouts out a wrong answer to the $1,000 Toss-Up but does not ring in, allowing Kala to ring in with the right answer.
- Rufus leaves off the D when solving the Round 1 puzzle HICKORY-SMOKED COUNTRY HAM, though it is never noticed. This mistake is given very little attention compared to the previous day's incident.
- After the $3,000 Toss-Up is solved, there is a post-production shot of the contestants applauding with their scores all displayed. This shot was obviously made after the Speed-Up, as the Wheel can be seen in the same position as it was after the Final Spin.
- The Final Spin wipe does not appear.
On December 21:
- Reba McEntire wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle.
- Contestant Leanne sets a new main-game winnings record of $69,300.
December 24 is Happy Holidays, taped September 20.
On December 24, the same type of post-production shot used after the $3,000 Toss-Up on the 20th is used again.
On December 25, there is a ½ Car win in Round 3.
On December 26:
- The Prize is $5,000 cash courtesy of Yowza!!
- After a "null" cycle is edited out of the Speed-Up, the music plays over itself for the rest of the round.
On December 27:
- The retro clip in the opening (a screaming contestant from a Seattle episode in November 2002) simply mutes the 2002 puzzle-solve cue instead of dubbing it over with its current counterpart.
- After Round 3, the wrong total for the Prize Puzzle trip ($6,070 instead of $8,640) is added to contestant Beth's score. The error is acknowledged and corrected before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- Pat and Vanna promote the Maxwell House and Rebuilding Together sponsorship in a "Changing Lives" segment, which shows the Rebuilding Together team renovating the Center for Urban Youth & Family Development in Detroit.
On December 28:
- Contestant Cindy is the mother of contestant Dave Kling, who placed second on December 27, 2002, although this is not mentioned on-air.
- The Round 3 puzzle LET'S GO ON A MOONLIGHT SWIM is inexplicably categorized as Phrase instead of Song Lyrics.
- Cindy wins $42,000 in the Speed-Up.
- The second-place contestant has $24,272.
- Cindy wins the $100,000. Her total of $147,000 breaks the overall record for highest non-millionaire as well as highest all-cash winner. Against precedent, she does not write the week's contestant blog.
- Unusually, footage of the $100,000 win (and Pat and Vanna commenting on the confetti) is shown in the weekly promo video.
- The video also features a clip of Pat saying "No one will know we screwed up unless you go home and blab", suggesting that this episode may have had a discarded or re-shot puzzle.
December 31 is Winter Expeditions, taped October 4. During this week:
- The category wipe is the Pat and Vanna avatars driving a snowmobile, and leaving a trail of snow across the top of the strip.
- The pre-Round 2 bumper is the Wii opening from Season 28's Christmas week, featuring the Pat and Vanna avatars ice-skating around the traditional logo.
On December 31:
- The retro clip in the opening is Merv Griffin's recollection of choosing Vanna, as seen on the ceremonial 3,000th episode in 1998, making for only the second clip that does not involve an "actual" episode in any way.
- Oddly, Round 2 is Christmas-themed (CHESTNUTS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE) despite airing after Christmas.

January 2013:

On January 1:
- The retro clip in the opening (contestant Bill guessing STYROFOAM HAT in a Speed-Up) is not dated, although the presence of the category chyron dates it to between about September 1987 and June 1989. The clip also has several noticeable jump cuts to replace the 1983 puzzle-solve cue with the current one.
- Contestant Keely solves the Round 1 puzzle OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW with only the T's and H's showing. Interestingly, her two spins earn her the Prize and Gift Tag.
- Keely wins the ½ Car in Round 2.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- Six rounds are played; for the first time since April 21, 2011, the sixth round does not begin as a Speed-Up.
On January 2:
- Round 4 is a rare What Are You Doing? puzzle without an "-ING" suffix (RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT).
- The final segment is the first "official" Ask Pat & Vanna question.
On January 3, contestant Rossalene wins two cars: the ½ Car in Round 1, and a Ford Edge in the Bonus Round.
On January 4:
- All three contestants are teachers.
- The retro Bonus Round (YAKETY-YAK from September 14, 2005) is mis-identified as being from 2004.
- Reba McEntire once again wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle.
January 7 is America's Game. The only noticeable inconsistency besides the set change is that on January 8-11, the retro Bonus Round clips slow down again.
On January 7:
- Despite being a sixth episode from Christmas Week, the Christmas decorations are still present. This episode was originally scheduled for January 10, but it and the episode originally scheduled for that day were swapped, so as to put the Christmas-themed week as close to Christmas as possible.
- The Wheel is not in its proper position at the start of the show, as the yellow arrow is on the blue $700. It is fixed after the Prize copy.
- There is a $7,550 Jackpot win.
- Contestant Kristie, upon being told that Round 3 is a Prize Puzzle, exclaims "Oh, crap, I forgot!" with "crap" censored by the wrong-letter buzzer. (The closed captioning shows Jenna to whisper the same word in the Bonus Round, but she actually did not.)
- Airings on ABC affiliates feature an alternate closing segment promoting the new season of Shark Tank, with a cameo from its cast.
On January 9:
- The retro clip in the opening is not from the show itself; rather, it is a set of outtakes from a San Francisco bumper, in which Vanna repeatedly flubs the line "highlight your nightlife". It is also mis-dated to 2008 instead of 2004.
- The $3,000 Toss-Up is the only appearance of Classic TV since April 2010.
On January 10:
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree courtesy of CreditCards.com, with the "Shopping Spree" wedge representing it.
- In Round 1, Pat does not prompt contestant Ryan to use his Wild Card on $2,500 despite earning it only one turn earlier. This does not end up mattering, as he hits Bankrupt two spins later.
- Contestant Natasha solves incorrectly on the Jackpot wedge.
- In Round 2, Jason begins to call T, but quickly changes to N. Pat tells him he has to accept the T, which has already been called.
On January 11:
- The Prize is a $5,000 HomeGoods shopping spree.
- The ½ Car tag between $450 and $300 is noticeably crooked in Round 1.
- On the third aired turn of Round 1, Pat says "There we go. One S." despite no prior lost turns airing, indicating that a "null" cycle was edited out.
- Before the Prize Puzzle, Lily Tomlin wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 3.
January 14 is Great Adventures, taped October 5. During this week:
- The category wipe is an ATV driving across the screen.
- Sheldon is at center stage, between two chairs that face a fake fireplace.
On January 14:
- The retro clip in the opening is the "A GROUP OF PILL-PUSHERS" incident from 1999; unlike its last two appearances (January 2, 2002 and November 10, 2003), the audience's reaction and Pat's comment of "Good night, everyone!" are not edited out.
- A total of no more than nine wrong letters is called in Round 4, with five airing and a "null" cycle edited out, made obvious by Pat sounding noticeably exasperated afterwards. Also, this cycle may have included a wrong letter on Free Play followed by another lost turn from the same contestant.
On January 15:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up UP UP AND AWAY! is inexplicably categorized as Quotation instead of Phrase.
- Round 2 is the last appearance of Husband & Wife.
- Contestant Christina wins the ½ Car in Round 3; her total of $35,760 is possibly the most won in a non-Speed-Up round (until November 29) since a $44,300 Round 3 win in November 1986.
On January 16, Bankrupt is hit a total of at least eight times, with at least the first one edited out as part of a "null" cycle at the start of Round 1 (the first spin is headed for the one next to $2,500, but ends up on $650 after a jump cut).
On January 17:
- The retro clip in the opening (Vanna not being in place before a Toss-Up) is mis-dated to 2005 instead of 2006. Interestingly, the clip appears to be taken from a pre-production master, likely so the music beds could easily be changed, as the Toss-Up wipe and category strip are not present.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up is revealed too soon; as a result, the chimes sound before the wipe appears instead of after, and the blanks are already on the board when the camera cuts to it.
- After Round 1, Kristen's total is mis-stated as being $10,350 instead of $13,694, due to the value of the previous day's Prize being added by mistake. It is corrected before Round 2.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 2.
- The second-place contestant has $21,794.
January 21 is Weekend Getaways, taped November 16. During this week, the category wipe is a yellow sports car.
For the weeks of January 21 and 28, the floor is blue.
On January 21:
- The Round 1 puzzle FRIDAY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY is inexplicably categorized as Things instead of Events.
- In Round 2, Pat begins to prompt contestant Rodney to use the Wild Card on $3,500, but he is interrupted by Rodney asking to solve.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done. This may result from the game running overtime and having no turns to edit out.
- Contestant Audra wins the ½ Car in Round 3, and the copy is cut down to "Your road trip awaits, from Star Ford", again due to the episode running overtime. After the copy, Pat recaps her total (minus the Prize Puzzle trip) and starts to throw to commercial before remembering that it is a Prize Puzzle.
- A new scoreboard graphic debuts for ½ Car wins: the background turns pink and two tags fly towards each other to form one "CAR" tag, which folds down to reveal a compact car driving off.
- Audra takes the Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round. She loses $30,000 and is only two envelopes away from the $1,000,000.
On January 22:
- Fictional Character(s) is renamed Character(s). Oddly, its category strip is also now in Arial instead of Gotham, except where noted.
- On the third aired turn of Round 3, Pat tells contestant David "We do have an F." despite no prior lost turns airing in that round, indicating a "null" cycle was edited out.
- The buzzer does not sound after an incorrect letter (C) in Round 3.
- Four wrong letters are called in a row (with the last three edited out) for the Speed-Up puzzle FASHION STATEMENT with only the F, H, and O missing.
On January 23, after contestant Jeana hits Lose A Turn in Round 2, the camera does not zoom out to show her scoreboard displaying the Lose A Turn graphic; likely in relation, the wide shot of the immediate next turn appears to be a reshoot, as the Wheel appears to have started from its preset position for Round 3.
On January 24:
- The reveal of the Round 1 puzzle is replaced with a shot of Vanna clapping and the blanks already present, obviously dubbed in post-production for unknown reasons.
- Rounds 1, 2, and 5 each have a "null" cycle edited out.
On January 25:
- A cycle of three lost turns is edited out of Round 1 despite not being "null"; the first lost turn is an incorrect vowel from contestant Brooke, as her score instantly drops from $3,000 to $2,750 after she picks up a ½ Car tag.
- Pat references the above cycle by telling Brooke that that the Jackpot is at $7,650, although the display says only $7,000; she ends up solving incorrectly on the Jackpot wedge.
- The wide shot of the first spin of Round 3 is obviously a reshoot.
- Joe calls P, V, and C as his Bonus Round consonants, but the captioning displays the V as B. Pat then questions whether the second letter was B; Joe first thinks that Pat is asking about the first letter, which he confirms as P, then accidentally confirms that the second letter was B before changing it to V. The chyron correctly displays his calls of P, V, and C.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of January 21, part of a ten-day losing streak beginning on the 16th.
Between January 28-February 15, the retro clips and retro Bonus Round are not done.
January 28 is Making Disney Memories Week, taped December 13. During this week:
- Although the week is promoted as a Family Week, all teams are composed of married couples. During the interviews, pictures of their children are shown where applicable.
- There is a sweepstakes where viewers can enter each show's bonus puzzle online. Ten winners receive a vacation for four to their choice of Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
- Goofy, Donald Duck, Mickey, and Minnie are onstage throughout, also announcing Pat and Vanna and escorting them onstage. Goofy (from the middle of the audience, accompanied by Donald Duck) on Monday, Mickey (from behind the Wheel, accompanied by Minnie) on Tuesday, Donald Duck (from the middle of the audience, accompanied by Goofy) on Wednesday, Goofy (from behind the Wheel, accompanied by Donald Duck) on Thursday, and Minnie (from the middle of the audience, accompanied by Mickey) on Friday. Whichever pairing does not introduce them escorts them onstage.
- On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, the set is themed after the Disney parks, including pieces from actual Disneyland attractions. On Wednesday and Friday, it is themed after the Disney Cruise Line.
- Everyone in the audience wears Mickey Mouse ear hats.
- The ½ Car is a Chevy Spark on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and a Honda Fit on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Although a car is available in the Bonus Round, it is not on set.
- Vanna reads the Mystery Round copy from a Disney property.
- All of the Wheel Prizes and Prize Puzzle trips are to Disney properties or cruises, with both Vanna and Jim reading the copy.
- Except on Tuesday, Vanna does a bumper from a Disney landmark before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- The category strips are light blue and have small Mickey Mouse heads instead of the usual spotted pattern.
- The main-game category wipe is Tinker Bell tapping the screen with her wand.
- In the final segment, Vanna promotes another Disney landmark.
- All uses of Character(s) this week have the category strip in Gotham.
On January 28:
- The Wheel prize is a trip to its winners' choice of either Walt Disney World or Disneyland.
- There is a $9,500 Jackpot win.
- Giovanna is seen in the bumpers before the $3,000 Toss-Up and after the Bonus Round.
On January 31, a team solves the Prize Puzzle BE OUR GUEST PUT OUR SERVICE TO THE TEST with only the S's and E's showing.

February 2013:

February 4 is NBA Week, taped November 1 and replacing the previously-scheduled Music Week. During this week:
- There is a hoop and a rack of Spalding basketballs near the puzzle board. In addition, the NBA logo is seen on the floor, and the neon lights and arches are red, white, and blue to match the logo.
- For the first time since Season 20, the contestant video wall is a single pattern: specifically, all of the NBA teams' logos on a blue background.
- Three NBA stars promote the theme at the top of the show: Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, and Dwyane Wade on Monday; Pau Gasol, Carmelo Anthony, and Derrick Rose on Tuesday; Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Dwight Howard on Wednesday; Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Amar'e Stoudemire on Thursday; and Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, and Blake Griffin on Friday.
- An NBA star promotes the theme in a pre-recorded clip after Round 1: Andre Iguodala on Monday, Dirk Nowitzki on Tuesday, Kevin Garnett on Wednesday, Steve Nash on Thursday, and Chris Bosh on Friday.
- An NBA star wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary before the Prize Puzzle: Dwight Howard on Monday, Lebron James on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday, Paul Pierce on Thursday, and Kyrie Irving on Friday.
- Except on February 5, an NBA star makes a walk-on cameo in the final segment: James Worthy on Monday, DeAndre Jordan on Wednesday, Chris Paul on Thursday, and Grant Hill on Friday.
- For the first time since early Season 24, there is a second Gift Tag; specifically, one for Under Armour on the purple $500. As a result, the Prize is on $650, but as with the Secret Santa Sweepstakes, it still awards only $500 per letter if claimed.
- The ½ Car is a $15,290 Kia Soul.
- The Prize is VIP tickets to an NBA game, partially promoted by a player on the corresponding team, and an NBA Store.com shopping spree.
On February 4, a contestant solves incorrectly on the Jackpot wedge.
On February 5, contestant Elle wins the ½ Car in Round 3 after picking up three tags: one in Round 1, and two in Round 3.
On February 6:
- On the second aired turn of Round 1, Pat says "We do have some N's" despite no prior lost turns airing, signifying that a "null" cycle was edited out.
- When Alletta picks up a ½ Car tag in Round 2, the Gift Tag over the pink $500 is noticeably crooked in the first overhead shot. By the time she picks the tag up, the Gift Tag is fixed.
On February 7:
- Contestant Jim solves the $2,000 Toss-Up THE DREAM TEAM with only the first M showing.
- Six rounds are played.
- Contestant Chris makes a very close incorrect guess of MIXING BOWL in the Speed-Up with only the M, N, and G revealed. Jim then calls the L and then correctly solves the puzzle MIXING BOWLS.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of February 4. This is part of a five-week span beginning on January 14 where only three Bonus Rounds are won, and an eleven-loss streak running from January 31 to February 14.
February 11 is Sandals Resorts Romance Week, taped January 10. As the name indicates, it is also a Couples Week. During this week:
- The floor is blue with the Sandals logo at center stage.
- Pat and Vanna read the Prize copy from a Sandals property.
- Vanna announces the Mystery prize.
- The category wipe is the Wii avatar of Pat dressed as Cupid, shooting an arrow which leaves a trail of hearts and makes a harp sound.
- The final segments are done from a Sandals property.
- Some of the Sandals clips feature Lesly.
On February 11:
- In Round 2, the red team loses the $10,000 Mystery Wedge, the Prize wedge, and $750 in spendable cash to Bankrupt.
- The overhead shot of the first spin of Round 3 is a spin from Round 4 on February 15th dubbed in. Further, the dubbed shot shows the pink $900 getting hit even though the actual spin landed on the yellow one.
- After the red team solves the Round 3 puzzle, their score of $1,650 is incorrectly raised to the house minimum. The scoreboards appear to be reset in order to correct this mistake, as after the Prize Puzzle copy, their cash score is still displayed and does the win animation with the trip's value added too late.
- After the $3,000 Toss-Up, there is a post-production shot of the contestants with their totals displayed.
- The letter dings are accidentally used on the first turn of the Speed-Up, albeit quietly. This would suggest that their audio track was erased, but that the dings were still picked up faintly by a mic.
On February 12:
- The yellow team spins $3,500 three times in a row in Round 2.
- Pat and Vanna read the Prize Puzzle copy.
- Interestingly, only a one-third span of the entire Wheel is hit all game (the eight wedges from the red $800 to the green $500 next to the top dollar value).
On February 13, the category strip for Characters (in this case, the $3,000 Toss-Up) is once again in Arial.
On February 15, Round 1 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
February 18 is Pet Lovers Week, taped November 2. During this week:
- The retro clips are still not done; instead, the opening is the Wii avatar opening for this theme from Season 28.
- The retro Bonus Rounds return.
- Pat's monitor displays an animated fish tank, with no logo.
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Veterinary Pet Insurance. Every time it is picked up, that company donates $1,000 to Companions for Heroes.
- The category wipe is the Pat and Vanna avatars walking a dog across the screen.
- On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the Prize is $5,000 cash courtesy of Natural Balance pet foods.
- The generic set is used, with Sheldon to the viewer's right of the center-stage video wall.
On February 18:
- Norman, a dog who rides a scooter, comes out onstage with Pat and Vanna.
- Before Round 1, Pat tells Jim to come onstage, which he does; Pat then jokingly berates him for a comment ("I recently bought a U {ewe}") that he made before the Jackpot sponsor copy.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna (with Norman in between) announce that they will distribute Natural Balance goodie bags to the audience.
On February 19:
- For no particular reason, the closed captioning displays the answers to Round 4 and the Bonus Round in quotation marks.
- Oddly, the Round 4 puzzle STUNNING TURN OF EVENTS is the longest puzzle in the entire game.
- Coincidentally, contestant Curt manages to win the main game despite his only two spins landing on Bankrupt; he solves the aforementioned puzzle at a Final Spin value of only $1,550, the lowest possible amount that would give him the win.
- In the final segment, Vanna shares a story about an assistance dog named Tatiana.
On February 20:
- For the only confirmed time, the retro Bonus Round is from the daytime show: specifically, and surprisingly, Rolf Benirschke's first episode (January 10, 1989). This is only the second known reference to Rolf or his tenure by Wheel since his departure in mid-1989, the first being a December 1989 daytime episode celebrating the two versions reaching a combined total of 5,000 shows.
- Before Round 3, Jami Gertz recounts receiving a hand-knit blanket from Vanna, then wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary.
- The $3,000 Toss-Up is the last appearance of Fictional Character(s) under its original name, as this was the last week taped before the category was changed.
On February 22:
- The Million-Dollar Wedge is accidentally placed on $550 in Round 1. This does not affect the game, despite the first spin of the round (from contestant Wes) landing on the orange $800: his spin lands in its center, he does not buy any vowels until after his next spin, and he does not solve the puzzle. The wedge is moved to its proper location in Round 2, and no part of it is hit for the rest of the show.
- In a rather rare occurrence, the only Bankrupts in the game take away no money or cardboard.
February 25 is California Coast, taped November 15. During this week:
- The retro clips permanently return.
- The floor is blue.
- The category wipe is a red biplane in odd-numbered rounds, and a loaded station wagon in even-numbered rounds.
On February 25:
- For the fourth known time, a contestant wins the Mystery Round with only the Mystery prize.
- The retro Bonus Round predates the three-and-a-vowel format (specifically, 1984).
- The third "Ask Pat & Vanna" question is done.
On February 26:
- The retro clip in the opening is the same one used on October 25 (a remark made after the puzzle GERMAN OCCUPATION OF PARIS on November 14, 1994), but unlike its last airing, the 1994 puzzle-solve cue is dubbed over with the current one.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up is reshot due to the video wall slightly malfunctioning after it is solved. According to one of the contestants at this taping session, the staff deliberates for 10 minutes about where they should pick up, during which Pat mimes putting a gun to his head.
- After Round 1, Wayne Brady wishes the show a happy 30th Anniversary from the set of Let's Make a Deal, with a cheering audience.
- In Round 5 (which begins as a Speed-Up), the category Character is in Gotham when the puzzle is revealed, but changes to Arial after the Final Spin.
- The wide shot of the Final Spin is obviously a reshoot done with the Round 1 template. According to the aforementioned contestant, the retake has Pat saying "Vowels worth nothing, consonants worth $800 billion, and we're finally done with this."
On February 27, the retro clip in the opening (an outtake from the intro of March 14, 2011, involving Tillman the skateboarding bulldog) dubs over that week's guest announcer, John Cramer, with Jim. This was very likely done to avoid paying royalties to John, as no episodes from that week had been rerun in Summer 2011.

