By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The big secret is out. Great Bend native Kiley Klug filmed her big debut on NBC's "Wheel of Fortune" back in February. But she had to keep the results of the show a secret until it aired on television last Friday. As it turns out, it was a really big secret. Klug won the game with a total of $61,510, including a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"It honestly made it more fun to keep," Klug said. "I think of the alternative of not winning, and all these people are so hyped up. You'd have to be like, 'Sorry, I didn't win.' I think it made it so much more fun, for sure."
Now an Odin resident, that community went all-in for Friday's airing. The Odin Store hosted a watch party for more than 100 fans.
"Monte Jacobs and Shawna Shadduck did such a great job of getting into it and planning stuff ahead of time," Klug said. "They bought a wheel so everyone could spin the wheel when they walked in. Everybody was cheering like crazy during my show. I jokingly said, 'You guys are the biggest bunch of sore winners I've ever seen in my life.' They were cheering just as loudly when somebody did something like spin a bankrupt as when I solved a puzzle or got a letter. It was hilarious."
The show opens with a pair of toss-up puzzles where random letters are added until one of the three contestants buzzes in. Klug jumped onto the scoreboard with $2,000 on the second puzzle, "Lovey Dovey."
"That was nothing short of a miracle because I've always said I'm not good at toss-ups," she said. "My brain doesn't work that quickly."
The next puzzle was the "Same Letter" category, in which every word in the puzzle begins with the same letter. Klug got the all-important "B" and an extra $1,000 for doing so. She was able to solve the "Beautiful Beaded Bracelets" puzzle to collect $4,300.
Klug had promised her students at Hoisington Middle School a shoutout during the taping. Unable to fulfill that promise due to time constraints, her first puzzle seemed like a fitting tribute.
READ MORE: Great Bend native appearing on April 5 'Wheel of 'Fortune'
"My homeroom class and I started this small business just this year making beaded bracelets to sell," Klug said. "It's a learning experience starting a small business. I didn't even think about it. When somebody told me it was so ironic that the first puzzle was 'Beautiful Beaded Bracelets,' I thought that was such a full-circle moment."
Klug had a healthy lead but one of the contestants, Chandani, was sitting at $4,700 on the next puzzle when she won a potential bonus: she could keep her money at no risk, or double her money or go bankrupt. The 50/50 gamble did not pay off and the other contestant, Derrick, solved the puzzle without a spin for $1,000.
Klug was sitting at $2,300 when she solved the next "Astronauts and Astronomers" puzzle. The prize puzzle paid huge dividends.
"It's a mystery prize, so we don't know where we're going until we solve the puzzle," she said. "I had said before to my husband, 'All I want is a beach vacation, Gavin.' If I don't get anything except a beach vacation, it would be a dream come true. When (Pat Sajak) said, 'U.S. Virgin Islands,' that's what caused that response in me is that it was a beach vacation. All my dreams were coming true."
The dollar amount on the trip pushed Klug's winnings to $16,810. The players stayed level in the next round, and Klug solved the final "Epic Proportions" puzzle to push her winnings to $21,510 and secure her spot in the finale.
Klug traveled to California with her husband, Gavin, and two sons, Blake and Dexter. Her other son, Owen, suffers from Dravet syndrome and had to stay home with Klug's parents. Prior to the final puzzle, the show cut to Klug's present family members waiting in the wings. Before attempting the final puzzle, Klug opened her pink blazer to reveal a photo of Owen.
"I had some severe mom guilt not being able to take Owen," she said. "I put him in my jacket and I thought if I made it to the bonus round and got to show my sweet kid and his sweet face, maybe that would make up for a little bit of it. I was really glad I was able to do that."
Klug chose the "Phrase" category for the bonus round. The famous "Wheel of Fortune" letters "R, S, T, L N, E" revealed part of the clue, and Klug selected the letters "B", "P", "D", and "O." With a Wild Card from earlier in the game, she selected the additional consonant "C". Klug's choices proved to be worth an additional $40,000 as she quickly solved "Check Your Inbox."
Contestants on the show do take home whatever they win, so Klug was guaranteed some money and the trip with her earlier puzzles. Her prizes, however, have been only part of the fun. She's heard from many old friends and been featured in various news stories, including a segment on KSN Monday.
"The biggest compliment I could ever get is, 'You made our community proud.' I was really worried that I was going to make a fool of myself or be that annoying contestant. When people tell me, 'You made Odin proud,' or 'You made Barton County Proud,' or 'Great Bend proud,' it's everything because I love these communities so much. I just wanted to make people proud."
The trip proved to be a timely one. Pat Sajak, who has hosted "Wheel of Fortune" since 1981, taped his farewell show on Friday. It will air June 7. Klug's husband and sons were able to shake Pat's hand during the February taping - something studio staff says not everyone gets to do.