Watkins Glen, Wheel of Fortune winner shares experience on the show

ELMIRA, N.Y. ( WETM ) – On March 25th, local talent, Tom Stadnicki, made an appearance on the legendary game show, “Wheel of Fortune.”

Stadnicki resides in Watkins Glen, New York. The father of two moved to the area in 2020 with his wife from Long Island. Since his appearance on the show, Stadnicki has received a lot of attention from the community and viewers.

The episode, which was pre-recorded, saw Stadnicki win over $33,048 earning a chance in the bonus round. Tom’s appearance was a year in the making after several Zoom calls and preparation, then it happened to fall on a day he was on a family vacation. However, that did not stop him from attending this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“An ad popped up on my phone that they’re accepting the application. So I put a little funny video together and thought they have something that could get their attention. And, you know, a few weeks later I heard back from one of the producers wanted to do like a zoom call. So it was kind of tricky, actually getting out to California, but I did it and it was like a 27-hour dream state,” Stadnicki said.

Stadnicki dedicated a lot of time to preparing by studying maps and national parks after noticing he would appear during National Parks Week for the show.

“So I really tried to watch as many documentaries on national parks as I could I would, you know, pull up maps on on the computer and just like search for national parks, so all the little red dots will pop up and I was really just trying to consume as many of those names as possible, so that it would be in like the deep recesses of my mind,” he said.

On a memorable night, Stadnicki surprised the long-time host, Pat Sajak, and viewers by solving a puzzle with only one letter revealed on the board. The category was “On the Map,” with just one “S” on the board. Stadnicki was able to solve the puzzle, revealing the answer to be Glacier Bay, Alaska.

“I feel like when that three-word combination was up there. I think there must have been something in the back of my mind that made the connection and just you know, threw the light bulb on for me because I mean, three seconds. That’s not very long to have to be able to come up with that answer. So I just feel like there was something in like the subconscious mind that had that information and brought it to the forefront,” says Stadnicki.

Stadnicki competed in the bonus round and gave his best effort to solve the final puzzle but could not come up with the correct answer. The final puzzle was titled: “It was a fluke” and Stadnicki guessed “it was a plane” for his answer.

If his answer was correct, Stadnicki would have won an additional $50,000. However, he says the experience itself was a prize and meeting the longest-running game show host ever in the history of television, Pat Sajak.

In addition to impressing Sajak with his guess in the “On the Map” category, Stadnicki stunned everyone when he mentioned he worked forty-eight jobs in his lifetime. This came about in his late 20s with his brother Matt going back and forth naming all the jobs they had throughout their lives.

To name a few, Stadnicki has helped launch entertainment magazine “In Touch Weekly” as a PR professional, including a feature in one of its issues, getting to coach soccer as a college senior at Fordham University, building homes in the Lansing, NY area as a carpenter’s apprentice, modeling for a Tractor Supply Company photoshoot, running a kitchen in the evenings cooking pub grub at an Upper West Side gastro bar in Manhattan, building custom-made crates for an art handling company in Brooklyn, and the list goes on.

His career of jobs didn’t stop there. He played a leading role in the 2013 indie film “Ringside Rosary”, and in 2017 started his seven-season run as a semi-pro kicker for the Syracuse Strong, attending two national championships.

Now, Stadnicki works for Cornell Catering behind the scenes helping to set people up for success during events.

“I load up box trucks and move items around campus. It’s not a glamorous job, but it allows me to interact with a ton of wonderful people and get a great daily workout”, he says.

On the Wheel of Fortune, Stadnicki also won a trip to South Dakota when he completed a puzzle in the “Living Things” category. He plans to use the money to support his two children and head to South Dakota in September to celebrate his wedding anniversary.

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