Long Island native Scott Kolbrenner is a contestant on this Thursday’s episode of Wheel of Fortune.
The 1988 Hewlett High School graduate competed in the pre-taped game show, and viewers will find out this week how he stacked up in the word puzzles and if he won any big prizes.
“The Wheel of Fortune experience was both surreal — can you imagine meeting Pat Sajak and Vanna White? — and full of kindness,” Kolbrenner, who has watched the show since childhood, said. “Really, from the second I pulled into the parking lot that morning, everyone I met that day was rooting for everyone else.”
Kolbrenner moved to Los Angeles, not far from where Wheel is filmed in Culver City, in 1998. He and his wife, who grew up in LA, raised their two children there. However, due to Covid-19, his family was unable to attend his appearance on the show.
“Since we taped during Covid, no family members were allowed to watch the show, so our fellow contestants became our ‘Wheel’ family,” he said. “I was on the edge of my seat cheering on my fellow contestants all day. I recommend this experience to absolutely everyone.”
Kolbrenner, a financial adviser, has volunteered with Uplift Family Services at the Los Angeles Hollygrove campus, where he currently serves as a board member, for the past 20 years. Scott also works with Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. He said he hopes to win enough cash on Wheel to further help the children in Hollygrove. Each contestant goes home with a minimum of $1,000.
The episode airs Thursday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
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