March 2013:

On March 1:
- There is a $9,000 Jackpot win.
- Julie Chen appears during the closing to promote The Talk and Big Brother, and to congratulate the show on its 30th Anniversary. While only meant to be aired on CBS affiliates, with a "generic" closing for all other affiliates, this version accidentally airs on all stations; however, the weekend rerun on May 3, 2014 restores the "generic" closing.
March 4 is Shopping Spree, taped December 14. During this week:
- All of the retro clips are ones that had been used earlier in the season.
- The generic set is used, but with a dark blue backdrop instead of the starry, black one.
- The category wipe is a shopping cart (with a narrower font than usual on the reveal), and the Final Spin wipe is a series of dollar bills.
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree: HayNeedle.com on Monday, RetaiMeNot.com on Tuesday, CreditCards.com on Wednesday, Beyond the Rack on Thursday, and Dick's Sporting Goods on Friday. A new "Shopping Spree" wedge is created for this week.
On March 4, Round 1 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
Between March 4 and April 12, the Mystery Round once again has a sponsor: specifically, a casino under the ownership of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (typically a Harrah's or Horseshoe property) and the casinos' Millionaire Maker rewards program.
On March 5:
- Unlike its last use on October 22, the retro clip in the opening (the "AN UGLY CHILD" Toss-Up from April 2002) has its original year of airing given.
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 1, three of which are consecutive.
On March 8:
- During the Prize Puzzle, the closed captioning misspells Riu Montego Bay as "Real".
- A button falls off Pat's jacket during the Final Spin, so as a joke, he wears stage manager John Lauderdale's jacket throughout the Bonus Round and closing segment.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.
In a rather unusual streak, seven one-word bonus puzzles are used between February 15 and March 8, including three during the week of March 4. Of these seven, only three are compound words.
During the week of March 4, all five bonus rounds are played for $30,000.
March 11 is Sandals Resorts Week, taped January 11.
- During this week, the retro clips and retro Bonus Round are not used; instead, Vanna promotes the theme at the top of the show.
- Clips of Pat and Vanna at Sandals properties are also shown as bumpers.
- On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the Prize is a trip to a Sandals property of the contestant's choice. On Tuesday and Thursday, it is a choice of a trip to Beaches resort in Jamaica or Turks and Caicos. All Prizes have Pat and Vanna reading the copy.
- All of the Prize Puzzle trips are also to Sandals properties, typically with Vanna reading some of the copy.
- There is a What Are You Doing? puzzle for each episode, with two on March 15.
On March 11:
- Round 2 starts with a cycle of all penalty spaces (two Bankrupts and a Lose A Turn). This is not edited out due to a ½ Car tag being forfeited to the first Bankrupt.
- Vanna reads part of the Prize Puzzle copy.
- The second-place contestant has $23,850.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna promote the Sandals Foundation, with guest appearances from program director Heidi Clarke and Beverley Rose, principal of Parry Town School.
On March 12, Lose A Turn is hit three times in Round 4.
On March 13:
- A cycle of three lost turns is edited out of Round 1 despite not being "null". The first lost turn is an incorrect vowel from contestant Stephen, evidenced by his score instantly changing from $1,300 to $1,050. Interestingly, Pat later states the Jackpot to be $8,400, which is consistent with both the graphic and the round's aired spins, suggesting that the other two cut turns were penalty spaces.
- The Million-Dollar Wedge is hit twice in Round 2, but not picked up.
On March 14, for no particular reason, some audience members applaud when control passes to contestant Shawn in Round 1 despite him not spinning. There is also scattered applause after Shawn asks to solve the Prize Puzzle.
March 18 is America's Game. During this week, the retro opening clips on the 20th and 21st are ones already used earlier in the season. Interestingly, the ones on the 18th, 19th, and 22nd are not from the show proper: respectively, these are a very brief clip of Pat kissing a dolphin while on location in Hawaii (2008); outtakes of Vanna trying to catch a fish at a market in Seattle (2002); and an outtake from a prize shoot in which Vanna sits on a bale of hay and asks, "Where's Pat? He told me he'd be here. I'm lonely!" (2004).
On March 18, the $2,000 Toss-Up SWEET GEORGIA BROWN is inexplicably categorized as Song Lyrics instead of Song Title.
On March 19, two contestants hit ½ Car tags in Round 3, thus rendering a car win impossible.
On March 21, contestant Susanna leaves with only the Prize Puzzle package and no other cash or prizes.
On March 22:
- It is the sixth episode from Pet Lovers' Week; unlike past instances of such episodes, the contestants still show off pictures of their pets, and Rounds 1, 4, and 5 are themed (though the $1,000 Toss-Up is still American-themed).
- The second-place contestant has $21,150.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show the retro opening clip a second time due to Pat's curiosity over its origins, and Vanna explains.
March 25 is Pure Paradise, taped January 24. During this week, the ½ Car is a Chevy Spark.
On March 26, a Bankrupt hit from March 25 is dubbed into Round 1 due to the overhead camera accidentally focusing on the yellow podium after the red contestant calls a wrong letter on Free Play on the previous turn. Further, the dubbed spin shows the Bankrupt between $900 and $650 being hit, even though it was actually the one next to the top dollar. The dubbed-in spin is more obvious as the previous day's Prize can be seen.
On March 27:
- There is a very rare occurrence of a contestant solving the Speed-Up without any money.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
On March 28, a "null" cycle cut out of Round 1 is referred to three times: Pat says "There we go" on the first aired turn after the cycle, tells contestant Robyn that S has already been called even though the first call was part of the cycle, and mentions the repeated call again in the closing chat.
On March 29:
- All spins in Round 1 land on something awarding $500 cash (specifically the Wild Card, Jackpot, Gift Tag, and now-bare pink $500).
- The Speed-Up begins with a "null" cycle that is not edited out, possibly because the round ends only one turn later.

April 2013:

April 1 is Spring Break, taped November 29. Unlike the last time this theme was done in Season 26, this week is not a College Week.
On April 1:
- Round 2 is the first appearance of Star & Role since May 20, 2011.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna re-air a clip of Pat's bald wig prank from April Fools' Day 2008.
On April 2:
- In the Bonus Round, Pat forgets to ask the contestant for a vowel until he is reminded from offstage.
- There is a $100,000 win. Oddly, the confetti fails to come down at first, and does not fall until later in the celebration; coincidentally, the bonus puzzle is A PAUSE IN THE ACTION.
- The weekly promo video indirectly reveals the $100,000 win by showing footage of Pat and Vanna playing with streamers and Pat saying "Time to clean up."
On April 4:
- Contestant Brian picks up both ½ Car tags on his first two spins of Round 2, then hits Bankrupt on his third.
- For no particular reason, the Prize Puzzle is a very short answer of MAN OF LA MANCHA. It is not known why this was done, as the episode did not run overly long, and comparatively longer answers were used in Rounds 4 and 5.
On April 5, all three contestants hit Lose A Turn in Round 1.
April 8 is Island Hopping, taped November 30.
On April 8:
- In Round 1, contestant Tameka asks to solve, but goes silent. Pat asks her if she wants to "back out" instead, and she does.
- Later in Round 1, Tameka lands on the Prize wedge and calls a right letter, but does not pick it up until after buying an E. The shot of her picking up the wedge appears to be added in post-production.
- In Round 5, Pat prompts Austin to use his Wild Card on $500, which he does.
- Between Rounds 4 and 5, all but two spins (counting the Final Spin) land on one of the green $500 spaces; the other two land on the red $600.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit on-air, although a Final Spin landing on Bankrupt is edited out.
On April 9:
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 1, three of which are consecutive.
- There is an $11,450 Jackpot win.
- Round 4 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
From April 8 to April 22, ten of eleven shows have a What Are You Doing? puzzle.
On April 10:
- The retro clip in the opening is the same one from October 10; once again, it is not dated.
- There is a $7,300 Jackpot win.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 2.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
On April 11:
- The $2,000 Toss-Up is a rare What Are You Doing? puzzle without an "-ING" suffix (MY TAX RETURN).
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 2.
On April 12, the winning contestant leaves with only $8,200.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of April 8, part of an eleven-day losing streak beginning on the 3rd.
April 15 is Sightseeing Week, taped January 25. During this week:
- The floor is blue.
- Vanna announces the Mystery prize.
- The Final Spin is framed through the viewfinder of a camera.
On April 15 and 19, Wheel is at least partially pre-empted on many affiliates due to extended news coverage of the explosions at the Boston Marathon and manhunt for the second suspect, respectively.
On April 16:
- Contestant Rita risks the Million-Dollar Wedge, a ½ Car tag, the Wild Card, and $700 on the Mystery Wedge; she finds a Bankrupt on the reverse.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- Before spinning the Bonus Wheel, contestant Sarah remarks that she likes the ding that sounds when the bonus envelope is selected; the sound effects booth then plays the ding a second time at Pat's request.
On April 18:
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- The Prize Puzzle STUNNING SURROUNDINGS is inexplicably categorized as Phrase instead of Same Letter.
On April 19:
- The retro clip in the opening (Pat reading a letter from a woman who gave birth while watching Wheel in the hospital, just after solving the puzzle DOBERMAN PINSCHER) is a very rare appearance of a post-December 13, 1982 daytime clip: specifically, between mid-February and August 5, 1983 (whereas the episode mentioned in the letter aired no earlier than January 3). "Big Wheels" begins playing near the end of the clip, but against precedent it appears to be mostly edited out. The clip is known to have aired in Season 25.
- Contestant Zoee hits the Million-Dollar Wedge twice. She picks it up after the second one, but loses it to Bankrupt on the next spin.
- The second-place contestant has $23,648.
April 22 is America's Game.
On April 22:
- As it is the sixth episode of Sandals Resorts Romance Week, three couples play and both trips are to Sandals properties.
- The category wipe for America's Game episodes is changed to a flying eagle against a sky backdrop.
- On the second shot of the board in Round 3, the category strip accidentally reads Proper Name instead of the puzzle's actual category of Place.
On April 23:
- The overhead shot of the second spin in Round 2 is obviously dubbed in from another episode, as all of the cardboard is absent and the Wild Card can be seen on the railing even though no one had picked it up yet.
- In Round 2, contestant Sam collects both ½ Car tags on consecutive spins, then hits Bankrupt on the next. In Round 3, she accumulates $16,300 and the Million-Dollar Wedge, but loses that round.
- A total of $27,700 goes unclaimed in Round 3.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
On April 24:
- As it is the sixth episode from the Sandals week of March 11, the Prize is a trip to the Sandals resorts in Jamaica or Turks and Caicos, and the Prize Puzzle is to a Sandals property. Unlike the rest of the week, Vanna does not promote the theme at the top of the show, nor are any Sandals-related bumpers done.
- The retro clip in the opening is the same one used on December 27, and once again, the music is simply muted instead of dubbed over.
- Contestant Brenda wins the ½ Car in Round 2.
- Oddly, the closed captioning on the retro Bonus Round once again says "Did you solve it?"
- Brenda finishes in second place with $24,380, thus becoming the first ½ Car winner not to win the game. Contestant Matt manages to win by $90 despite a Final Spin of only $1,300.
- Matt wins a Mini Cooper Roadster in the Bonus Round, resulting in a very rare instance of two contestants winning cars in a single episode.
On April 26:
- Although Vanna's voiceover after the retro Bonus Round is "Did you solve it?", the captioning displays "Watch tomorrow night for another classic puzzle", suggesting that today's puzzle and yesterday's may have been accidentally switched.
- Six rounds are played.
- Instead of the usual closing segment, Pat and Vanna promote the New York City weeks in a pre-recorded segment from behind the yellow contestant's arrow.
The weeks of April 29-May 20 are taped at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During these weeks:
- The retro clips and retro Bonus Rounds are not done.
- No cars are available in the Bonus Round.
- The weeks are promoted with the letters N, Y, and C in circles similar to what is seen at the subway stations.
- No Same Name puzzles are used.
April 29 is NYC, taped March 15. During this week, the category wipe is a New York taxi and the Speed-Up wipe is a subway speeding by and opening its doors to reveal the players and puzzle.
On April 29:
- Contestant Joe solves the $1,000 Toss-Up STATUE OF LIBERTY with only the F showing.
- Before the $3,000 Toss-Up, Matt Bogart, John Lloyd Young, Quinn VanAntwerp, and Andy Karl of the Broadway musical Jersey Boys wish Wheel a happy 30th Anniversary.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna announce that members of FDNY are in the audience; they are then shown on-camera with "FDNY" appearing on a category strip.
On April 29 and 30, for the first time, two consecutive Bonus Rounds are What Are You Doing?

May 2013:

On May 1:
- In Round 2, contestant Sandy accidentally calls T before a spin. During the spin, Pat asks Harry if she is still held to the call of T; she is, and ends up losing her turn as that letter had already been called.
- After the same round, Jake Epstein is seen in the audience, wishing the show a happy 30th Anniversary while dressed as Spider-Man (whom he plays in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark).
On May 2, a cycle of turns is mistakenly edited out of Round 1 despite not being "null": contestant Nicole buys an incorrect E, followed by a Bankrupt from Isaac (who has no money at this point) and a Lose A Turn from Michelle. Oddly, the next spin after the cycle is also Lose A Turn, so it appears that the Bankrupt-Lose A Turn-Lose A Turn cycle was meant to be edited out. The cut E results in Laura's score instantly changing from $1,400 to $1,150.
On May 3:
- $3,500 is hit four times in Round 2, but none of the money from it is claimed due to the contestants either calling a wrong letter or later hitting Bankrupt or Lose A Turn.
- In Round 2, the "No more vowels" graphic accidentally shows up a second time after the R's are revealed.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 3.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show the "A GROUP OF PILL-PUSHERS" clip from 1999, again in edited form.
May 6 is Mom's Week, taped March 16. During this week:
- All contestants are mothers.
- Every Prize Puzzle trip includes a Sony NEX-5R camera.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a red heart with a pink banner with the word "MOM" in black text.
On May 6:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up is Song Title, Round 1 is Movie Title, and Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Place.
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree from CreditCards.com.
- During Round 1, the contestant area's monitors flicker due to a dirty cable. Eventually, there is a stopdown to fix the issue, during which Pat pretends to sleep on the railing. After the round, a shot of the Bankrupt graphic is reshot due to noticeable flickering during the original shot.
- After Round 2, Jake Epstein (as Spider-Man) does a bumper from the audience.
- Round 3 starts with the blue contestant calling an incorrect O on Free Play and accidentally buying the same letter four turns later. Unusually, these exact same events happen again at the start of Round 1 on the 8th, also with the blue contestant.
- In a rather rare occurrence, the only Bankrupts in the game take away no money or cardboard.
On May 7:
- The Jersey Boys cast does a bumper from the audience before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- In the final segment, clips are shown of Vanna's first audition episode (November 1982) with a voiceover from Pat.
On May 8:
- The Prize is a HomeGoods shopping spree.
- All of the cardboard is removed from the Wheel by Round 3: contestant Patricia wins the Prize in Round 2, Valerie picks up both ½ Car tags and the Gift Tag, while Laura picks up the Million-Dollar Wedge and Wild Card. Valerie does not solve the puzzle, and Laura does not win the game.
- Against normal practice, the "only vowels remain" beeps sound in the Speed-Up, albeit added in post-production. This is possibly due to a contestant giving two wrong answers after calling the last consonant. Oddly, the closed captioning indicates the beeps one turn before they actually sound.
On May 10:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up refuses to reveal for several seconds.
- The Wheel Prize is a Beyond the Rack shopping spree.
- Contestant Clori wins the ½ Car in Round 2 after picking up three tags.
- The second-place contestant has $27,000.
May 13-24 is the Millionaire Maker Sweepstakes. Home viewers get game pieces from any participating Total Rewards "destination" or online between April 7 and May 19. Before Round 1 and the Bonus Round, special puzzles are shown as graphics. If a home viewer has a game piece matching a puzzle, that viewer can submit it to enter the sweepstakes. Prizes include 20 trips to Caesars Palace with $50,000 cash each, and a grand prize of $1,000,000. The grand prize ceremony is hosted by Marty Lublin, also the traveling host at Wheelmobile events.
May 13 is Best Friends Week, taped March 18. During this week:
- The ½ Car tags are not present.
- The category wipe is the Pat and Vanna avatars riding in a horse-drawn hansom cab, and the Speed-Up wipe is signs for 5th Avenue and West 33rd Street.
Beginning May 13, weeks with two-player teams do not always mention the players' hometowns and/or last names on-air.
On May 13:
- Interestingly, the first two spins of the game are the two green $500s that normally contain the ½ Car tags; as the team that hits those wedges is the only team who plays in that round, this means that the round would have resulted in a car win (and by extension, a second-place total in the $20,000 range and the second instance of a ½ Car winner not winning the game) under normal circumstances.
- In Round 2, one member of the red team tries to stop her teammate from spinning again, but he does anyway. He hits the Prize, which they end up winning.
- Jake Epstein does another bumper as Spider-Man after Round 2.
On May 14, there is a $100,000 loss.
On May 15:
- The Prize is a $7,500 shopping spree from RetailMeNot.com.
- The Prize Puzzle trip is worth $13,720, the highest value for one since March 2010 and the second-highest overall.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show a clip from Pat's first episode.
On May 16, the $3,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are Occupation; this is both the second known duplication of that category, and its first appearance in the Bonus Round since September 2009.
On May 17, the Jersey Boys cast does a bumper after Round 2.
Between April 29 and May 17, every Round 2 puzzle except May 8 and May 15 is Before & After.
May 20 is Fabulous Food, taped March 19. During this week:
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar tossing a pizza dough into the air, and the Speed-Up wipe is a blue plate, knife, and fork on a red-and-white checkered tablecloth.
- The episodes originally slated for airing on May 20 and 21 are swapped.
On May 20, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, and Daphne Oz of The Chew do a bumper after Round 2. They reappear in the final segment to provide Pat and Vanna with pork sliders, Mediterranean potato salad, and coconut pecan pound cake. During both appearances, their names appear on a category strip.
On May 21:
- Wheel is pre-empted on many affiliates in the Eastern and Central time zones due to extended news coverage on the tornado that struck Moore, Oklahoma.
- The Round 2 puzzle PAC-MAN AND MS. PAC-MAN is an extremely rare instance of a puzzle with only one vowel.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 2.
- The second-place contestant has $20,090, resulting in the second instance of a ½ Car winner not winning the game.
On May 22:
- Two contestants hit ½ Car tags in Round 3, thus rendering a car win impossible.
- After the Speed-Up, contestant Lindsay's score is incorrectly shown as $13,130. It is corrected to $13,170 before the Bonus Round.
- In the final segment, Pat promotes Eataly, an Italian food market, over footage of it. At the end of the segment, the market's website appears onscreen on a category strip.
On May 23:
- Jake Epstein does a bumper as Spider-Man before the $3,000 Toss-Up; unlike the last appearances, his face is shown on-camera.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show a separate closing segment in which Amar'e Stoudemire makes a cameo. This was likely presented as a separate clip due to scheduling conflicts.
On May 24:
- The Jersey Boys cast does a bumper before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- The original Speed-Up round (THAT'S IT IN A NUTSHELL) is thrown out due to contestant Jim giving the answer with just the T's showing so close to the buzzer that it cannot be determined by ear whether it was valid. The answer is checked during a stopdown, after which it is determined that Jim was beaten by the buzzer. Taping resumes with a replacement puzzle starting from the first turn of Speed-Up with the same Final Spin value. As a result, the reveal of the replacement puzzle is shot during the stopdown, and has to be shot twice due to Pat accidentally walking into the shot the first time.
- In the final segment, Guinness Book of World Records representative Kimberly Patrick presents Vanna with an award honoring her Guinness record for the most frequent clapper (a record that only counts the nighttime show, and then only through January 31 of this season). She stays with Pat and Vanna through the final segment, during which the board reads GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS.
All ten Bonus Rounds are lost on the weeks of May 13 and 20, part of a 14-day losing streak beginning on the 7th. This is the fourth losing streak to reach ten days since January 15, and a new record for the longest known losing streak in the show's history.
May 27 is "Celebrating 30", taped February 7. During this week:
- All of the contestants have some aspect related to 30 (e.g., 30 years of age, married 30 years, etc.)
- The spots in the category strips are replaced with 30's.
- Certain puzzles are related to the number 30, the 1980s, or age.
- The daily promo commercial for the show states that a $1,000,000 win will happen during this week.
On May 27:
- Against precedent, the Round 2 puzzle NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN OF THE JEDI does not have the connecting word on its own line, even though such an arrangement could have fit.
- In Round 3, contestant Jonathan hits a ½ Car tag immediately after Antonia loses that round's other tag to Bankrupt.
On May 28:
- For no reason, the Round 2 puzzle CHARIOTS OF FIRE EXTINGUISHERS has two spaces between the first two words instead of one.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna do a "Changing Lives" segment on contestant Robyn, who finished in third place on December 28. This is the first known instance of such a segment being on a contestant from the same season, and a rare instance of the segment being done for a contestant who did not win the game.
On May 30:
- The Round 1 puzzle APRIL JUNE SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER is categorized as Things instead of Events.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- Contestant Autumn takes both the Wild Card and Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round.
- Autumn Erhard becomes the second $1,000,000 winner, solving TOUGH WORKOUT with only the T's, G, and R showing, and sets a new winnings record of $1,030,340. Prior to this episode's broadcast, the weekly promo shows her landing on the Million-Dollar Wedge in Round 2 and winning the million.
- Unlike the last win, which used a unique graphic with spotlights, the normal winnings font is used when Jim announces the $1,000,000 win.
- Strangely, Jim announces Autumn's grand total rather than Pat, and no mention is ever made about her being the all-time winner.
- During the final segment, at least some of the other bonus envelopes are on the Bonus Wheel, opened. The "One Million" envelope sits on top of the center.
- Likely to keep with the "30" theme, this episode is moved up from its originally intended air date of the 31st.
On May 31:
- The daily promo commercial hinting at Autumn's win airs, likely as a result of the last-minute rescheduling.
- After Round 2, there is a shot from behind the contestant railing, to show the platforms under each contestant that can be raised or lowered.
- The retro Bonus Round predates the three-and-a-vowel format (specifically, September 14, 1988). Oddly, the closed-captioning of the reveal still says "Watch tomorrow night for another classic puzzle."
- The "No More Vowels" graphic does not come up in Round 4, most likely due to the Final Spin bells sounding at the same time.

