TAMPA, Fla. — What started off as an application to audition for "Wheel of Fortune" landed one Tampa man on the stage with Pat Sajak and Vanna White — and the episode is just hours from airing.
Cody Horton is a lifelong game show fan and grew up watching "Wheel of Fortune" among the many other game shows that have captured the hearts and minds of many across the U.S.
"Even since I was a little kid, I was a game show fanatic," Horton said. "There's actually a video of me as a newborn with my grandmother in the background saying, 'You can't go to sleep yet, you have to watch The Price is Right.'"
You could say the game show life chose him. Growing up, Horton would play the board game version of "Wheel of Fortune" with his grandmother – even staying up for hours.
While he is a respiratory therapist at Tampa General Hospital, one of his aspirations in life was to be a game show host. One could imagine the excitement a person would feel finally being able to step onto the "Wheel of Fortune" stage.
Horton met his boyfriend, Jason, about four years ago and the couple now shares two dogs together. Since meeting, Jason has also gotten into game shows and Horton says he's who pushed him to audition for "Wheel of Fortune" after watching him guess the puzzles faster than the contestants on TV.
Before he knew it, an application audition in June 2022 led to a call-back in January 2023 for an actual audition. He passed another test and fast-forward just 10 days later, the "Wheel of Fortune" competition began. But first, he prepared by playing "Wheel of Fortune" online on his PS4 and honed in on his word game skills.
"It was everything I wanted it to be and more," Horton said, describing the production.
From meeting Pat Sajak and Vanna White to the actual competition, Horton said it was a little nerve-racking but once the game show began, he was able to relax, have fun and soak in the moment.
"They're so kind," he said. "Everybody there from the security guard at the gate at Sony Pictures up to the stage manager — literally everybody person there is just delighted to be there, they're rooting for you, they've got your back."
As far as Horton's experience on "Wheel of Fortune" goes, he wants to let other game show fans know that you can do anything you set your mind to; he said he's manifested the entire experience with positive thinking and practice.
So how did Horton perform on Thursday's "Wheel of Fortune" episode? He won! Congrats, Cody.