The Wheel Windfall

Big Island

Vanna White and Pat Sajak return to the Hilton Waikoloa Village to tape “Wheel of Fortune,” now in its 26th season.

America’s favorite game show is gearing up to tape 20 episodes in mid-September at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, and not only contestants will be walking away winners.  The taping will pump nearly $5 million in production costs into the state’s economy, says Harry Friedman, executive producer of “Wheel of Fortune.” Friedman estimates about 1.8 million pounds of equipment were shipped from Los Angeles to Hawaii in 37 trailers and containers — one of which holds more than 40 pairs of shoes and 250 pieces of jewelry for Vanna White.

Reproducing the famous “Wheel of Fortune” game show set is no simple task. Friedman says planning for a remote shoot of this scope began almost two years ago. The show’s crew began arriving on the Big Island almost three weeks before the first taping and will stay until mid-September to break down. About 150 local crewmembers will be hired to assist with preproduction and taping, and more than 225 staff from the Mainland will be on hand. That amounts to more than 3,500 room nights booked in conjunction with the show.  Leanne Pletcher, director of public relations at the Hilton Waikoloa, says over 2,400 audience members will attend each of the daylong tapings. “The energy is just crazy during the show’s filming,” Pletcher says. “This is certainly going to have a very nice impact on our bottom line and promoting.”

Friedman says Hawaii continues to be the top remote-filming destination requested by Wheel watchers. This is the second time Wheel will be filming at the Hilton Waikoloa. The show taped at the Hilton Waikoloa in 1996, and since then, has also filmed in 1999 and 2001 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa in Waikiki. All the shows filmed at the Hilton Waikoloa this month will feature local contestants.  “We love Hawaii, and we’ll keep coming back here as long as we continue to be invited,” Friedman says, adding that the 20 percent refundable tax credit given to companies for all qualified production costs incurred while filming on the Big Island has become another big incentive for the Wheel to return to the Islands.
– Shara Enay

photo: carol kaelson/courtesy of “wheel of fortune

 

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