June 2013: (season ends June 14)

June 3 is Dad's Week, taped February 8. During this week:
- All contestants are fathers.
- The Prize is a $5,000 Sony Store shopping spree.
- The category wipe is the same one used on the Sandals Golf Getaway week of Season 29.
On June 4:
- The opening clip (a Toss-Up guess of MINERS & HOES on February 4, 2002) is a repeat from October 30; while that airing replaced both the Toss-Up music bed and solve cue, this airing keeps the original music bed.
- In a very rare event, neither regular Bankrupt is hit, with all four Bankrupts coming from the Million-Dollar Wedge.
- The second-place contestant has $19,850.
On June 5, the $3,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are What Are You Doing? The latter, THE LIMBO, is a rare instance of that category not using an "-ING" suffix.
On June 6, the opening clip is the same one used on December 7; unlike the last airing, it is correctly dated to 1999.
On June 7, there is a ½ Car win.
June 10 is America's Game.
On June 10:
- Contestant Gina has her cousin Annmarie spin the Wheel for her.
- The Jackpot is won for the last time, at $7,600.
- After a "null" cycle is cut from the start of Round 4, the first overhead shot following said cycle is noticeably crooked. Also, Pat later references the cycle by telling Valerie "back to you".
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit on-air, although a Lose A Turn is edited out of the aforementioned "null" cycle.
- In the final segment, Vanna shows footage of herself at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, presenting a check for $1,000,000.
On June 11:
- As it is the sixth episode from the week of May 27 (Celebrating 30), several puzzles are themed to that week.
- Despite the above, the contestants' 30-related aspects (and by extension the reason they were present for this taping session) are never mentioned.
- Contestant Tasha wins despite failing to claim $26,195 in the Mystery Round (the $10,000 Mystery Wedge and two ½ Car tags).
- There is a $100,000 win. Pat states during the closing that dropping the confetti is "always exciting no matter how often it happens", indirectly referring to the $1,000,000 win which had immediately preceded this episode's taping. While most of the confetti is cleaned up prior to the next day's taping, a few stray pieces are visible during the week of June 3.
On June 12:
- Contestant Rick lands on a ½ Car tag immediately after both of his opponents lose tags to Bankrupt on consecutive turns, with one having been picked up that same round, thus rendering a car win impossible.
- Unusually, there is no reaction from the contestants or audience when Pat's Final Spin lands on $5,000 (though applause is added in post-production), and Pat's tone is noticeably subdued.
Oddly, all of the retro Bonus Rounds from June 3 through 12 are from 1992 or 1993.
On June 13:
- The retro clip in the opening is the same outtake used on January 9, but unlike the last airing, it is correctly dated to 2004.
- In Round 1, Pat does not prompt contestant Mark to use his Wild Card on $2,500 despite having picked it up only one turn prior; it ends up not mattering, as Mark hits Bankrupt on his next spin.
- Pat forgets to take away contestant Caitlyn's Mystery Wedge after she hits Bankrupt.
- The $3,000 Toss-Up TAP DANCING uses one row of the board instead of two.
- Round 1 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
On June 14:
- As it is the sixth taping from Dad's Week, three males play.
- There is a ½ Car win.
- Round 4 is an unusually short answer of SOCCER MOMS, suggesting that Rounds 1-3 ran abnormally long.
- The second-place contestant has $26,000.

Post-Season:

On June 17, $5K Every Day is renamed "$5K Every Day Plus". While the drawing is done the same way, the award is doubled to $10,000 if the SPIN ID belongs to an active Sony Card holder.
On July 25, director Mark Corwin dies due to cancer. A tribute to him is edited into the September 4 rerun (from May 29), replacing the original end segment. The tribute begins with Pat and Vanna mentioning his death from the control room, followed by pictures of him set to "For Good" from the musical Wicked. It ends with "In loving memory: Mark Corwin" on white text on a black background, surrounding a picture of him.
On August 1, Pat's Twitter account re-opens.

Season 31 (2013-14)

Season Changes:

The logo again returns to the traditional style, although the Wheel inside the logo is removed. Rather, the words "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" are placed on a Wheel consisting of colored wedges (in orange, purple, green, red, yellow, and blue) with "OF" in the center and the dots on the sides.
On various weekly promos, the aforementioned Wheel has its colored wedges in a true pattern of yellow, red, orange, purple, blue, and green. The wedges are also darker in hue.
The intro is changed to a cityscape with an amusement park that includes such rides as a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster, with searchlights crisscrossing in the background. As the camera travels, the lights of the buildings turn on. During this part of the intro, Jim says "From the Sony Pictures Studios, it's America's Game...", then the graphics fade into a CGI Sony Pictures Studios complex and through the open gates, with a photo of Pat, Vanna, and the two-row logo on both sides. The complex's lights turn on as before, as the camera travels in on a video screen showing the logo in the back. After the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant (in which each word shines as said), the logo zooms in on the "O" in "of", as Jim continues with "Ladies and gentlemen, here are the stars of our show: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!" (as was the case from 1996-2001).
During America's Game weeks, the animated intro from Season 23 featuring the African-American family cleaning up after dinner is used, coming complete with the last bar of the then-current introductory fanfare. The ending, however, is updated: the console television is replaced with an HDTV showing the Season 31 title card, and Jim's "It's America's Game!" announcement is edited in. Additionally, the Season 31 logo, unlike the Season 23 wordmark before it, does not zoom towards the camera on the television: instead, it zooms out of the television to reveal the set, so the final shot of the family applauding is omitted.
The Wheel is altered again:
- The purple $550 is dropped to $500, retiring the former.
- The Million-Dollar Wedge moves to the pink $500, with the Gift Tag moving from there to the aforementioned purple $500. Despite this change, the wedge still does not award any money.
- The Jackpot Wedge is retired.
- The Express Wedge is introduced, placed on the red $700 in Round 3. If a contestant opts to "hop aboard the Express", the shot of that player shrinks down to a square window insert, with the same border color as the player's display/arrow, in the bottom-right corner with the puzzle board on the rest of the screen (similarly to the Bonus Round). The player's current score is displayed below the window (using the same text graphic used for Jackpot in Season 30), and the logo-bug on the category strip is replaced with an "Express" graphic identical to the one on the wedge.
By this point, the Wild Card can now be used after buying a vowel for the amount on the previous spin.
The graphic showing what is on the reverse of a Mystery Wedge is only used when the player declines to flip it, barring instances where the contestant solves immediately after declining and Pat has them flip the wedge anyway.
The Bonus Wheel wedges are now light blue, dark blue, and purple, with the characters changed to yellow, and the three-star space is changed to have its stars in a triangle instead of a straight line. Additionally, the wedges can change color according to a theme, such as red, white, and blue for America's Game. Also, the envelopes are now straight instead of slanted upward, and the corresponding wedge lights up whenever an envelope is pulled from it.
The Mystery Round once again has a sponsor, albeit the same one as the Jackpot Round in prior seasons. The sponsor's ad appears before the wipe of the wedge's $10,000 side dropping down onto the Season 25 Round 3 Wheel as usual. As a result, the Mystery backgrounds seen in the past two seasons are retired.
The font for prize values is changed to a thinner, silver font.
The Final Spin and host chat graphics are recolored to match the style of the new logo.
The post-Bonus Round totals now use a thinner font.
The Prize Puzzle now includes a Sony camera. On the Vegas episodes (except New Year's Week and Valentine's Day Week), the camera is a PJ380 Handycam; on all other episodes until December 16, it is an Alpha NEX-5R. Except where noted, the camera alternates between the NEX-5R and NEX-5T until February 21.
SPIN IDs are no longer drawn on weekend repeats, instead being replaced with plugs for the Wheelmobile or the 30th Anniversary mobile game.
The retro Bonus Round is retained on Tuesdays and Thursdays only, barring the Vegas episodes, Secret Santa Sweepstakes, specially-sponsored weeks, and any other episodes as noted. Vanna's voiceover on the reveal changes again to "Keep watching Wheel for more classic puzzles." Oddly, all of them until December are ones that had been used last season, and most of the ones from February onward are from 1991.
Character(s) continues to use Arial on its category strip, except as noted.
Toss-Ups using proper names generally appear on only one line when possible.
Until May, "null" cycles are edited out of Speed-Ups much less frequently.
Early this season, ampersands are more frequent in use, particularly in Same Name during this period. Beginning around mid-March, they are usually used only in Same Letter when necessary or for more aesthetic formatting elsewhere (such as if using AND would result in the word having to be on its own line).
A trademark notice for the slogan "America's Game" is added to accompany the eligibility and editing disclaimers.
This season, many Song Title puzzles are inexplicably categorized as Song Lyrics instead.
The cars available via the ½ Car tags rotate among a Ford Fiesta, Chevy Sonic, and Chevy Spark, except where noted.
This season has by far the highest number of team episodes (33: six weeks plus three sixth episodes).

September 2013: (season begins September 16)

September 16 is Season Premiere from The Venetian, taped July 27. During all of the Vegas shows:
- The regular video wall behind the contestants is replaced by a much larger one.
- Kevin McCarthy, director of Jeopardy!, fills in as director.
- Oddly, Same Letter is not used, despite multiple puzzles used throughout the locale fitting its criteria. Because of its absence, some of these puzzles spell out "AND" instead of using an ampersand when applicable.
- The RSTLNE chyron in the Bonus Round is replaced by slot machine tumblers showing those letters.
During the weeks of September 16 and 23:
- When Pat explains the Express Wedge in Round 3, a post-production shot is added which shows the yellow arrow in that wedge's center; the actual round has the yellow arrow start in the center of $3,500 as usual. The post-production shot is more obvious in that the Wild Card and Gift Tag are absent from it.
- The category wipe is a pair of rolling red dice that come up 7.
On September 16:
- Contestant Portia's last name and hometown are oddly never mentioned on-air.
- After Round 1, Vanna announces that AutoNation is sponsoring the week's Bonus Round car, a Chevrolet Camaro.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
On September 17:
- The Round 1 puzzle CORNER CURIO CABINET is categorized as Thing instead of Same Letter.
- Contestant Paul mispronounces the above puzzle as CORNO CURRO CABINET. Video of his mistake goes viral and sparks controversy across the media due to him picking up the Million-Dollar Wedge one turn prior. Many outlets incorrectly state or imply that Paul would have won $1,000,000 had he solved correctly, which causes some to suggest that the show intentionally penalized him in order to avoid such a payout. The ruling becomes the subject of several news and talk programs, some of which Paul appears on. Regardless, this ruling does not affect the outcome as he would not have made it to the Bonus Round.
- All four of Paul's spins in Round 2 land on the green $500 next to the orange $300, the first of which earns him the ½ Car tag on that wedge.
- In Round 3, contestant Luis lands on Express on his first spin, then uses it to fill in the entire puzzle DIVING NEAR CORAL REEFS by himself.
- Rounds 2, 3, and 4 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
- Once again, neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
On both September 17 and 18, Jim does not mention the $5,000 cash bonus when the Camaro is won in the Bonus Round.
On September 19:
- Once again, Vanna promotes AutoNation and the Camaro after Round 1.
- Human Nature makes a cameo in the final segment; Jim promotes this cameo after Round 2.
On September 20, Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the person who began them, while Rounds 3 and 4 begin with a lost turn followed by the next contestant playing for the rest of the round. This results in an extremely rare instance of all money accumulated from the Wheel that is not spent on vowels, and all cardboard picked up, being claimed. However, this includes two contestants claiming only one ½ Car tag each, and one taking the Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round but not hitting the $1,000,000 envelope.
September 23 is Palazzo Week, taped July 28.
On September 23:
- Round 1 is the first appearance of Headline since September 29, 2011.
- A cycle of lost turns is edited out of Round 1 despite not being "null"; the cycle includes a Bankrupt from contestant Jennifer, as she hits Lose A Turn with $400 but has $0 on her next aired turn.
On September 24:
- A video about the Palazzo is shown before Round 3, but is removed from the episode as-aired. This is likely due to the game running overtime.
- After the aforementioned video is shown, Pat jokes that "You've probably seen the 12-part HBO miniseries about the new addition to our Wheel, the Express wedge." The subsequent laughter is known to have been dubbed in.
- In Round 3, contestant Sheila fills in the entire puzzle GLIMMERING TURQUOISE WATER by herself, using Express from her fourth turn onward.
On September 25, contestant Jane gives a wrong answer in both Rounds 2 and 3, followed by contestant Shari solving on the very next turn.
On September 26, neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
In every episode on the week of September 23, the Mystery Wedge with $10,000 on the reverse is flipped over.
September 30 is Teacher's Week, taped July 11 (the first of only two weeks this season directed by Mark Corwin before his death). During this week:
- The generic set is used.
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar driving a school bus which screeches its tires.
- The Express Wedge makes its first taped appearance. Strangely, instead of explaining how it works, Pat only mentions its presence. The same post-production shot of it is used at the start of the round as usual.
- The ½ Car is a Mazda2. Also, the tags are altered to have a black frame around them with the Mazda logo on top, and the camera zooms in closer than usual as contestants pick them up.
On September 30:
- For the first time, a contestant goes Bankrupt on the Express.
- After contestant Daniel wins the game, his score is erroneously displayed as $19,950. Before the Bonus Round, Pat notes that his score is actually $20,600. This is due to the value of the Prize Puzzle trip being added as $6,000 instead of $6,650.
- After the Speed-Up, Jim plugs the week's Bonus Round car, a Mazda6.

