Jefferson Hills native relishes appearance on 'Wheel of Fortune'

Apr. 15—After winning a $7,100 trip to Costa Rica against two retired teachers, Jefferson Hills native Ryan Muldowney had a shot at winning a $1 million prize during the "Wheel of Fortune" episode that aired Wednesday.

He was faced with filling in this phrase, a response to "What are you doing?":

"— HE — — — N — /— —/ — — — — L — — — L — T —"

"Cheating at poker" were among the guesses Muldowney made. Host Pat Sajak quipped that the guess revealed a bit about him.

Alas, his attempts did not land near the answer:

"C H E C K I N G / M Y / A V A I L A B I L I T Y."

Muldowney, 37, grew up in Jefferson Hills and graduated from Slippery Rock University with a degree in journalism. He's lived in Los Angeles for 15 years.

Although he's a freelance reality television writer, Muldowney joked that he was also a retired teacher and grandparent.

"I was excited I got to make Pat laugh," said Muldowney, who bantered easily with Sajak throughout the show.

As a taller guy with long hair, Muldowney found it funny he was paired against two former teachers.

His appearance on the long-running game show started off slow, losing a turn once. But he solved "Nature and Wildlife Tour" to win the vacation to Costa Rica and landed on the $1 million wedge within the bankrupt slot on the wheel. That move meant when he emerged as the winner, he had a shot at $1 million.

"It was all wheel luck," Muldowney said.

He also didn't know he landed on the coveted slot until one of his competitors told him to look down at the wheel.

"It was exhilarating. It's hard to land on that wedge," Muldowney said. "I was like 'holy crap.' I was shocked and excited."

He grew up watching the show. When he found out game shows like "Wheel" were only accepting contestants who lived nearby because of the pandemic, Muldowney sent an audition tape.

After being accepted for the show, he spent two weeks preparing for the appearance — doing word puzzles, playing the video game based on the show and otherwise polishing up on his word skills. His episode taped in January.

It's harder than it looks on TV, Muldowney said.

"You're keeping track of five different things at the same time. It's a lot to handle," he said. "You can get into trouble really easily."

Among his strategies was to buy vowels when he could. Although the prize money on the wheel has increased over the years, the price of vowels has remained $250.

"It helps you control the board," Muldowney said.

He didn't mention his Pennsylvania roots to Sajak & Co., but he did solve a toss-up round with the proper name "James Buchanan" — the only Keystone State native to serve as president until Joe Biden.

Although he lost the bonus round, Muldowney took home $14,850 from the show.

He has a year to make the trip to Costa Rica and expects his winnings check to arrive in August, something he's viewing as a summer bonus.

He's detailed his "Wheel" exploits on his social media accounts and has enjoyed the response.

"I appreciate everybody from Pittsburgh being so excited for me," he said.

Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, tdavidson@triblive.com or via Twitter .