'Wheel of Fortune' Tryouts Coming to St. Pete

The Mahaffey Theater announced Wednesday that one of America's favorite game shows, "Wheel of Fortune", will hold tryouts in St. Petersburg on Dec. 9 and 10 at the Mahaffey. "Wheel of Fortune" is bringing "The Wheelmobile" to St. Pete, which is a 39-foot Winnebago that tours nationwide in search of contestants. 

According to a news release, they will begin handing out applications one hour before each show begins. On Sunday, shows will begin at 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. On Monday, shows will begin at 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 8:00 p.m., with each show lasting about an hour. 

Event organizers said there is no need to arrive hours in advance of the event. Everyone who attends the event will be able to submit an application. "Wheel of Fortune" will select participants to come to the stage and audition through a random draw, a news release said.  

In a news release "Wheel of Fortune" described how the contestant application process works: 

How does it work? 

• There are three Wheel of Fortune shows during each day of a Wheelmobile event. Each show lasts approximately one hour.
• Everyone who comes to a Wheelmobile event will receive a color-coded application. The color of the application tells you what time the game you are eligible for will begin.
• Fill out your application and drop it in a nearby receptacle. Just before show time, we will put all the applications in a big golden drum that sits on the stage. 
• When the show begins, our Wheelmobile host will pick applications at random from the drum and call participants up to the stage (in groups of five) to play the game.
• On stage, we will do a brief interview with each contestant and play a version of the Wheel of Fortune Speed-Up Round.
• Each person who comes up to the stage will be evaluated as a potential contestant for the show. At the end of the puzzle all contestants on stage will be awarded a prize. (Wheel of Fortune hats, t-shirts and duffle bags are just some of the stuff you might win.)
• Wheel of Fortune is looking for good game players who are energetic, enthusiastic and fun. This is your opportunity to shine.  Show us what you've got!
• After the Wheelmobile event in your area has been conducted, we will choose the people we believe will be the best candidates for the show (based on their overall performance on stage) to take part in a final round of auditions.  These final auditions will take place in the Tampa Bay area within a few months after our last event date.
• We will get as many people up to the stage as we can. However, we know there will be many more folks at our Wheelmobile events than we can possibly audition. For this reason, we will reserve some slots in the final auditions for those individuals who attended Wheelmobile events but did not make it up to the stage. After all the Wheelmobile events have been conducted, we will draw a number of names at random from all the applications we receive in the Tampa Bay area for these slots. 
• If you are invited to the final auditions, you will receive a letter or email within a few months of our last Wheelmobile event.  

Contestants must be 18 years old to enter.