October 2013:

Starting around this point, the trend of predominantly using Thing(s) and Phrase in the Bonus Round, which began in Season 26, becomes somewhat less prominent.
On October 1:
- Three females play.
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
- The retro Bonus Round is the same one from September 24, 2012 (HOME MOVIES from October 31, 2003).
- Contestant Caroline solves the $3,000 Toss-Up MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS with only the first S revealed.
On October 2:
- Once again, three females play.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 2.
- Rounds 2 and 3 are played entirely by the contestant who began them, although the latter includes a wrong vowel on Free Play.
- The Prize Puzzle package is worth $10,150, a rare instance of a Prize Puzzle worth more than $10,000 on a non-team episode.
- All three green $500s are hit consecutively in Round 4.
- Contestant Marya finishes in second place with $23,745, the third ½ Car winner not to win the game.
- In the final segment, Pat asks to see the category wipe again; it displays at the bottom of the screen, albeit without sound.
On October 3:
- Round 1 and the Bonus Round are Food & Drink.
- The retro Bonus Round is the same one that was used on September 20, 2012 (BAYWATCH from a San Francisco week in November 1996); unlike its last use, the clip is edited to jump-cut over most of the answer being revealed, and portions of the clip are slowed down.
On October 4:
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree from Beyond the Rack.com.
- The Round 1 puzzle PROGRAMMABLE COFFEEMAKER is the first appearance of In the Kitchen that is not a Toss-Up or Round 4+ puzzle since November 17, 2010.
- In Round 3, contestant Larry hits Express on his first spin, and successfully uses it to call every letter except E in the puzzle IS IT SPRING BREAK ALREADY?
- The wide shot of the Final Spin appears to be a reshoot, as it shows the Wheel starting where the "official" spin had landed.
- The second-place contestant has $22,950.
October 7 is Southern Hospitality, taped August 23. During this week:
- Pat continues to explain how the Express Wedge works.
- Associate director Bob Cisneros fills in as director.
- The ½ Car tags revert to their Season 30 design.
- The category wipe is a white flower.
On October 7:
- Interestingly, Round 1 is a Same Name that uses an ampersand, while the $3,000 Toss-Up is a Things puzzle that spells out AND.
- The $5K Every Day Plus announcement is changed so that Vanna reads everything but the SPIN ID portion.
On October 8:
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Zatarain's.
- The Round 1 puzzle DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS is erroneously categorized as People instead of Proper Name.
- The retro Bonus Round is the same one that was used on December 12, 2012 (PAGER from September 4, 1996).
- In the final segment, footage of Autumn Erhard's $1,000,000 win is played. She then appears onstage, but unlike Michelle Loewenstein's return, Autumn is not presented with a replica check.
On October 9, there is a ½ Car win.
On October 11:
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Southern Living magazine.
- The Round 2 puzzle SUMMERTIME SUMMERTIME SUM SUM SUMMERTIME sets a new record for the most instances of a single consonant in a puzzle, with 11 M's. Interestingly, they are called on a Mystery Wedge.
- Oddly, the weekly promo erases the T's, three of the five S's, four of the six E's, and the first I from the puzzle when it shows Vanna revealing the M's.
October 14 is Weekend Getaways, taped July 12 (the last week directed by Mark Corwin prior to his death). During this week:
- Vanna promotes the theme before the opening animation.
- The category wipe is a sports car peeling out.
- Pat does not explain how the Express wedge works, except when it is hit on the 14th.
On October 14:
- Vanna accidentally stands closer to the puzzle board during the $1,000 Toss-Up, and backs up suddenly when the blanks are revealed. After that, the puzzle refuses to reveal for a few seconds.
- The post-production shot of the Express wedge is not used at the start of that round.
- Contestant David fills in the entire puzzle ALL MY BAGS ARE PACKED I'M READY TO GO by himself, using Express from the third turn onward.
On October 15:
- A cycle of lost turns is edited out of Round 2 despite not being "null"; the cycle includes an incorrect A from Carol, as evidenced by her scoreboard displaying $950 instead of $1,200 when she picks up the Million-Dollar Wedge. Pat references the cycle at the end of the round by saying that Carol had "two choices" by buying O at a point when I was the only unrevealed vowel in the puzzle CRISP CHILLED CUCUMBERS, even though A was never bought on-air.
- Later in Round 2, Carol risks the Million-Dollar Wedge and a ½ Car tag on a Mystery Wedge; she finds $10,000 on the reverse, but does not solve the puzzle. She ends up winning despite failing to claim $24,200 in this round (counting both the Mystery prize and the edited-out vowel purchase).
- The retro Bonus Round is the same one used on October 18, 2012 (ROLODEX from a 1997 episode).
- On the Map makes its first appearance in the Bonus Round since January 2, 2009.
On October 16, contestant Susan wins two cars: the ½ Car in Round 3, and a Mini Cooper Convertible in the Bonus Round.
On October 17:
- Contestant Alex risks the Prize, a ½ Car tag, and $1,500 on a Mystery Wedge, and finds a Bankrupt on the reverse.
- The Prize Puzzle package is worth $10,350, a rare instance of a prize over $10,000 on a non-team episode.
On October 18, contestant Karen picks up both ½ Car tags in Round 2, but loses them (as well as $7,700 and the Wild Card) to Bankrupt; Cindy flips over the $10,000 Mystery Wedge only to lose it to Bankrupt on her next turn. Overall, $33,945 (counting the value of the car) is lost to Bankrupt.
October 21 is Las Vegas Vacation, taped July 30 at The Venetian. During this week:
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar rowing a gondola.
- Pat does not explain how the Express Wedge works, and the post-production close-up of it is not used.
- It is also the Las Vegas Vacation Sweepstakes. Home viewers may submit each day's bonus puzzle to the show's website for a chance to win a Las Vegas vacation and $5,000 cash.
On October 21:
- The Round 1 puzzle MYSTERIOUS MASTER MAGICIAN is categorized as Person instead of Same Letter.
- Round 1 starts with a "null" cycle, which is likely three consecutive Bankrupts, as evidenced by contestant Steven's first spin heading for the one next to $2,500 before a jump cut, and the puzzle having most of the common consonants; furthermore, Pat says "We'd like to make the Bankrupts disappear, right?" at the end of the round, even though none of the aired turns was a Bankrupt.
- Lose A Turn is hit four times in Round 1, tying the record for most known hits. Interestingly, this also happened in Round 1 exactly three years prior.
- In Round 2, for only the second time since 2008, Author/Title is used instead of Title/Author.
- During the Speed-Up, the yellow scoreboard and contestant housing remain lit after Steven loses his turn.
- Later in the Speed-Up, Crystal's score does not change from $6,000 to $7,500 after she calls a correct letter and solves; this causes her final score to be mis-stated by Pat as $12,000 instead of $13,500. Her total is corrected at the start of the Bonus Round.
On October 22:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up YOU WEAR IT WELL is categorized as Song Lyrics instead of Song Title.
- Oddly, the closed-captioning does not display the category names in quotation marks until the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- Contestant Katey begins to solve the bonus puzzle IT'S OUT OF THE WAY, but pauses for nearly two seconds and does not say WAY until after the buzzer. Following a stopdown, Pat states that her answer is unacceptable due to the pause. Unusually for a road show, stock audience groans are dubbed in during Pat's explanation.
On October 23:
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree from NoMoreRack.com.
- Two contestants in a row call A in Round 2; following an incorrect purchase, the next contestant calls the repeat on Free Play.
On October 24:
- For the first time, a contestant (Shelley) declines to hop aboard the Express. She hits it again later in the round, and declines it a second time.
- The Round 3 puzzle CRISPY COCONUT CHICKEN is categorized as Food & Drink instead of Same Letter.
- The second-place contestant has $20,077.
- The bonus puzzle is not solved, but after time expires, the winning music is briefly heard in the background. This would suggest that it sounded by mistake and its audio track was removed, but that it was still picked up faintly by a mic.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show footage from the musical Rock of Ages, then chat with four of its stars: Troy Burgess, Justin Mortelliti, Carrie St. Louis, and Mark Shunock. ROCK OF AGES appears on the board, and a snippet of their cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" plays briefly before the cut to the promotional consideration plugs. This cameo is promoted by Jim after Round 2.
On October 25:
- Bankrupt is hit four times in Round 2, one of which comes from the Mystery Wedge and is the only one that takes away any money.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up is People, and the Bonus Round is Person.
From October 23-25, the usual opening graphics of Las Vegas after the title card are edited out for time. The editing on the 24th is likely because of the Rock of Ages guest appearances.
Interestingly, every Bonus Round during the week of October 21 is in a different category.
October 28 is Halloween Week, taped August 22. During this week:
- Bob Cisneros directs.
- The pre-Round 2 promotional consideration plug is read by an unknown person in a spooky voice, using the Season 28 Halloween Week opening animation.
- A moan accompanies the Mystery Round chord.
- The category strips are orange with black bats; during maingame rounds, they reveal with a sliding pumpkin.
- The Speed-Up wipe alternates between a flying bat and a jack-o'-lantern.
On October 28, in the final segment, Pat hands out candy to the children of various staff members. The children are dressed in their Halloween costumes.
On October 29:
- Contestant Jennifer solves the $1,000 Toss-Up TRICK-OR-TREATING with only the second R revealed. Interestingly, she tries to back out of solving, but barely gets in the answer before Pat can rule against her.
- Contestant Jonathan wins the ½ Car in Round 2.
- Contestant Hannah tries twice to spin during the Speed-Up.
Between October 25 and 29, in a rather unusual streak, three Bonus Rounds in a row are Person; this is also part of an eight-day streak beginning on the 23rd in which neither Thing(s) nor Phrase is used in the Bonus Round.
On October 30, for only the first time this season, a "null" cycle is edited out of the Speed-Up.
On October 31 and November 1, the category strip for Character is in the correct font; this is likely a result of the strips being altered for the week.

November 2013:

On November 1, the $1,000 Toss-Up HERE'S JOHNNY is categorized as Quotation, possibly to avoid using Movie Quote and Movie Title for consecutive puzzles; alternately, the puzzle could have been categorized as TV Quote, but this would break the trend of using a themed puzzle as the $1,000 Toss-Up.
November 4 is America's Game. During this week:
- The category wipe for maingame rounds is a bald eagle flying in blue sky.
- Starting this week, some of the daily promos aired by affiliates feature a voiceover saying "Can you solve this puzzle?", followed by a previous episode's answer being revealed in the manner of a Toss-Up, then a sound clip of that puzzle being solved.
On November 4:
- As the sixth episode from Halloween Week, the set and lightning effects are retained, but the spooky sound effects are removed.
- The Prize copy is preceded by a trailer for Last Vegas.
- Contestant Josh solves the Speed-Up puzzle FINISHING IN FIRST PLACE on the buzzer. Although the win music plays and the answer is revealed, Pat immediately tells him that they will have to stop tape to check his answer. Just before the Bonus Round, Pat tells him that he solved the puzzle just in time.
On November 5:
- As the sixth episode from Teachers Week, that week's altered ½ Car tags are used; all three contestants are teachers; and Mark Corwin directs.
- Contestant Andy leaves with only the Prize Puzzle package and no other cash or prizes.
- The Bonus Wheel lighting is altered so that the wedges are red, white, and blue.
On November 6, the bonus puzzle BOUNTIFUL HARVEST is only the third known one under three-and-a-vowel rules to have at least one each of R, S, T, L, N, and E.
November 7 is the sixth episode from Weekend Getaways, and is hence the last episode directed by Mark Corwin. On this episode:
- The Round 1 puzzle ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST is categorized as Song Lyrics instead of Song Title, possibly due to the $3,000 Toss-Up being TV Title.
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the person who began them.
- Contestant Desiree begins to buy a repeated A in Round 3, but quickly changes to O. She is credited with the O, which is in the puzzle.
- Once again, the Bonus Wheel lighting is altered so that the wedges are red, white, and blue.
November 8 is the sixth taping of the final Secret Santa Sweepstakes week, the second half of which becomes "Home for the Holidays" with no sweepstakes (see below). On this episode:
- The set is decorated for Christmas.
- Robert Ennis Jr., technical director of Wheel and Jeopardy!, begins filling in as director. During his run as director, there are several obvious directing errors, one of the more noticeable being that every overhead shot of the red and yellow arrows is crooked.
- A cycle of three lost turns is edited out of Round 2 despite not being "null"; the first lost turn is an incorrect vowel from contestant Trisha, evidenced by her score instantly changing from $1,500 to $1,250.
- In Round 2, contestant Renee nearly lifts up part of the Wheel template when picking up the Wild Card.
- Round 4, KNOCK KNOCK WHO'S THERE?, is oddly categorized as Quotation instead of Phrases; however, the $3,000 Toss-Up is Phrase.
- In Round 4, Pat prompts Renee to use her Wild Card on $900; she declines and solves the puzzle instead.
- The Bonus Round envelope noticeably rips when Pat opens it.
- In the final segment, Vanna promotes the Millionaire Maker contest held last season, with clips shown of the event held on August 24.
November 11-27 are the third Secret Santa Sweepstakes, taped September 19-20 and October 3. During these weeks:
- The Gift Tag and Prize are $1,000 and $7,500 Walmart shopping sprees, respectively.
- The frame around the Wheel is red and green at the start of the show.
- The Bonus Wheel flashes red and green in two-wedge increments when it is spun, then changes back to blue when an envelope is selected.
- The retro Bonus Rounds are not done.
The week of November 11 is also Walmart Family Week. During this week:
- The ½ Car tags are not used.
- The category strips have Christmas lights when the puzzle is revealed.
On November 11:
- Three sets of female identical twins play.
- The board's border continues to flash through the third turn of Round 1, likely suggesting that it was not stopped after the $2,000 Toss-Up was solved.
- Interestingly, Kristina and Kathy's first two spins in Round 2 land on the green $500s that normally have the ½ Car tags; as they are the only ones who play in that round, they would have won the car under normal circumstances.
- The wide shot of the first spin in Round 5 is a re-shoot.
On November 12, the first letter of the last Secret Santa SPIN ID (after the Bonus Round) does not match the name announced with it.
On November 13:
- A "null" cycle edited out of Round 1 is referenced by Pat saying "There you go" when Sandra and Alissa call M, despite no lost turns having aired at that point.
- The category strip for Character in Round 4 is in Gotham when the puzzle is revealed, but changes to Arial after the round goes to Speed-Up.
- Pat almost forgets to ask Jim to read the Secret Santa SPIN IDs after the Speed-Up is solved.
- The Bonus Wheel remains blue and purple.
On November 14:
- The shot of the three teams clapping during the intro is obviously a re-shoot, as the Wheel has the yellow arrow on $650 instead of $2,500, though it can be seen in the proper position before Pat and Vanna's entrance.
- The board's border is red and green during the Bonus Round.
On November 15:
- Oddly, there is a cut to Vanna after contestants Yvonne and Pamela flip over a Mystery Wedge to find $10,000 on the reverse.
- Once again, the board's border is red and green during the Bonus Round.
- The bonus puzzle OVERWHELMING SUPPORT is a rare instance of one under three-and-a-vowel rules (and the second in only two weeks) to have at least one each of R, S, T, L, N, and E.
During the week of November 18:
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar driving Santa's sleigh.
- On November 18-20, before Round 3, Vanna narrates a segment in which some staff members share their Christmas memories. This segment is titled "Wheel Family Memories" and is sponsored by Walmart.
On November 18:
- Contestant Kenny begins to spin the Wheel in Round 4, but Pat stops him just as the Final Spin bells sound.
- The Bonus Wheel's light sequence is not adjusted for Kenny to spin, nor does it change to blue just as he grabs the envelope.
- Kenny solves the bonus puzzle FOREVER YOUNG at the last second despite getting no help from his extra letters.
On November 19:
- Pat does not say the Bonus Round category until after the contestant has picked her letters.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna do an additional "Wheel Family Memories" segment on contestant Trina, who placed second on September 18.
- Bob Cisneros is confirmed as the permanent director, although Robert Ennis Jr. appears to direct for the rest of the Sweepstakes.
On November 20:
- The $2,000 Toss-Up THE BALDWIN BROTHERS is the first appearance of Family since November 16, 2011, the third of three known uses of that category as a Toss-Up, and the fourth known instance of it naming a specific family instead of the individual members.
- In Round 3, Pat prompts contestant Meg to use her Wild Card on $3,500; she declines, solves the puzzle, and ends up taking the Wild Card to the Bonus Round.
- The board's border is red and green during the Bonus Round.
- At the end of the show, everyone in the audience receives a $25 Walmart gift card.
On November 21:
- In the intro segment, Rebecca mentions that her dog reacts to the right-letter ding; as a result, Pat asks for the ding to sound three times over the course of the interview, and again before the $2,000 Toss-Up is revealed.
- There is a noticeable editing error in Round 1 (KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED), as immediately after contestant Rebecca buys an I, control passes to Jessica. The edited-out turn was an incorrect vowel, most likely a repeated A, as Rebecca's scoreboard can be seen reading $500 after the edit even though her two aired turns (two G's on a ½ Car tag, then the purchase of I) amounted to $750.
- In Round 3, contestant Jessica hits a ½ Car tag immediately after that round's other tag is lost to Bankrupt. She tries to pass the tag to Pat; he tells her to toss it aside instead, which she does.
- The Wheel Family Memories segment is done before the $3,000 Toss-Up instead of before Round 3.
- All three contestants ring in with wrong answers on the $3,000 Toss-Up GIRL SCOUT TROOP. As was the case with RUBBER MASK on November 2, 2012, the wrong-letter buzzer sounds after the third incorrect answer.
On November 22:
- The Wheel Family Memories segment is not done.
- Oddly, the Bonus Wheel is red and green at the beginning of the Bonus Round segment, but changes to its normal blue just before the contestant spins.
On November 25:
- For the first time, a contestant (Dean) who hops aboard the Express solves the puzzle even though consonants remain.
- Contestant Donna spins the Wheel just as the Final Spin bells sound. She is allowed to complete her turn, but hits Bankrupt. The camera over the Wheel is zoomed out too far during this spin.
- The cash awarded with Bonus Round cars is reduced to $3,000.
On November 26:
- The Round 1 puzzle HE'S MAKING A LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE oddly has two spaces between the last two words instead of one.
- Seven turns in a row are lost during Round 2, three of which are edited out as a "null" cycle.
- The direction work seems to be that of Robert Ennis Jr., but Bob Cisneros is credited as director; the actual director of the last three episodes is uncertain, as both the 25th and 27th use the shortest credit rolls.
On November 27:
- There are two sets of duplicate categories: the $2,000 Toss-Up and Round 3 are Fun & Games, while the $3,000 Toss-Up is Things and the Bonus Round is Thing. Round 3's puzzle, LEARNING TO PLAY THE UKULELE, could have been categorized as What Are You Doing? to avoid the duplicate category.
- For only the second time this season, a "null" cycle is edited out of the Speed-Up.
During the last three days of the Secret Santa Sweepstakes, many overhead shots of the Wheel are noticeably crooked; this further suggests that Ennis directed these episodes.
November 28-29 is Home For the Holidays, also taped October 3. During these two episodes, the set uses its normal colors.
On November 28:
- Bob Cisneros becomes the permanent director.
- The Wheel Prize is $5,000 credit for RetailMeNot.com.
- All three contestants hit Lose A Turn in Round 3.
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 3. It is hit six times in this round (tying the record for most known hits in one round) and nine times overall, one of which is from the Mystery Wedge. The total of nine penalty wedge hits in Round 3 is very likely a record.
- Round 3 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
- Unusually, Pat does not call RSTLNE after announcing the category for the Bonus Round.
- The bonus puzzle BABYPROOFING is misspelled (it should be hyphenated).
On November 29:
- The Wheel Prize is $5,000 credit for Cooking.com.
- Contestant Michael wins the ½ Car in Round 3; his total of $36,248 is possibly the most won in a non-Speed-Up round since a $44,300 Round 3 win in November 1986.
- No vowels are bought in Round 4.
- In the final segment, a Changing Lives segment is done on Stephanie Burns, who competed with her brother on a Family Week episode on March 24, 2010.

