Knebel was already making gifts to her favorite charities before the show aired and plans to invest the rest to grow so she can continue supporting good causes and helping her children.

I need a big broom.’ And then they brought me this big broom with WOF on it and they did this closing shot of me.” And they said, ‘Come on, congratulations!’ First they brought me a small broom and I said, ‘This will not do. “Because they had vacuums, blowers, the entire crew cleaning up, and I felt so bad. “Anyone who knows me knows why I asked for a broom,” Knebel said. Ilene Singer Knebel '84 prepares to make her Wheel of Fortune bonus round guess. The segment features the unusual sight of host Sajak jokingly ordering Knebel to sweep up the celebratory confetti littering the stage, an action that has given her 15 minutes of fame on other news sites, including AOL.’s news site titled: “ Wheel of Fortune’ contestant’s interesting request after winning $112,000.” “My daughter had a watch party at Michigan State, and they screamed so loud that the RA came running down.” “My kids were really proud of me,” she said of her three grown children. But it made it even sweeter when my friends and family were there at the watch party to see it happen. “And then to have to keep that secret for so long was super hard. “The whole thing was just amazing,” said Knebel, a former SUNY Cortland speech communications major who graduated cum laude. Until another contestant captures the jackpot, a video clip of her final round, and the celebratory aftermath, can be seen on the Wheel of Fortune Website. Knebel was announced as the first bonus prize winner for 2022. She finished with $112,000 in cash winnings. She then advanced to the bonus round and captured the $100,000 grand prize after she correctly guessed the final puzzle. In the early round, Knebel won a trip to the Caribbean and $5,000 cash. Moreover, she astonished friends, family and coworkers by winning big. 25, the woman who grew up watching Pat Sajak and Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune with her mom, Christine Singer, in Schenectady, N.Y., got her wish to appear on the show. Over the last 30 years, Ilene Singer Knebel ’84, an executive assistant for the City of Beverly Hills, California, auditioned to be a contestant on the popular game show Wheel of Fortune about half a dozen times.

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