December 2013:

December 2 is Wheel Salutes Our Military, taped October 4. During this week:
- The frame around the Wheel is red, white, and blue.
- The Bonus Wheel uses the same colors as the earliest America's Game tapings of this season, although the rings change to red instead of blue.
On December 2:
- The first spin of Round 2 is clearly dubbed in from another episode's Round 1, as it shows contestant Dan landing on the blue $300 (which is covered by a Mystery Wedge in this round), when he actually landed on the orange one; also, $2,500 is briefly visible in the dubbed-in shot.
- Contestant Shanita calls an incorrect vowel on the Express, and the $250 is deducted just as the Bankrupt graphic appears.
- Strangely, a stock audience groan is dubbed in after Shanita gives an incorrect answer to the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- The Round 4 puzzle THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS is aired only two days after the death of actor Paul Walker. While no comment is made of the puzzle on-air, some affiliates run a crawl mentioning that the episode was taped before his death; the show also comments about the circumstances on Facebook, as does Pat on Twitter.
- The third-place contestant has $14,200.
Starting December 3, retro Bonus Rounds are no longer those used in Season 30.
On December 3:
- Oddly, contestant Sean does not wear a nametag.
- The Wheel Prize is a $5,000 credit for Creditcards.com.
- The Million-Dollar Wedge is picked up on the first turn of the game, then lost to Bankrupt immediately after. Interestingly, this is also the only thing lost to Bankrupt in the entire game.
- A spin in Round 1 is dubbed in post-production, as it shows contestant Sean landing on the orange $800 even though he actually landed on the red one. The dubbed-in spin is evidenced by the Gift Tag being absent but the Million-Dollar Wedge appearing; Pat can also be heard groaning, suggesting that the actual spin just barely avoided clicking over to Lose A Turn.
- Rounds 2 and 3 are played entirely by the person who began them.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of a regular round (Round 4; incorrect calls of S, Y, and R).
On December 4, the winning contestant, whose real name is Kevin, is referred to as Flash on the show.
On December 5:
- Wheel is pre-empted on many ABC and NBC affiliates airing the show at 7:00 PM Eastern due to special hour-long editions of their nightly news programs covering the death of Nelson Mandela.
- For only the third time this season, a "null" cycle is edited out of the Speed-Up.
- For the first known time, one contestant (Darcie) wins all three Toss-Ups, and another (Brian) wins all other rounds.
- There is a noticeable edit right before Brian spins the Bonus Wheel, suggesting either that the spin was reshot, or that some banter between him and Pat was edited out for time constraints.
On December 6:
- Contestant Jordon does not wear a nametag.
- There is a ½ Car win.
- In Round 3, Jordon tries to buy a vowel despite having only $200. He manages to call a vowel before Pat realizes the error and the "purchase" is voided.
- Contestant Jen finishes in second place with $21,545, becoming a rare ½ Car winner not to win the game.
- Contestant Joe wins a Buick Encore in the Bonus Round, resulting in a very rare instance of two contestants winning cars in a single episode.
Between November 22 and December 6, eleven winners in a row are male.
December 9 is Disney Cruise Line Week, taped October 17. During this week:
- The floor is blue.
- Every episode features a cold open with various Disney characters, some of which have canned laughter. After the cold open, Tinker Bell taps the screen, which transitions to a graphic of a cruise ship as Jim says "It's America's Game!" Except on Thursday, various Disney characters introduce Pat and Vanna instead of Jim.
- Disney characters also escort Pat and Vanna onstage, and appear with them in the closing segment.
- The category strips are the same as last season's Disney Week. During maingame rounds, Tinker Bell taps the strip when the puzzle is revealed.
- The Prize is a Disney Cruise Lines cruise in the Bahamas. Tinker Bell taps the screen as a wipe.
- All of the Prize Puzzles offer trips on Disney Cruise Lines in other locations.
- A sweepstakes is held in which home viewers may submit each day's bonus puzzle for a chance to win a Disney cruise.
- No cars are available in the Bonus Round.
- On Monday-Wednesday, Vanna promotes Disney Cruise Lines in the final segment, before cutting back to her and Pat in the studio. Thursday and Friday feature conventional closing segments with the various Disney characters present.
- Oddly, the Prize Puzzle camera is promoted during the credits instead of within the Prize copy, with Jim saying that "some contestants may receive" it.
On December 9:
- The cold open is Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale talking to a crew member of a Disney cruise ship. Mickey and Minnie introduce Pat and Vanna from center stage, while Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale follow them onstage.
- Round 2 is only the second appearance of Star & Role since May 20, 2011.
- For the first time, more than one contestant or team hops aboard the Express.
- Contestants Eileen and Dave win by $52, resulting in the first instance of a contestant or team who solves on Express not winning the game. Pat erroneously states that they won by $22 during the final tally, then corrects himself after the break.
On December 10:
- The cold open is Goofy struggling to spin the Wheel, before the camera pans over to show Chip and Dale restraining it with a rope. Goofy and Donald Duck introduce Pat and Vanna from the back of the audience, while Mickey and Minnie escort them onstage.
- Oddly, none of the contestants' hometowns are mentioned.
- During the post-game chat, Pat and Vanna allow Goofy to spin the Wheel.
On December 11:
- The cold open is Minnie and Vanna in the dressing room getting ready for the show. Mickey then introduces Pat and Vanna from center stage.
- There is a noticeable edit in Round 2: after the blue team buys O, the shot changes to the board with all three O's already revealed before the dings have finished sounding.
- In the Speed-Up, contestant Elaine calls R while her husband, George, calls A. Pat asks them to pick a letter, and they pick A, which is in the puzzle.
- Mary Jo solves the bonus puzzle GROUNDHOG after Vanna reveals the second O, but Pat jokingly tells them to wait until the timer starts, after which John says the answer.
- Donald Duck appears with Pat and Vanna during the closing chat.
Interestingly, both December 10 and 11 have a contestant named Mary Jo who has been married 41 years.
On December 12:
- The cold open is Mickey, Goofy, and Donald having difficulties preparing to shoot an introduction to the show. After the chant, Pat and Vanna are introduced normally by Jim, although they are also followed by Chip and Dale.
- During the Speed-Up, the "only vowels remain" beeps appear to have been added in post-production, as Pat never acknowledges that only vowels remain, even after the blue and red teams call consonants (the former of which is a Y called immediately after the yellow team called the same letter); the yellow team finally calls O and solves. These events do not affect the outcome.
- The right-letter ding appears to sound very faintly when the second O in the Speed-Up puzzle HYSTERICAL COMEDY DUO is revealed.
On December 11 and 12, Movie Quote is used on consecutive shows for the first time. Notably, the latter puzzle ends with Pat referencing the long-since-discarded $3,000 bonus questions.
On December 13, the cold open is Pat with Goofy, Donald, Chip, Dale, and Mickey, preparing themselves backstage. All five characters and Minnie appear onstage, with Minnie introducing Pat and Vanna.
From December 5-13, neither Before & After nor Same Name is used for seven consecutive shows.
December 16 is Wheel Around the World, taped November 7. During this week:
- Except on the 18th, the hosts of a foreign version help present each night's Wheel Prize: Hungary on Monday, Romania on Tuesday, Vietnam (in subtitled Vietnamese) on Thursday, and Spain on Friday.
- The category wipe is a spinning globe.
- The scoreboards now display "PRIZE PUZZLE", in the same style as the Final Spin wipe, at the start of that round.
- The hosts of foreign versions do bumpers after Round 1 and/or before Round 3.
- From Monday to Wednesday, a clip of another foreign version is shown before the post-game chat: Spain on Monday, Georgia on Tuesday, and Romania on Wednesday. After Pat and Vanna sign off, there is another clip of the hosts of that version doing the same.
On December 16:
- The Prize Puzzle camera is a Sony Alpha NEX-5T; until February, it alternates between the NEX-5T and NEX-5R, except where noted.
- The hosts of the Estonian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Spanish versions are seen in the intro.
- Pat does not prompt contestant John to use his Wild Card on $3,500, despite earning it only one spin earlier. This does not end up mattering, as he hits Bankrupt on his next spin.
- The overhead shot of the Final Spin is added in post-production (likely taken from the next day's Final Spin), as it shows the red arrow landing on the purple $500 next to $400, even though the actual Final Spin landed on the one next to $450.
- Five consecutive wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up, none of which are edited out.
On December 17:
- The intro is the Pat and Vanna avatars carrying luggage through a desert.
- Contestant Melissa begins to solve the Round 2 puzzle MUSIC SENSATION KATY PERRY, beginning to say "Kerry Paty" but then saying the correct name without restarting from the beginning. Her answer is accepted.
On December 18:
- The hosts of the Georgian, Vietnamese (in subtitled Vietnamese), Spanish, and Romanian versions are seen in the intro.
- Vanna reads the first line of the Prize Puzzle copy from Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica.
- For only the first time this season, a decades category is used (specifically, The 80's in Round 4). Interestingly, another one (The 90's) is used on the next show.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- The bonus puzzle QUIRKY PERSONALITY is a rare instance of one under three-and-a-vowel rules (and the third this season) to have at least one each of R, S, T, L, N, and E.
On December 19, the intro features the Pat and Vanna avatars in China, with Pat striking a gong that has the show's logo on it.
On December 20:
- The hosts of the Spanish, Georgian, Brazilian, and Hungarian versions are seen in the intro.
- 12 wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up, including two "null" cycles that are not edited out; the former is the second instance this week of five consecutive wrong letters.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of December 16.
From December 12-20, What Are You Doing? is not used for seven consecutive shows.
December 23 is Outdoor Adventures, taped November 21. During this week:
- The set is decorated for the holidays, despite the theme.
- The Prizes are all tours courtesy of G Adventures.
- The category wipe is the Pat and Vanna avatars riding a single snowmobile.
- The staff wishes viewers happy holidays in bumpers after Round 1 and before Round 3; on Tuesday and Thursday, a third bumper is done before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
On December 23:
- The Round 1 puzzle ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH is categorized as Song Lyrics instead of Song Title.
- Contestant Andrew spins $3,500 three times in a row in Round 2.
- The Round 5 puzzle BERT & ERNIE is a now-rare maingame puzzle that is shorter than 10 letters.
- In Round 5, contestant Crystal uses the Wild Card on $500 without Pat prompting her first.
- Rounds 2, 4, and 5 are played entirely by the person who began them.
- Six rounds are played; for the second time since April 21, 2011, the sixth round does not begin as a Speed-Up.
- During the Bonus Round, the shot of the puzzle board is too close, but is fixed immediately after.
On December 24:
- Rounds 3 and 4 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
- In Round 5, the buzzer accidentally sounds on a correct letter (T), but it is edited out and the T's are revealed as normal.
- Contestant Whitney wins despite failing to claim $22,550 in Round 5 (which ends as a Speed-Up).
On December 25:
- The "only vowels remain" beeps do not sound despite only the I missing from the Round 2 puzzle CUPCAKES COBBLERS & COOKIES.
- Contestant Lillian fills in the entire Round 3 puzzle THE HOTTEST SHOW IN TOWN by herself. On her last turn, she calls N before spinning; against normal practice, she is asked after her next spin if she still wants to call N, instead of being held to that letter.
- The "no more vowels" graphic does not come up when the last vowel is revealed in Round 4, due to the Final Spin wipe; however, Pat still mentions the "vowels are worth nothing" part of the Final Spin spiel.
On December 26:
- For the first time, a contestant (Makida) uses the Wild Card immediately after picking it up for $500 and uses it after buying a vowel per Pat's advice after she tried to use the card for an A.
- Rounds 2 and 3 are played entirely by the person who began them.
On December 27:
- Oddly, the TV-G parental guidelines graphic appears upon returning from every commercial, instead of appearing only at the top of the show.
- One of contestant Dave's spins in Round 1 is obviously dubbed in from Round 4, as all of the cardboard is missing from the Wheel in that shot, and the Wild Card is sitting on the railing even though no one had picked it up yet.
- The second holiday greeting is done by Jim at center stage, "from the announcing department".
- The Final Spin appears to have been reshot, as most of Pat's Final Spin spiel is absent, although the closed captioning still displays "ask you to give me a letter".
On December 26 and 27, two contestants in a row win the maingame with $12,099.
December 30 is New Year's from Las Vegas, taped July 31. During this week:
- The Prize Puzzle camera is once again a Sony Alpha NEX-5R.
- On Monday and Wednesday, Vanna promotes AutoNation, the provider of the week's Bonus Round car, after Round 1.
- The category wipe is an assortment of party hats and noisemakers.
- The scoreboards display "Happy New Year" at the start of Rounds 1 and 3.
On December 30:
- Contestant Luisa says "bringing" when solving the $1,000 Toss-Up RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR, but this mistake is not realized. The error does not affect the outcome.
- Pat and Vanna read part of the Prize Puzzle copy from Sandals Grande Riviera Resort.
On December 31:
- The Round 1 puzzle I FEEL THE NEED THE NEED FOR SPEED ties the record for the most known instances of one vowel in a puzzle, with 10 E's.
- The car horn does not sound when contestant Julie lands on the ½ Car tag between $350 and $900 in Round 1.
- Julie wins the ½ Car after picking up both tags on the only two spins of the same round.

January 2014:

On January 1:
- Contestant Lucinda gives an incomplete answer to the $3,000 Toss-Up USE THE FORCE LUKE, then says the right answer after Pat has ruled against her.
- Jim does not mention the $5,000 cash bonus when the Camaro is won in the Bonus Round.
On January 2:
- Contestant Patrick hesitantly gives the correct answer to the $3,000 Toss-Up, but Pat initially starts to rule him wrong before crediting him with a right answer. Oddly, the $3,000 appears on his scoreboard before the answer is revealed.
- The Round 4 puzzle is DON'T GET BUZZED OUT, a phrase sometimes said by Pat when a player is taking too long to make a decision.
- At least two "null" cycles are edited out of the Speed-Up. Counting these edits, 10 wrong letters are called.
January 6 is America's Game. During this week:
- On Monday and Friday, the category strip includes a graphic of the Statue of Liberty when the puzzle is revealed. From Tuesday to Thursday, the category wipe is the bald eagle that was used on the week of November 4.
- On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the Gift Tag is a $1,000 debit card from Beef Bucks; on Tuesday and Thursday, it is $1,000 cash from Kit-Cat Clocks. Interestingly, the latter tag is oriented vertically instead of horizontally.
- On Monday, Thursday, and Friday, the $1,000 Toss-Up is not American-themed.
On January 6:
- During the interviews, contestant Bryan mentions that his son likes it when contestants hit Bankrupt; the sound effects booth then sounds the slide whistle at Pat's request. The closed captioning displays the sound as "[ WHIR! ]".
- Contestant Bryan fills in the entire Round 3 puzzle A WEALTH OF FUN THINGS TO DO by himself. Interestingly, he hits Express on his first spin but declines, then hits it again immediately after and hops aboard.
- Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
- Round 4 has two cycles of three lost turns edited out. While the first one is "null" (and referenced by Pat telling Bryan "back to you" despite being his first aired turn), the second is not, as it includes contestant Veronica buying either a repeated vowel or incorrect O, the only vowel not in the puzzle (BEAUTIFUL SMILE), which is evidenced by her scoreboard reading $800 despite her aired turns amounting to $1,050. The latter cycle also affects the final score (but not the outcome) as Veronica solves the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt.
- In Round 4, Pat prompts Veronica to use her Wild Card on $450, which she does, making this the lowest value that the card has been used on since a use on $400 in January 2007.
- In the post-game chat, Pat and Vanna mention that the 6,000th nighttime episode is coming up this April.
On January 7:
- As this is the sixth episode from Wheel Salutes Our Military, the set uses the same colors as the rest of that week.
- Round 3 begins with a cycle of three consecutive lost turns that is not edited out due to the third turn being a Bankrupt that claims a Wild Card.
On January 8:
- After interviewing the red contestant, Pat accidentally begins interviewing the blue contestant.
- The Prize is $5,000 cash courtesy of Yowza!!
- Contestant Cathy wins the Mystery Prize, Gift Tag, and Prize Wedge in Round 2.
On January 9:
- The Prize is $5,000 credit for RetailMeNot.com.
- A light on-set audibly explodes during the Bonus Wheel spin.
On January 10:
- Vanna wears a suit.
- In Round 3, the wide shot of the second turn appears to be a reshoot, as the red and yellow scoreboards are still displaying those contestants' post-Round 2 scores, and the yellow arrow is blinking despite it being the blue contestant's turn. The close-up of the same spin also appears to be a reshoot, as it is missing both the Million-Dollar Wedge and the ½ Car tag between $350 and $900; this is made more obvious in that the blue contestant (Seneca) picks up the Million-Dollar Wedge on the very next turn.
- Also in Round 3, Seneca calls a repeated R, but it is not acknowledged as such.
- Later in the same round, contestant Lynn tries to pick up a ½ Car tag before calling a letter, but Pat stops her.
January 13 is "Always Great! Wheel & V8". Strangely, TV listings initially displayed this week as "College Week". During this week:
- The category strip is green, and a bottle of V8 reveals it during maingame rounds.
- The Gift Tag and Wheel Prize are $1,000 and $7,500 respectively, courtesy of V8. While the latter is placed on the usual Prize position on Monday (where it is won), it moves to the red $800 on Tuesday due to the wedge also being red (but still awards $500 per letter).
- Starting this week, the Bonus Round is sponsored by V8. Strangely, the sponsorship is plugged before the segment only if it is lost, but after if it is won.
- A sweepstakes is held. After the Bonus Round, a "V8 Puzzle of the Day" is shown, and home viewers may enter the answer on the show's website for a chance to win $1,000. Each answer contains a V which is in the same font as the V8 logo.
- On Monday and Friday, Pat does a bumper consisting of V8 trivia before Round 3.
On January 13:
- In Round 1, the ½ Car tag between $450 and $300 is placed higher on the wedge than usual.
- The Mystery Wedge on the blue $300 comes loose, and Pat interrupts contestant Sean so he can fix it, albeit by placing it on the adjacent red $700. This affects the round, but not the outcome, as Sean's spin on that turn lands on the partially-exposed $300 and is treated as a $300 spin, though his score does not change until just as Pat "fixes" the wedge.
- During the post-game chat, Pat and Vanna announce that everybody in the audience will receive a bottle of V8.
On January 14, the retro Bonus Round is not done.
On January 15, there is a very rare occurrence of a contestant solving the Speed-Up without any money.
On January 16, a "null" cycle is edited out of Round 5 before Speed-Up, while one is left intact during it.
On January 17, the first overhead shot in Round 1 is dubbed in, as the Million-Dollar Wedge is missing.
During the week of January 13, all five winners are male.
January 20 is Leave Winter Behind, taped October 18. During this week:
- The intro is the Pat and Vanna avatars hopping from a Winter setting to a Summer setting.
- The category strip wipe includes butterflies flying in front of it.
On January 20:
- In Round 2, the "no more vowels" sound effect is heard, but the graphic is not shown due to a shot of the Wheel being used.
- Oddly, the $3,000 Toss-Up THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE is the longest puzzle in the entire game, at 21 letters.
- The winning contestant leaves with only $8,712.
On January 21:
- For the second time, a contestant solves on Express even though consonants remain.
- During the closing, Pat "tweets" from the stage, "Doesn't Vanna look hot tonight?". Pat posts the tweet shortly before 7:30 PM Eastern as the episode airs as if the tweet was done live, then does it again before 8:00, 10:30, and 11:00 in time with broadcasts on other stations and the West Coast, deleting the previous one each time.
Between December 20 and January 20, only four Bonus Rounds are not played for $30,000.
Between December 23 and January 21, Round 4 does not begin as a Speed-Up for 22 consecutive episodes; this is the longest known streak of such episodes since the practice of always having a Final Spin began in Season 18.
On January 23:
- After the Round 3 puzzle is solved, Pat begins to throw to commercial before being reminded from offstage that it is a Prize Puzzle. After Jim announces the prize, stage manager John Lauderdale makes an appearance at the contestant area.
- During the Speed-Up, the blue contestant tries to call a letter just before the yellow contestant is buzzed out.
- The Round 4 puzzle SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS is categorized as Song Lyrics instead of Song Title.
On January 24, the V8 Bonus Round plug is not done.
January 27 is Winter Hideaways, taped November 22. During this week, the category wipe is the same one used for the week of December 23.
On January 27:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up WIND-CHILL FACTOR is improperly hyphenated.
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 3, and seven times overall. Interestingly, three of the hits take away no money or cardboard, and one takes away only a ½ Car tag; further, four hits come from the same contestant (Julia).
- The Round 4 puzzle MONEY MONEY MONEY is a rare maingame puzzle with only three unique consonants.
Starting January 29, the V8 pre-Bonus Round plug appears sporadically regardless of whether it is won.
On January 29:
- Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
- The bonus puzzle JUNE JULY AND AUGUST is inexplicably categorized as Things.
On January 30, after contestant Katie calls the first letter in the Speed-Up, her scoreboard briefly displays $1,500 before changing to the correct total of $3,000.

February 2014:

February 3 is Sandals Resorts Romance Week, taped December 12. During this week:
- In the opening, Pat and Vanna mention the theme of the week from a Sandals Resort, which is followed by a montage of resort clips before cutting to the studio.
- The Prize is a trip to Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort in Nassau, with Pat and Vanna reading the copy on-location.
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar shooting an arrow of hearts from right to left.
- Pat and Vanna do a bumper for Sandals Resort before Round 3.
- The Prize Puzzle trip is to a Sandals resort, and its camera is a Sony Action Cam.
- Sandals is plugged before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a pink heart.
- The contestant window in the Bonus Round is formed by two Sweethearts candies.
- The post-game chat is also done from a Sandals Resort.
On February 3:
- Before Round 2, Pat lets contestants Harold and Quinzola name their children, since they did not do so in the interviews.
- In a rather rare occurrence, the only Bankrupts in the game take away no money or cardboard.
On February 4, the blue team shouts out the answer to the $3,000 Toss-Up but forget to ring in, and the red team rings in with the right answer immediately afterward.
On February 5:
- The $2,000 Toss-Up is a non-sequitur answer of PELICANS & PEACOCKS.
- The red team accidentally spills water on a ½ Car tag they win in Round 1, causing part of the black outline to bleed.
On February 6, contestants Mark and Stephanie say "Calvary" when solving the Speed-Up puzzle THE CAVALRY TO THE RESCUE, but their answer is accepted. Before the Bonus Round, Pat says that their answer is an acceptable alternate pronunciation.
On February 7:
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 1 (an incorrect R, and incorrect S, and a Bankrupt by a team with no money or cardboard).
- In Round 3, contestants Chris and Diana hit Express on their first spin, and use it to call every letter but A in the puzzle CANDLELIGHT DINNER FOR TWO.
- Rounds 2 and 3 are played entirely by the teams that began them.
February 10 is Venetian Valentine's Day Week from The Venetian, taped August 2.
On February 10:
- Six rounds are played; this is both the first known instance since September 6, 1991 of this happening on a road show, and the only known instance of this happening on a two-player team week.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit, although a team goes Bankrupt on Express.
On February 11:
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 1; this also leads to a rare instance of all four Bankrupts being hit in the same round.
- In Round 3, the board flashes when the last letter in the puzzle is revealed, but several seconds before the team solves it.
On February 12:
- The right-letter ding accidentally sounds a second time in Round 1 after the R in WHISPERING SWEET NOTHINGS is revealed.
- No vowels are bought in Round 3.
- For the third time, a contestant solves on Express even though one consonant remains.
- Oddly, two ads are shown between the SPIN ID and post-game chat.
On February 13:
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 1.
- The first spin of Round 3 is dubbed in from another episode, as a Prize wedge can briefly be seen in the overhead shot.
- The yellow team's scoreboard does not change from $1,900 to $5,700 after they call L in the Speed-Up. After they solve, Pat acknowledges that their final score may be incorrect while their score from that round changes from $1,900 to the minimum of $2,000. Before the Bonus Round, Pat announces the yellow team's actual score.
- The second-place team, after correction, has $23,849.
On February 14:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up FEBRUARY FOURTEENTH is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Event; this is even more noticeable than the show's long-running trend of categorizing months as Thing, as past puzzles that have named specific days have been categorized as Event.
- In Round 3, the red team calls M on $3,500 (which captioning also displays), but they are credited with N, of which there are three as opposed to two M's. While they solve the puzzle immediately after, this does not affect the outcome.
- Rounds 3 and 4 are played entirely by the team that began them.
- The third- and second-place teams have $14,300 and $20,299 (or $16,799 had they been credited with M in the above situation), respectively.
February 17 is "Taste of the Good Life", taped August 3 at the Palazzo. During this week, the category wipe is the Pat avatar in a limousine.
On February 17:
- The Round 2 puzzle CAVIAR CAPERS AND CRACKERS is categorized as Food & Drink, instead of using an ampersand and Same Letter.
- Round 3 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
On February 18, Same Name permanently reverts to spelling out AND.
On February 20:
- Round 2 begins with a cut "null" cycle which Pat references by later telling contestant Sonia "back to you" despite it being her first aired turn.
- Two Final Spins landing on Bankrupt are edited out.
Oddly, during the week of February 17, three bonus puzzles are only one word; even more oddly, none of them are compound words.
February 24 is Spa Getaway, taped January 16. From this point onward, the Prize Puzzle camera is the Sony Alpha NEX-5T.
On February 24:
- A new scoreboard wipe is added for the Mystery Round, consisting of "MYSTERY" in yellow text on a purple background, with a Season 24 Mystery Wedge on either side.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 3.
- In a rather rare occurrence, the only Bankrupts in the game (one of which comes from the Mystery Wedge) take away no money or cardboard.
Also on February 24, the website changes; most notably, the Wheel Watchers Club is no longer a separate site (and as a result, the 25th Anniversary Moments page and its archive are removed). The 404 page is updated with the same "PAGE NOT FOUND" puzzle, but with the "Spin Again!" category replaced with a "Back to Home" button; the background is changed to match the current set, as is Vanna's appearance as she is no longer standing next to the puzzle board.
On February 25:
- Contestant James loses $4,450, the Prize, the Million Dollar Wedge, and the Wild Card to Bankrupt in Round 1.
- In Round 2, contestant Michele loses $10,650 and a ½ Car tag to Bankrupt, making this a rare occurrence where the only Bankrupts in the game claim more than $10,000 each (counting the value of prizes).
- Contestant Michele solves the Round 4 puzzle THOUGHTFULNESS (which begins as a Speed-Up) with only the T's showing.
On February 26, twice in Round 2, contestant Kathy calls a letter before spinning again. On both occasions, a female voice (possibly producer Karen Griffith) can be heard saying that she has to spin again, but on neither spin is she held to the letter that she called; this ruling ends up not mattering, as she sticks to her original letter call both times.

March 2014:

March 3 is European Vacation, taped January 17. During this week:
- The Prizes and Prize Puzzle trips are all tours provided by Collette.
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar being chased by bulls.
- The center-stage video wall includes the Pat avatar rowing a gondola; the graphic is also used as the pre-Round 2 bumper.
On March 3:
- For the first known time on a non-team episode, both trips are over $10,000. The Prize Puzzle trip is worth $12,557, the highest value for one on such an episode.
- When contestant Kamiko hits a ½ Car tag in Round 2, the Bankrupt slide whistle accidentally starts to sound instead of the car horn, but cuts off halfway through. Oddly, the closed captioning displays it as "'Bankrupt' siren wails". It is possible that the sound was cued up due to Kamiko landing on the Bankrupt Mystery Wedge on her previous spin, which she does not flip.
- Kamiko gets both ½ Car tags in Round 2, but does not solve the puzzle.
On March 4:
- Round 1 begins with a cut "null" cycle; Pat attempts to cover it up by telling contestant Jim "That's the way to start" when he lands on a ½ Car tag after the cycle.
- When contestant Dominique calls a wrong letter on Express, the closed captioning indicates the Bankrupt slide whistle (in the same way that it was done on March 3), probably because Pat did not verbally indicate that she called a wrong letter until afterward.
- The final segment begins with Pat and Vanna promoting Collette.
On March 5:
- Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
- The Prize is a $10,430 tour of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.
- Contestant Ryan loses $2,450, the Wild Card, and the Prize to Bankrupt in Round 2.
- Contestant Solmaz wins the ½ Car in Round 2 after picking up three tags.
- Nine wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up, including a streak of five from which three are edited out.
On March 6:
- Both of the prizes are over $10,000: the Prize is a $10,018 tour of Italy, and the Prize Puzzle trip is a $11,327 tour of Iceland plus the camera.
- Six turns in a row are lost during Round 4, all of which are edited out despite no "null" cycles taking place; the first and fourth turns are incorrect vowels from contestant Dan, resulting in a $500 discrepancy in his score before he hits Bankrupt later in the round. The edit is also evident by contestant Brook saying "Third time's a charm" despite it being her first aired turn.
- Brook tries to use her Wild Card in the Speed-Up.
- In the final segment, Vanna shares photos taken by her daughter, Giovanna, in Iceland, with the caption "Photos by Gigi San Pietro". One of the photos is reshown over the "Created by Merv Griffin" credit.
On March 7:
- The closed captioning inexplicably misspells contestant Deanna's first name as "Deana" for the entire show despite her name tag bearing the correct spelling.
- After Deanna calls a correct letter on a now out-of-play Mystery Wedge, Pat asks her what she would like to do, which Deanna perceives as whether she would like to flip the wedge or not (even though the other wedge had already been flipped at this point). The confusion is mostly edited out, though it is referenced by Pat joking "Part of my job is to confuse the players as much as possible." after she solves.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are Person.
March 10 is Beaches Family Week, taped December 13. During this week:
- A piece of tropical-sounding music is used in place of the usual opening theme.
- All teams are composed of family members, so the ½ Car tags are not used.
- The Prize is a $16,640 trip to the Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos, the most expensive trip offered via the Prize wedge and the most expensive Wheel Prize since the 2000s; Pat and Vanna read the copy on-location. It is won on the sixth episode, which airs April 21.
- All Prize Puzzle trips are to various Beaches Resorts, all worth $13,698. This is the third-highest Prize Puzzle trip ever known to be offered.
- The category wipe is tropical fish.
- The Prize Puzzle camera is a Sony Action Cam.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- A sweepstakes is held in which viewers can submit each episode's bonus puzzle on the show's website for a chance to win a vacation to a Beaches resort.
On March 10:
- The yellow team places the Wild Card on the arrow instead of the railing upon earning it in Round 2. It moves to the railing by Round 3.
- Pat references a cut "null" cycle in Round 2 by telling the blue team "There you go" despite being their first aired turn.
- The Bonus Round sponsor is changed to Harrah's casinos.
On March 11:
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the teams that began them.
- The Round 4 puzzle ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT is categorized as Quotation instead of the more logical Song Lyrics, although Song Lyrics was also used in Round 1.
- The winning team accidentally calls L and N in the Bonus Round.
- The same team wins the Bonus Round and misses the $1,000,000 by only one envelope.
On March 12:
- The Prize Puzzle is an abnormally short answer of TANTALIZING BUFFET. It is not known why this was done, as the game did not run overly long. Even more interestingly, this answer is even shorter than the bonus puzzle, A NUGGET OF INFORMATION.
- The overhead shot of the Final Spin is positioned too high.
On March 13, the lack of ½ Car tags affects the outcome: in Round 1, contestants Taylor and Belinda hit both of the green $500s on which the tags are normally located, solve the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt in between, and finish in second place with $12,000.
On March 14:
- For unknown reasons, there is no overhead shot during the third spin of Round 1.
- The blue team loses $1,750, the Prize, and the Million-Dollar Wedge to Bankrupt in Round 1. At $16,640, the Prize is very likely the highest non-spendable bonus prize to ever be lost to a Bankrupt.
- The linking word in Round 2's Before & After (TO HAVE AND TO HOLD A GRUDGE) is not on its own line, even though it would fit.
- The Prize Puzzle copy erroneously lists the price of the Prize Puzzle trip as $6,849 (half the value of the actual trip), which the graphic also displays. Possibly to hide the mistake, the total scores are never shown on-camera from this point until the end of the game.
March 17 is America's Game.
On March 17:
- Contestant A.J. solves Round 2 for only the Mystery Prize.
- Round 3 is TELL ME WHERE I'M GOING PAT, a derivative of various phrases commonly said by contestants after they solve the Prize Puzzle.
- A.J. asks to solve the above puzzle on Express with the P still remaining. Pat tries to suggest calling the final consonant, but is interrupted by his answer.
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 3.
- The Final Spin bells initially fail to sound at the start of Round 5.
- A.J. wins $57,744, including both trips, the $10,000 Mystery prize, the ½ Car, and a successful Express run, despite failing to solve the bonus puzzle.
On March 18:
- Three females play.
- There are five Bankrupts in Round 3, one of which comes from the Express.
- All three contestants hit penalty spaces consecutively in Round 3 (Lose a Turn and two Bankrupts); this is not edited out due to the first of the two Bankrupts taking away a ½ Car tag.
On March 19:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up refuses to activate for a few seconds.
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestants that began them.
- Oddly, Rounds 3-5 do not have E in them.
- Contestant Emil solves the bonus puzzle NEW BABY BUGGY despite getting no help from his extra letters; oddly, his answer is not ruled correct until about two seconds after he says it. After it is solved, Pat pretends to frisk him. Footage of this Bonus Round quickly goes viral.
- Emil appears again during the post-game chat to explain how he solved the puzzle. He states that he used the Used Letter Board to figure out the answer, which leads to the board being shown on-camera for only the second known time.
On March 20:
- As it is the sixth episode of Sandals Resorts Romance Week, couples play, the prizes are trips to Sandals resorts, and the Prize Puzzle camera is a Sony Action Cam; unlike the rest of the week, the retro Bonus Round is done.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up TEXTING A SMILEY FACE is inexplicably categorized as Fun & Games instead of What Are You Doing?; however, the latter category is also used in Round 3.
On March 21, there is a ½ Car win in Round 2 by a contestant who does not win the game.
March 24 is Girlfriend Getaways, taped January 30. During this week:
- For the first time, all-female teams play.
- The category wipe is a pair of drinking glasses clinking.
- The ½ Car tags are not used.
- The contestant window in the Bonus Round is stretched to an oval shape.
On March 25:
- In Round 1, Pat does not prompt contestants Brandie and Ashley to use their Wild Card on $2,500, although they picked it up only two spins prior; this ends up not mattering, as they do not solve the puzzle.
- In Round 2, contestants Elizabeth and Deb are credited for only one N on $350 despite the puzzle having two, as evidenced by their score being $100 instead of $450 after they buy a vowel. This does not affect the outcome.
- Later in Round 2, Elizabeth and Deb try to buy an E after spinning, but Pat tells them to call a consonant first. They call D, which is in the puzzle, then buy the E anyway.
- Round 2 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
Between March 4 and 25, What Are You Doing? makes four appearances in the Bonus Round; interestingly, three of them are one-word answers.
On March 26:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up WHAT TO WEAR? uses only one line.
- Event makes its first appearance in the Bonus Round since November 2012.
On March 27:
- Contestants Marielle and Amy try to buy an O in Round 3 despite having no money, which momentarily catches Pat off-guard. He tells them to spin, and they hit Bankrupt.
- Also in Round 3, contestants Bethany and Breana hit both of the green $500s that normally contain the ½ Car tags and solve the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt in between; unlike on March 13, this does not affect the outcome.
On March 28, contestants Danielle and Andrea hit one of the green $500s that normally contains a ½ Car tag in both Rounds 1 and 3, both of which they solve while never hitting Bankrupt. This also does not affect the outcome, as they win regardless.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of March 24.
March 31 is Wheel Across America, taped January 31. During this week:
- The intro is the same animation used on Get Out of Town and Road Trip weeks in Season 28 (the Pat and Vanna avatars driving a car).
- Before & After appears on all five shows.
On March 31, the original $1,000 Toss-Up REST AREA is thrown out due to no one ringing in; the replacement puzzle THE SKY'S THE LIMIT is not explicitly themed.

April 2014:

On April 2:
- Coincidentally, a contestant wins the Prize wedge, which is a trip to San Francisco, after solving the Round 1 puzzle CROSSING THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE.
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 2.
On April 3:
- The $1,000 Toss-Up ROAD TRIPPING uses only one line.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.
On April 4, the Gift Tag is oddly described as "two $500 gift cards" for Conoco, 76, and Phillips 66 gas stations.
April 7 is College Week, taped February 14. During this week:
- All of the Prizes are tours from Lonely Planet, valued at $7,500.
- The retro Bonus Rounds are recycled from Season 30.
On April 7, Pat accidentally begins to say that Round 2 is Before & After (the category of Round 1), but quickly corrects himself.
On April 8:
- For the first time since May 12, 2011, College Life appears outside of a Toss-Up.
- The camera is positioned too high during the Final Spin.
- Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Event.
On April 9:
- Contestant Elayna picks up both ½ Car tags on consecutive spins in Round 3, but loses them and $7,750 to Bankrupt.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show how the Used Letter Board works.
On April 10, a "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 2 (an incorrect R, a repeated N, and an incorrect G).
On April 11:
- Pat acknowledges that it is the 6,000th episode and announces that the milestone will be celebrated on the week of the 28th.
- Contestant Julian mispronounces the fully-revealed Round 1 puzzle MYTHOLOGICAL HERO ACHILLES. As he is holding the Million-Dollar Wedge, his missolve goes viral with assumptions that he lost $1,000,000, similarly to the CORNER CURIO CABINET round on September 17.
- In Round 2, Pat accidentally tells contestant Laura that there is an H in the puzzle, but quickly corrects himself as the buzzer sounds.
- Julian picks up both ½ Car tags in Round 3, but does not solve the puzzle.
- Against normal practice, the "only vowels remain" beeps sound in the Speed-Up; this is followed by Julian giving a wrong answer and Shelby giving the right answer, both without calling a vowel first.
- Despite failing to claim $51,050 (counting the Prize and the ½ Car) plus the Million-Dollar Wedge over the course of Rounds 1, 3, and 4, Julian wins the game.
- Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Person.
- After the Bonus Round is lost, Pat accidentally holds the envelope toward himself instead of the camera, but later reopens it and shows it to the camera.
- During the closing segment, the sign-off from the 3,000th episode is shown.
All five Bonus Rounds are lost on the week of April 7, part of a seven-loss streak starting on the 4th.
April 14 is Sandals Resorts Week, taped February 13. During this week:
- Except on Friday, the $1,000 Toss-Up is a place where a Sandals resort is located.
- The Prize is a trip to the Sandals property of the contestant's choice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and to the Beaches resorts in Jamaica or Turks and Caicos on Tuesday and Thursday.
- The Prize Puzzle trip is to a Sandals property, for which Vanna and/or Pat read all copy except for the camera.
- Jim does a plug for Sandals before the $3,000 Toss-Up.
On April 16:
- The only Bankrupts in the game take no money or cardboard, due to both hits coming from contestant Keeley at the very start of Rounds 1 and 4.
- A "null" cycle is edited out of the Speed-Up.
On April 18, all three contestants ring in with wrong answers on the $1,000 Toss-Up GETTING WARMED UP, itself being themed to the game rather than the week.
April 21-May 2 is the second Millionaire Maker Sweepstakes. Gameplay is identical to the first one.
April 21 is America's Game. During this week, the retro Bonus Round is not done.
On April 21:
- As it is the sixth episode of Beaches Family Week, family teams play and the Wheel Prize is the $16,640 trip.
- In Round 1, Jim and Scott initially turn down Pat's prompt to use their Wild Card on $2,500, but change their mind.
- Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the teams that began them; notably, the latter team hits Express on the first spin.
- Round 1, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, is categorized as Title instead of TV Title, likely due to Round 2 being TV Quote.
- The second-place team has $25,948, despite losing the $10,000 Mystery prize and $550 in spendable cash to Bankrupt in Round 2. This is also the second instance of a contestant or team who has a successful Express run not winning the game.
- In the final segment, Pat shows a graphic honoring the anniversary of Lesly Sajak and Harry Friedman's wife, Judy, which consists of their names written in cursive against a black background with fireworks.
On April 22:
- As it is the sixth show of Girlfriend Getaways, three teams of females play.
- All three teams hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 2.
On April 21 and 22, the ½ Car tags are not used.
On April 23:
- It is the sixth episode of College Week, so some puzzles are themed to that week.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 1 (an incorrect answer, a Bankrupt from a contestant with no money or cardboard, and an incorrect Y).
On April 24, the $1,000 Toss-Up (OFF TO A FLYING START) is themed to the game instead of having an American theme (although the Round 2 puzzle AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS is American-themed).
On April 25:
- Contestant Jen's hometown is never mentioned on-air.
- The Wheel Prize is $7,500; its copy includes a trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
- The players' totals are still displayed during the start of the $3,000 Toss-Up. The scoreboards are cleared when the puzzle is revealed.
- For the first known time, a contestant who takes the Million-Dollar Wedge to the Bonus Round does not have anyone in the audience to hold it; as a result, Pat holds the wedge through the entire segment.
April 28 is Wheel 6000, taped February 27. During this week:
- The generic set is used.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- The opening sequence is a remake of the Season 25 opening sequence, with various newer moments added. The title logo is shown as a two-row "WHEEL 6000" logo, featuring the "WHEEL" from the standard two-bar wordmark in orange, accompanied by a green "6000" in Impact.
- The category strips replace their usual spots with "6000" text elements, and stay green instead of cycling among the colors.
- The Prize is a trip to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, including a dinner at Old Homestead Steakhouse and show tickets, valued at $7,500.
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash courtesy of Caesars Palace.
- $5K Every Day is increased to $6K Twice a Day, and is awarded to two viewers per episode. Two SPIN IDs are drawn instead of one. During the draws, Vanna says, "To celebrate Wheel's 6,000th episode, we're giving away $6K twice each day." Jim then reads the SPIN IDs and says, "Congratulations, you've each won $6,000 just for watching Wheel. You have 24 hours to log on to wheeloffortune.com to claim your $6,000. Thank you, Wheel watchers, for inviting us into your home 6,000 times."
- A $6,000 wedge is present in Rounds 4+, replacing $5,000. The wedge has "WHEEL $6000" in two rows on top and written horizontally, and colored dots and stars against a dark blue background, bearing resemblance to both the 25 Wedge and this week's title sequence. It is never hit, due in part to Round 4 beginning as a Speed-Up on Monday-Wednesday.
- For at least these tapings, a new method is used for grouping contestants: all contestants draw from a bucket with three balls each of numbers 1-6 (1-5 if no sixth episode is being taped); the three who each draw the same number are grouped for the corresponding episode, which can result in groups that are not the typical composition of one male and two females, or have two contestants with the same first name. Previously, players were grouped deliberately and one person from each group drew a ball numbered from 1-6 (or 1-5) to determine their group's show.
- Except on Monday, Pat and Vanna show clips from previous milestone shows, and mention pop culture events from the year in which it aired: #1,000 on Tuesday, #3,000 on Wednesday, #2,000 on Thursday, and #4,000 on Friday. Each montage is accompanied by the main theme used by the show in its corresponding era, and each montage ends with Pat stating that the cost of a vowel was $250.
  - Oddly, despite the retrospective on #2,000 airing after the one for #3,000, this week's episodes do in fact air in taping order. It is not known why #2,000 was not brought up until after #3,000, nor why #5,000 was ignored entirely.
On April 28:
- The episode begins with a clip of one of Pat and Vanna's monologues from the ceremonial 3,000th episode.
- For the first known time since December 1997 (not counting team episodes), two contestants have the same first name (Josh). To avoid confusion, they are referred to by their first name and last initial during Toss-Ups, on the "drop down" score graphic, and in the closed captioning.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up is SIX THOUSAND SHOWS!
- Two contestants hit ½ Car tags in Round 3, thus rendering a ½ Car win impossible.
- The bonus puzzle has a redundant A at the beginning (A SOPHOMORE).
- During the post-game chat, Pat notes that the daytime version dropped the price of vowels from $250 to $200 when the Wheel became cheaper, indirectly referencing the Bob Goen era.
The Bonus Round on April 24 is People, while the ones on the 25th and 28th are Person.
On April 29:
- Round 3 is the first known appearance of Landmarks, despite the singular category being present since 1975.
- The Prize Puzzle package is worth $11,197, a rare instance of it exceeding $10,000 on a non-team episode.
On April 30:
- There are once again two contestants with the same first name (Joann).
- Contestant Trent gains national media attention for being the show's first special-needs contestant, and a Twitter hashtag of #TeamTrent becomes a trending topic.
- During his contestant interview, Pat notes that Trent is a huge Wheel fan and asks him to name a category the show no longer uses. Trent responds with Megaword, after which Pat briefly explains the category and remarks, "and I hated every moment of it."
- In the closing segment, Pat and Vanna discuss categories that the show no longer uses, specifically naming Megaword and Foreign Phrase. Vanna also mentions "Fill In the Word", presumably thinking of Fill In the Blank.

May 2014:

On May 1:
- Oddly, the $2,000 Toss-Up (CERAMIC DALMATIAN) is themed to the week, instead of the $1,000 Toss-Up.
- The third-place contestant has $15,850.
- For only the fifth known time, a contestant calls Z in the Bonus Round. Interestingly, he only does this because he already called the other two consonants in the puzzle (VALIANT EFFORT).
On May 2:
- For the first known time since September 1995 (not counting Armed Forces Weeks or Dad's Weeks), three males play.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up is AMERICA'S GAME.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up, I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, is categorized as Song Lyrics instead of Song Title.
- Contestant Brian solves the Round 1 puzzle ROBIN WILLIAMS AS MRS. DOUBTFIRE with only the R's showing.
- Rounds 1 and 4 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
- During the credits, the entire staff can be seen on the set, and Pat and Vanna are seen with a "Wheel 6000" cake modeled after the Season 28 logo.
May 5 is Happy Mother's Day, taped February 28. During this week:
- Like last season's Mom's Week, the mothers play by themselves. Pictures of their children are still shown during the interview.
- The category strip has a bouquet of flowers on the left side when the puzzle is revealed.
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree: Beyond the Rack on Monday, CreditCards.com on Tuesday, zulily.com on Wednesday, cooking.com on Thursday, and RetailMeNot on Friday.
On May 5:
- Vanna wears a red dress to raise awareness of heart disease in women, and plugs the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women program in the final segment. The link for their website appears on a red category strip.
- In Round 1, contestant Dawn hits both ½ Car tags, but does not solve; overall, five tags are picked up and a sixth one hit, but none are won.
- For the first known time, a Song/Artist puzzle is a song that was not released as a single (THE BEST DAY BY TAYLOR SWIFT).
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.
On May 6:
- Rounds 1-3 all have the word AND spelled out.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- Contestant Mary picks up both ½ Car tags in Round 3, but loses them to Bankrupt.
- The Round 3 puzzle GARDENS WATERFALLS AND BEACHES is categorized as Things instead of Places.
On May 8:
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from StyleWatch.com.
- A "null" cycle is edited out of Round 1 improperly: one of contestant Pretina's spins lands on $350 (the first spin of the cycle which should have been edited out), but after she calls L, her arrow is sitting on the Wild Card, which she picks up.
- In Round 1, contestant Debra has difficulty picking up a ½ Car tag, so Pat walks over and helps her; she moves the Wheel one peg counterclockwise, so Pat resets it after she buys an O on her next turn.
Between April 23 and May 8, eleven out of twelve Bonus Rounds in a row are played for $30,000.
Starting May 8, "null" cycles are once again edited out of Speed-Up rounds consistently; this includes three in a row between May 8 and 12, with the ones on the 8th and 12th also comprising the only wrong letters of their respective rounds.
On May 9:
- Interestingly, the Wild Card, a ½ Car tag, and the Million-Dollar Wedge are all lost to Bankrupt, but no money or prizes.
- Contestant Ebony picks up both ½ Car tags in Round 3, but does not solve the puzzle.
May 12 is Hawaii Week, taped March 13. During this week:
- The category strips are purple with a floral pattern. During maingame rounds, the wipe is a yellow flower.
- The Prize is a trip to Hilton Waikoloa Village.
- It is also the Take Me to Hawaii sweepstakes. After the Bonus Round, a special puzzle is shown, which contestants may enter on the show's website for a chance to win a trip to Hawaii. Pat and Vanna promote this at the top of the show.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
On May 13, a cycle of lost turns is edited out of Round 3 despite not being "null"; the cycle includes an incorrect O from Elliot, as his score reads $950 when he should have had $1,200. Pat references the cycle by telling Gabrielle "Try it again" on her first aired spin.
On May 14:
- Contestant Alyssa hits both ½ Car tags on the first two spins of the game, but does not solve the puzzle.
- Round 4 and the Bonus Round are Food & Drink.
- The bonus puzzle is still on the board during the credits.
On May 15:
- Contestant Sili mentions that her husband, Mase, was on the show as well (December 16, 2010).
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 1.
- Sili calls her Wild Card consonant before her vowel; the fourth consonant appears at the end as usual, with a gap for the vowel, contradicting the precedent of always showing letters in the order that they are called.
May 19 is Shop Your Way Week, taped March 27. During this week:
- The Prize and Gift Tag are $7,500 and $1,000, respectively, toward purchases from that company.
- Due to the Prize wedge being dark orange, it is placed on the red $800 to avoid clashing with that wedge (but still awards $500 per letter).
- Jim promotes Shop Your Way before Round 3.
- A sweepstakes is held in which Shop Your Way members may enter for a chance to win $5,000 and a chance to audition.
- A second ad for Shop Your Way is done between the $5K Every Day draw and closing segment.
On May 19, neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
Between March 5 and May 19, the $5,000 wedge is not hit for 54 consecutive episodes, including the Final Spin and counting the $6,000 wedge used for Wheel 6000.
On May 20:
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- For the first known time, RSTLNE reveals an entire word in a bonus puzzle (BACKYARD SWING SET).
On May 21, a "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 3 (incorrect calls of M, P, and Y).
Between June 12, 2013 and May 22, the $100,000 envelope is not hit for 182 consecutive episodes, breaking the previous 131-episode record set between July 16, 2009 and March 15, 2010 for the longest gap between hits. This also breaks the record for the most episodes in a season before such a hit.
On May 23:
- Oddly, Round 1 is a puzzle that uses an ampersand even though using AND still could have fit on the board (KING ARTHUR & THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE), while Round 2 is a Same Name that spells out AND.
- Against 99.95% odds, the $100,000 is hit for the first time this season. The $100,000 is lost.
May 26 is Here Comes Summer, taped March 14. During this week:
- The opening features the Pat and Vanna avatars: Pat builds a sandcastle and Vanna builds a Wheel of Fortune logo, which the camera then zooms in on while a wave wipes out Pat's sandcastle.
- The category wipe is Pat and Vanna driving a personal watercraft and splashing water onto the category strip.
On May 26:
- After contestant Joe solves the Prize Puzzle for $950, Pat begins to round his score up to the house minimum of $1,000 before being told that it is a Prize Puzzle. He then asks if Joe's score is to be rounded up anyway, and is told no.
- Contestant Wendy solves the Speed-Up puzzle SLOWLY BUT SURELY just ahead of the buzzer; after an edit, Pat rules her correct but tells her that her score is tentative. Before the Bonus Round, Pat informs viewers that Wendy did beat the buzzer.
On May 27, the retro Bonus Round is the same one that was used on March 25, 2013 (HOLD THE MAYO from the NFL week of January 19, 1998).
On May 28:
- Contestant Jeffrey mentions that his mother was on the show in the 1970s; in reference to this, Jim calls Pat "Chuck" before reading the Prize copy.
- Pat almost rules contestant LaTasha wrong on the $2,000 Toss-Up FORMAL INVITATION due to him looking at the wrong answer card.
- In Round 3, Vanna starts to walk to the left side of the board when LaTasha calls an incorrect V, presumably having misheard it as C.
- The Gift Tag is hit three times, but not claimed.
On May 29:
- The retro Bonus Round is the same one from October 22, 2012 (FLY-FISHING from September 10, 2001).
- Contestant Ambar wins the Mystery Round with only the $10,000 prize.
- Pat references a cut "null" cycle in Round 3 by telling Ambar "back to you" on her first aired turn.
On May 30:
- The audience inexplicably applauds a wrong letter (M) in Round 2.
- For the first time, a "decades" category (The 80's) is used as a Prize Puzzle.

June 2014: (season ends June 13)

June 2 is America's Game.
On June 2, Pat forgets to say the category for Round 5 (Landmark) until after the Final Spin.
On June 3:
- The close-up shot of the contestants during the opening is clearly a reshoot taken after Round 2, as the Mystery wedges are visible, and the blue contestant's arrow is on the orange $300, which was her last spin of that round.
- As it is the sixth episode of Happy Mother's Day, three females play, and they show off pictures of their children during the interviews.
- Contestant Kelly wins by $3, the smallest known margin of victory in the show's history.
On June 4:
- In Round 3, contestant Zlata claims a ½ Car tag after that round's other tag is lost to Bankrupt, so Pat takes it after she picks it up.
- There is a $100,000 win, the only one of the season. It should be noted that this episode was taped before the week of May 19.
On June 3 and 4, the $1,000 Toss-Ups are not American-themed, instead being themed to their respective tapings' themes.
On June 5:
- Once again, the close-up shot of the contestants during the opening appears to be a reshoot, as the yellow arrow is on the red $700.
- As it is the sixth episode of Happy Father's Day, three males play, and they show off pictures of their children during the interviews.
- Nobody solves the $2,000 Toss-Up, PASSING THE BATON.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- Round 1 and the Bonus Round are Place.
On June 6:
- Vanna wears a sleeveless shirt and pants.
- Round 1 is American-themed rather than the $1,000 Toss-Up.
- Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
- Nobody solves the $3,000 Toss-Up, A REAL CHARMER.
- The $3,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are Person.
June 9 is Happy Father's Day, taped March 28. This is only the second time since Season 25 that the season has not ended with America's Game. During this week:
- The category wipe is the same one used on the Sandals Golf Getaway week of December 12, 2011.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a Wheel made out of ties.
On June 9:
- Six rounds are played.
- The second-place contestant has $20,980.
Between May 29 and June 9, Before & After is used in Round 2 for eight consecutive shows.
On June 10:
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree at Dick's Sporting Goods.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 4 (an incorrect C, an incorrect I on Free Play followed by an incorrect R from the same contestant, and a Bankrupt by a contestant with no money or cardboard).
- There is a rare instance of a contestant solving the Speed-Up without any money.
On June 11:
- The Prize is a $10,018 tour of Italy.
- Round 1 (WATERPROOF WRISTWATCH) is categorized as Same Letter instead of Thing.
- Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
On June 12:
- The Prize is a $5,000 shopping spree from creditcards.com.
- Twice in Round 1, contestant Shawn hits $2,500 while holding the Wild Card. Pat prompts him on the first hit but does not on the second, and Shawn declines both times; he loses the card to Bankrupt in Round 2.
- The Prize Puzzle package is worth $10,299, a rare instance of it exceeding $10,000 on a non-team episode.
- Interestingly, Shawn wins the game entirely from the first two Toss-Ups and Round 1.
On June 13:
- Contestant Pete rings in on the $1,000 Toss-Up and says BASEBALL PLAYER, pauses, then adds an S to form the correct answer; he is ruled incorrect.
- Against precedent, the connecting word in Round 2's Before & After (SHALLOW END OF THE POOL TABLE) is not on its own line, even though such an arrangement could have fit.
- Not counting the Final Spin, only an 11-wedge span of the Wheel is hit all game (from the orange $300 to the pink $500).

Post-Season:

Beginning on August 5, Wheel Watchers Club members can no longer earn points for solving the Bonus Round puzzle.
August 11-15 is the Hula Moola Sweepstakes. During this week, a special puzzle (not related to gameplay) is edited into each rerun, and home viewers can submit the puzzle on the show's website for a chance at 25 $1,000 prizes (five per day).
On the August 30 rerun airing of the October 23, 2012 episode, before the closing segment, Jim narrates a segment that shows vacation photos from November 27, 2013 winner Brandon, as well as footage of him solving the Prize Puzzle.

Season 32 (2014-15)

(Note: Any below information regarding episodes that have not yet aired is preliminary and subject to change, with months added as info is released about them. Further, please do not guess and do not add anything to this section past the most recently-aired episode unless it is confirmed.)

Known Tapings:

Four weeks will be taped at Culver City on December 4-5 and 18-19.
- The December 18 taping session will be Fun & Fit.

Season Changes:

The logo is mostly the same as last season, but now has a ring of lights around the Wheel graphic. The lights may be a representation of the Wheel's spokes, which would be directly outside the wedges, as the Season 31 logo appeared to be mimicking the long-since-discontinued overhead logo shot.
The intro is similar to Season 16: the camera zooms to the logo over the doors, and after the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant goes through the doors, which have "STAGE 11" on the right and the Sony Pictures Television logo on the left.
The Wheel is altered:
- The minimum value is increased from $300 to $500: the blue $350 is increased to $550 (and for the first time since August 1986, outside of rug and turntable layouts, $550 is in a color other than purple), $400 upgrades to $700, the blue $300 doubles to $600, the orange $300 triples to $900, and $450 is upped to $650. Despite this, vowels still cost $250.
- The Mystery Wedges become a blue-purple gradient, with the circles becoming shiny; this color scheme also applies to the Bankrupt side, although the lettering is now smaller. The $10,000 side has the numbers and dollar sign widened and moved upward; the resulting wedge somewhat resembles the wide-font $1,000 used for part of Season 2.
The Mystery Round wipe is finally updated to reflect the alterations to both the Wheel template and the wedge itself. Despite this, the $10,000 side drops onto the blue $600 on the Round 1 template and the wedges themselves are clearly edited onto the Season 25 wipe.
The minimum Bonus Round cash prize is increased from $30,000 to $32,000, matching the current season number. The prize will increase by a further $1,000 for Season 33, and it is believed that they will simply become more $35,000 envelopes if that point is reached.
The cash bonus for winning cars in the Bonus Round returns to $5,000; in addition, the car envelopes in the Bonus Round now say "CAR & $5,000" instead of showing the car's logo.
Calling the titular Same Letter on a puzzle in that category now awards a $1,000 bonus.
For the first time since 1997, the nametags are altered: the letters are now larger, with the font changed from Helvetica Black to Arial Black (most noticeable in the R).
Cameras are no longer offered with the Prize Puzzle trips.
Due to the Hawaii tapings in September, two weeks of "pre-season" shows are taped May 1-2, with no tapings between then and July.
- In relation to the Hawaii tapings, The Hilton Waikoloa Village offers a limited-availability "Contestant Package" stay starting at $229 per night (albeit with a three-night minimum), with a bonus of two tickets to any Wheel taping and a guaranteed audition spot for, oddly, a Culver City taping.
A music bed now plays when a contestant "hops on" Express.
All of the retro Bonus Rounds are ones that were previously seen in Seasons 30 and/or 31.
America's Game episodes still use the same audiovisual aspects that they did in Season 31.
Jim's announcing booth now has a window overlooking the audience.

September 2014: (season begins September 15)

September 15 is Teacher's Week, taped May 1. During this week, the category wipe is the same as last season's Teacher's Week.
On September 15:
- Three females play.
- The Gift Tag is $1,000 cash from Pilot Pens.
- Contestant Trish accidentally calls S in the Bonus Round, but Pat does not realize this until after she calls her vowel.
- All of the puzzles are abnormally short, with Rounds 2 and 3 being the longest at only 19 letters each.
On September 16:
- Round 2 begins with three consecutive Bankrupts; these are not edited out due to the second one claiming the Million-Dollar Wedge.
- Later in Round 2, contestant Michelle loses $13,600, a $6,000 trip, and a ½ Car tag to Bankrupt. Overall, Bankrupt is hit five times in the round; the Bankrupt Mystery Wedge is also hit but not flipped.
- Two contestants claim ½ Car tags in Round 3, rendering a car win impossible.
On September 17, the $1,000,000 is won for the third time, by contestant Sarah Manchester. This also results in a new record being set for the most given away in one show: $1,042,590, up from the $1,034,930 on October 14, 2008.
On September 18:
- The shot of the contestants during the opening is a reshoot, as the yellow arrow is on the orange $900.
- In Round 2, contestant Lee asks to spin again, and moves the Wheel one peg before changing her mind and asking to solve. Against precedent, she is allowed to solve.
- Lee wins the Mystery Round with only the Mystery Prize.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
On September 19:
- The Gift Tag is the same as it was on the 15th.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up and the Bonus Round are Food & Drink.
September 22 is Pacific Northwest, taped July 23. During this week:
- The ½ Car is a Nissan Versa Note S.
- The category wipe is colored trees.
On September 22:
- The $2,000 Toss-Up refuses to reveal for a few seconds.
- Both Rounds 1 and 2 are completely filled in before being solved.
- Round 1 is Movie Title, and the $3,000 Toss-Up is Song Title.
- Contestant Rosette wins no cash, as she solves Round 3 for only the Prize Puzzle package, and no other puzzles.
On September 23:
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 1 (Lose A Turn, an incorrect S, and an incorrect B), while one is edited from the start of Round 2.
- Since contestant Mindy does not have any friends or family in the audience, Pat lets Jim hold the Million-Dollar Wedge during the Bonus Round; there is a brief cut to him in the booth.
- The $1,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are Living Things.
On September 24, contestant Susie has her brother John spin for her.
On September 25:
- Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- The $2,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
On September 26:
- Contestant Zach's hometown is never mentioned.
- In Round 3, Zach hits a ½ Car tag after the round's other tag is lost to Bankrupt.
September 29 is Home Sweet Home, taped July 11. During this week:
- The show holds a "Meal of Fortune" sweepstakes held in conjunction with Banquet Foods. Home viewers may collect puzzles from Banquet Foods products, with 250 prizes of $500 cash available to viewers whose game pieces match a special puzzle displayed before the Bonus Round. The sweepstakes is promoted on the show's website with a "Meal of Fortune" graphic: a freeze-frame of the end of the Season 27 intro, with an altered two-row logo and a layout with cash ranges of $50-$500 (Bankrupt is represented by Sorry, with the same color scheme).
- The Gift Tag and Wheel Prize are $1,000 and $6,000 cash, respectively, from Banquet Foods. The latter is placed on the red $800 due to its wedge also being red; as usual, it still awards only $500 per correct letter if picked up.
- The wipe for the contestant window in the Bonus Round is a Banquet Foods box.
- On Monday and Wednesday, before the Prize Puzzle, Vanna announces a special segment in which two contestants from the taping session share a "memorable moment".
On September 29, Round 1 and the Bonus Round are What Are You Doing?
On September 30:
- All three contestants hit Bankrupt consecutively in Round 3; it is hit five times altogether in the round.
- There is a rare instance of a contestant solving the Speed-Up without any money.
- A Changing Lives segment is done on Katie Hoody, the winner on January 30, 2014.

October 2014:

On October 1:
- Contestant Ritz's hometown is never mentioned.
- In Round 2, contestant Candra uses her Wild Card on $900 after buying a vowel, but the letter that she calls is not in the puzzle.
- Later in Round 2, Dan calls N before spinning; he is held to his call, and loses his turn as N was already called.
- For the first time, a contestant gets buzzed out on Express.
On October 3:
- Round 2 begins with three consecutive Bankrupts; this is not edited out due to the first one being on the reverse of a Mystery Wedge, and the second taking away a ½ Car tag and the Wild Card.
- Vanna reads most of the Prize copy.
October 6 is Shopping Spree, taped May 2. During this week, the Prize is a $6,000 shopping spree: overstock.com on Monday, Beyond the Rack on Tuesday, Dick's Sporting Goods on Wednesday, retailmenot.com on Thursday, and cooking.com on Friday.
On October 7:
- The closed captioning misspells contestant Lilly's name as "Lily".
- The $3,000 Toss-Up is People, and the Bonus Round is Person.
- Contestant Jeff solves the bonus puzzle LUCKY GUY with only the L and C showing.
On October 8:
- Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
- The "pop-up" score display in Rounds 3 and 4 misspells contestant Hether's name as "Heather".
- The second-place contestant has $20,200.
On October 9:
- Vanna wears a sleeveless shirt and pants.
- Before contestant Dan starts Round 3, Pat lets him name his family members, since he did not do so in the interview.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- Rounds 1-4 all have an -ING suffix.
October 13 is Wheel Was Here, taped August 7. During this week:
- The ½ Car is a Nissan Versa Note S.
- The category wipe is the Wheelmobile peeling out.
- Robert Ennis Jr. (credited only as Robert Ennis) fills in as director, as Bob Cisneros was recovering from neck surgery during these tapings.
On October 13:
- The Million-Dollar Wedge is picked up on the first spin, and lost to Bankrupt on the next spin.
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 1.
- Rounds 3, 4, and the Bonus Round are Phrase; this is only the third known instance since 2003 of a category being used three times.
- In the final segment, Pat and Vanna show outtakes from their last trip to Hawaii, several of which feature Lesly; ABC broadcasts feature an alternate ending with guest appearances from four contestants from the new season of Dancing with the Stars, who perform during the credits.
On October 14:
- Vanna wears a sleeveless shirt and pants.
- Retro Bonus Rounds are once again done on Tuesdays.
- The Prize Puzzle copy is preceded by a trailer for Transformers: Age of Extinction and a plug for its DVD and Blu-Ray release; as a result, the copy does not give any details on the prize package other than it being a trip to Hong Kong.
- The ad for the mobile game now sometimes appears before the Bonus Round instead of after.
- In the final segment, Jim narrates footage of himself touring New York; the camera then cuts to him in the booth as he does the "promotional consideration provided by…" tag.
On October 15:
- Five consecutive turns are lost in Round 1 (two Bankrupts, an incorrect O, an incorrect K, and a Lose A Turn).
- Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 1.
Between October 6 and 16, Before & After is a category for ten consecutive shows; with the exception of October 13 and 16 (Round 1), all appear in Round 2.
On October 16:
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 3 (an incorrect answer, followed by an incorrect C and a Bankrupt from a contestant who also hit Bankrupt on his previous turn).
- The Bonus Round timer graphic does not appear.
On October 17:
- The closeup shot of the contestants during the intro is obviously a reshoot, as the yellow arrow is on the orange $800 instead of $2,500.
- After contestant Anisa solves Round 1, her total is mis-stated as $15,350 instead of $17,237. Pat corrects it at the start of Round 2.
- Sara fills in the entire Round 3 puzzle PRISTINE TURQUOISE WATERS (which is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Things) by herself.
On both October 16 and 17, two contestants in a row accidentally call M twice in the Bonus Round, due to repeating the letter as their Wild Card choice.
Between October 6 and 17, nine out of ten Bonus Rounds are played for $32,000.
October 20 is Great Outdoors, taped July 24.
On October 20:
- There is a ½ Car win in Round 1.
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of the Speed-Up.
- The second-place contestant has $23,100.
On October 21:
- Contestant Rod spins only once in the entire game, calling a wrong letter on $500 in Round 2. This is the first known episode since May 10, 2011, in which a contestant was only able to spin once.
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit, although a contestant goes Bankrupt on Express.
On October 23:
- Round 4 is only the sixth known use of Occupations.
- In the final segment, Vanna shows footage of the second Millionaire Maker Sweepstakes winner being announced; as was the case last year, she makes the annoucement from Las Vegas with Marty Lublin.
On October 24, contestant Erich spins $3,500 three times in a row in Round 3; on the third spin, he accidentally calls a repeated H.
October 27 is Halloween Week, taped July 10. During this week:
- The intro is the same one that was used on the Halloween week of Season 28, complete with the pitch-shifted opening chant.
- The Vanna avatar, dressed as a witch riding a broom, forms the wipe for the "HD where available" graphic.
- The category strips are orange with black bats, with flying bats as the wipe. As a result of the strips being changed, all uses of Character(s) this week are in the correct font.
- The pre-Round 2 bumper uses the same animation and unknown spooky voice as last season's.
- A howling wolf accompanies the Mystery Round chord.
- The Speed-Up wipe is a jack-o'-lantern.
- The ½ Car is a Nissan Versa Note S.
On October 27:
- There is a ½ Car win.
- Before Round 3, Pat mentions that Jim's booth now has a window overlooking the audience; there is a brief cut to him, accompanied by obviously dubbed-in laughter.
- For only the second time, more than one contestant lands on Express; however, the second contestant calls a wrong letter on it.
- There is a $100,000 loss.
- In the final segment, several of the crew members are onstage with their children, who wear their Halloween costumes while Pat and Vanna hand out candy to them.
On October 28, there is a ½ Car win.
On October 29, for only the second known time, a contestant (Christopher) calls Q in the Bonus Round.
On October 30:
- The shot of the contestants during the intro is a reshoot, as the yellow arrow is on $550.
- Contestant Wren solves the bonus puzzle with 0.1 of a second.
- Before the Bonus Round, Wren mentions that he always wanted to see the piece of tape that contestants stand on in that round; in the final segment, Pat calls Wren to come back onstage and gives him the piece of tape.
On October 31:
- Four consecutive turns are lost in Round 2; this includes a cycle (an incorrect T followed by two Bankrupts that claim no cash) that would be "null" except for one of the Bankrupts claiming the Wild Card and a ½ Car tag.
- Contestant Miranda lands on Mystery Wedges three times in a row without flipping any of them. After she solves the puzzle on one between $800 and $700, Pat lets her flip it just for fun, and it has a Bankrupt on its reverse.
- Before Round 3, there is a cut to Jim in the announcer's booth, which Pat jokingly calls the "disembodied head of Jim Thornton".
- Bankrupt is hit four times each in Rounds 2 and 3, with three of the hits in Round 3 being consecutive; interestingly, three of the four hits in Round 3 do not claim anything.
- The Round 4 puzzle SALTED PUMPKINSEEDS is misspelled (the latter should be two words).
- Rounds 1 and 4 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.

November 2014:

The weeks of November 3 and 10 are taped outdoors, in front of the Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii. During these weeks:
- Pat wears short-sleeved dress shirts, and both he and Vanna wear leis.
- The category strips in maingame rounds feature the traditional logo and Hilton Waikoloa Village logo throughout.
- There is a flowery frame around the puzzle board.
- During the credits, Jim announces that Hilton Waikoloa Village provided promotional consideration.
During the week of November 3 (Wheel Goes Waikoloa, taped September 13):
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar in a small sailboat, with the surrounding water forming the strip.
- All contestants are from Hawaii.
- Despite the theme of the week not mandating it, the ½ Car tags are not used. Interestingly, on both the 3rd and 4th, a contestant hits both of the green $500s that normally contain the tags in Round 1 and solves that puzzle without hitting Bankrupt in between, but on neither episode does it affect the outcome: the contestant on the 3rd wins the game anyway, and the contestant on the 4th would have had a second-place total in the $22,000 range even if the car were available.
- Every episode has a cold open with Pat and Vanna:
  - On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Pat has a parrot on his head and jokes, "So this parrot goes to a doctor's office and says, 'How do I get this game show host off my butt?'"
  - On Tuesday, Vanna exclaims "What?" upon seeing Pat wearing flowers in his sandals, to which he responds, "What's wrong? They're comfortable and they make my feet smell good."
  - On Thursday, Pat and Vanna are lounging in beach chairs and Pat says, "Look, I know it seems like easy work, we're in paradise, but we're doing 20 shows here."
On November 3:
- The Round 2 puzzle SILLY STRING BIKINI is a rare instance of a puzzle with only one vowel.
- Oddly, the closed captioning indicates the Speed-Up music with "[ DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING ]".
- The $2,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are Food & Drink.
On November 4:
- The Prize is a $6,700 shopping spree at Ala Moana Center, using the same "shopping spree" wedge seen repeatedly over the past two seasons.
- The Prize Puzzle trip is an $11,218 tour of China.
- Pat and Vanna only have time to say goodbye at the end, due to the episode running long.
On November 5:
- Vanna wears a sleeveless top and pants.
- The Prize and Gift Tag are accidentally switched. In Round 1, contestant Kaleonani wins the incorrectly-placed Gift Tag, while the Prize is not hit. This does not affect the outcome; Kaleonani still would have finished in second place had the Prize been placed correctly.
- For only the third known time, a contestant (Shawn) calls Q in the Bonus Round.
On November 6:
- When Jim reads the Prize copy, he is shown in a "window" in the upper right-hand corner.
- The Prize is a $6,000 shopping spree from RetailMeNot.com.
- The Round 3 puzzle FABULOUS LAS VEGAS NEVADA is the first known instance of On the Map using a descriptive term.
Between October 28 and November 6, eight Bonus Rounds are played for $32,000.
Between October 30 and November 12, Before & After is the category in Round 2 for ten consecutive shows.
November 10 is Best Friends, taped September 14. During this week:
- The cold opens are used again:
  - Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Same as November 4.
  - Tuesday and Thursday: Pat and Vanna playing toy ukuleles; Pat makes only sour notes with his, while Vanna walks by playing hers fluidly. Oddly, the intros on Wednesday and Friday display the closed captioning of this intro, while Thursday displays the closed captioning of the "flowers in flip-flops" intro instead.
- The title card is "BEST FRIENDS" against five surfboards, with two beach balls in front, one featuring the traditional logo.
- On Monday, the opening montage is sped-up footage of the Hawaii set being put up; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday instead use general Hawaiian footage.
- The category wipe is Pat driving a personal watercraft.
- The Gift Tag and Prize are both Walmart shopping sprees, the latter valued at $7,500; after reading the Prize copy, Jim promotes the upcoming Secret Santa Sweepstakes.
On November 10:
- Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the teams who began them.
- The category strip does not appear on the second shot of the board in Round 3.
- Contestants Lee and Mitch fill in the entire Round 3 puzzle ALL-INCLUSIVE ESCORTED TOUR by themselves, using Express from the second turn onward.
- In the Speed-Up, Lee and Mitch guess RIDING A BROWN HORSE on the puzzle SEEING A BUDDY MOVIE with only the N revealed, after which Trinette and Audrey call G and guess RIDING A WHITE HORSE; in an incident recalling the "A GROUP OF PILL-PUSHERS" round from 1999, there is then a cut to the laughing audience, and then Pat as he walks off-set and shouts, "Who said anything about a horse?!"
- Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
- Lee and Mitch accidentally call C twice in the Bonus Round, the second time as their Wild Card letter.
On November 12:
- The Round 3 puzzle CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST is categorized as On The Map instead of Same Letter.
- The "only vowels remain" beeps do not sound after contestants Paul and Jerry call the last consonant on Express in Round 3.
On November 13:
- There is no opening montage after the title card, possibly due to the episode running long.
- Contestants Claire and Kelly's total score is not shown or stated after they solve Round 3.
On November 14:
- In Round 1, contestants Sonya and Jane's arrow stops on the red $600 long enough for Pat to call out that dollar amount, but clicks over to the Bankrupt on the right edge of the Million-Dollar Wedge before they can call a letter.
- During the closing chat, Pat does a brief segment on Kona coffee and Greenwell Farms.
November 17 is Viva Las Vegas, taped August 8. During this week:
- Robert Ennis fills in as director again.
- The category wipe is the Pat avatar dressed as Elvis, with an electric guitar riff.
- All of the trips are to various hotels in Las Vegas.
- In the Bonus Round, the RSTLNE graphic is the same one used on last season's Vegas shows.
- The Final Spin wipe is a pair of playing cards: Pat as the king of spades and Vanna as the queen of hearts.
- On Tuesday and Thursday, the Gift Tag is $1,000 from Bicycle playing cards.
On November 17, contestant Cameryn picks up the Million-Dollar Wedge on the first spin of Round 2, and risks it and a ½ Car tag on a Mystery Wedge; the wedge's reverse is a Bankrupt.
On November 18:
- For the first time, a contestant (Matt) picks up three ½ Car tags but does not win the car.
- For only the third time, a contestant (Ashlee) who has a successful Express run does not win the game.
- For only the sixth known time, a contestant (Matt) calls Z in the Bonus Round.
On November 19:
- Vanna wears a sleeveless top and pants.
- Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the contestants who began them; the latter has a contestant (Bob) fill in the entire puzzle FRIENDLY HELPFUL AND COURTEOUS by himself, using Express for the last five letters.
- The second-place contestant has $23,100.
On November 20:
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- For only the second time, a contestant who picks up three ½ Car tags does not win the car.
On November 21, the $1,000 Toss-Up LET IT RIDE! uses only one line.
Between November 21 and 28, Before & After is a category for six consecutive shows.
November 24 is America's Game. During this week, there is an ad for the Secret Santa Sweepstakes before Round 3.
On November 24:
- As it is the sixth episode of Teacher's Week, all three contestants are teachers.
- Contestant Ignacio, despite having his real name on his nametag, is referred to as Nacho during the show.
- Both Rounds 1 and 2 are completely filled in before being solved.
- In the Bonus Round, Nacho says the correct answer THE WHOLE BALL OF WAX but pauses before saying the last word. Pat prompts him to say it again, and he does just ahead of the buzzer.
On November 25:
- The Prize is a shopping spree from NoMoreRack.com.
- The retro Bonus Round is the same one from September 20, 2012 and October 3, 2013; oddly, it is edited down in the same way as it was on the latter episode.
- Pat and Vanna read most of the Prize Puzzle copy, with Jim reading only the Hotwire plug and prize value.
- In the final segment, Vanna shares a letter that she wrote to her parents in 1982 about auditioning for the show.
On November 26:
- For the Second time, a contestant calls a wrong letter immediately after hopping on Express.
- Interestingly, winning contestant Krista's grandmother joins her onstage for the credits chat.
On November 27:
- Unusually for a sixth episode, the $1,000 Toss-Up (TALKING TURKEY) is themed to the airdate, while the $2,000 Toss-Up is American-themed.
- There is a ½ Car win.
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
- The third- and second-place contestants have $13,500 and $23,634, respectively.
- For only the sixth time, a ½ Car winner does not win the game.
On November 28:
- In Round 1, contestant Erica picks up both ½ Car tags, but loses them to Bankrupt on the very next spin.
- In Round 2, contestant Kathleen picks up the Million-Dollar Wedge but loses it to Bankrupt on the very next spin.

December 2014:

December 1 is Bed & Breakfast, taped October 29. During this week:
- The Secret Santa Sweepstakes is promoted after Round 1.
- The ½ Car is a Nissan Versa Note S.
On December 1:
- In Round 2, contestant Jon asks to solve but goes silent. Pat asks him if he wants to spin again since he did not attempt to solve; he does, but hits Bankrupt.
- Pat and Vanna read portions of the Prize Puzzle copy on-location from Sandals Grand Riviera in Ocho Rios.
On December 2:
- After Jim reads the Prize copy, he is shown on-camera due to Pat remarking that Jim is "always smiling" when he does so.
- Quvenzhané Wallis, who plays the title role in the 2014 movie Annie, announces the Prize Puzzle copy, which is only described as a trip to New York City. A trailer for Annie is then shown before she announces the value.
- Quvenzhané also does the post-Speed-Up bumper.
- Round 1 and the Bonus Round are Food & Drink.
On December 4:
- Jim is briefly shown on-camera before he starts reading the Prize copy.
- In Round 1, Pat accidentally begins to take away contestant Brianne's Gift Tag after she hits Lose A Turn, before an offstage voice is heard shouting "no".
- The retro Bonus Round is not done.
On December 5:
- A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 2 (a Bankrupt by a contestant with no money or cardboard, and incorrect calls of L and M).
- For only the Third time, a contestant (Eben) calls a wrong letter immediately after hopping on Express.
Interestingly, on both December 4 and 5, one contestant solves all three Toss-Ups, and another solves all other maingame puzzles.
December 8-19 are the Secret Santa Sweepstakes, taped October 16-17. The first week is also Family Week. During these episodes, contestants' winnings are also matched and donated to a Children's Miracle Network hospital of the winner's choice.
December 22 is Southern Hospitality (or possibly Collette Vacations), taped October 30.
December 29 is America's Game.

January 2015:

January 2 is the sixth show of Bed & Breakfast.
January 5 is Weekend Getaways, taped November 13.
January 12 is Trip of a Lifetime, taped November 14.
January 26 is California Coast, taped December 4.

February 2015:

February 2 is Fun & Fit, taped December 18.
The weeks of February 9 and 16 are also taped in Hawaii: 2nd Honeymoon (taped September 16) and Hawaiian Adventure (taped September 17), respectively.

March 2015:

March 16 is America's Game.

June 2015: (season ends June 12)

@@ Line 2,688: / Line 2,688: @@
 ** In the final segment, Vanna shares a letter that she wrote to her parents in 1982 about auditioning for the show.
 * On November 26:
-** For the first time, a contestant calls a wrong letter immediately after hopping on Express.
+** For the Second time, a contestant calls a wrong letter immediately after hopping on Express.
 ** Interestingly, winning contestant Krista's grandmother joins her onstage for the credits chat.
 * On November 27:
@@ Line 2,718: / Line 2,718: @@
 * On December 5:
 ** A "null" cycle is not edited out of Round 2 (a Bankrupt by a contestant with no money or cardboard, and incorrect calls of L and M).
-** For only the second time, a contestant (Eben) calls a wrong letter immediately after hopping on Express.
+** For only the Third time, a contestant (Eben) calls a wrong letter immediately after hopping on Express.
 * Interestingly, on both December 4 and 5, one contestant solves all three Toss-Ups, and another solves all other maingame puzzles.
 * December 8-19 are the Secret Santa Sweepstakes, taped October 16-17. The first week is also Family Week. During these episodes, contestants' winnings are also matched and donated to a Children's Miracle Network hospital of the winner's choice.