Medina’s Kari Deeks wins Disney cruise and cash prize on Wheel of Fortune season 43 episode 64

The Wheel of Fortune episode on December 5 saw Keri Deeks win big, along with a special prize. 

The show is one of the most iconic game shows on American television. 

 Wheel of Fortune was hosted by Pat Sajak for a long time, but after his retirement announcement, the show is now hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White. 

In episode 64 of season 43, a mother from Medina, Ohio, named Keri Deeks, played along with other contestants. 

She did not do quite well in the initial rounds, but caught up by solving the Before and After Puzzle. 

Deeks also won a Disney Wish cruise after solving the Prize Puzzle. 

Keri celebrated her appearance on the show by organizing a watch party at Common Grounds in Medina. 

She shared her happy moments with her friends and family, rewatching the show. 

Wheel of Fortune season 43 episode 64 winner Kari Deeks shared more about her appearance on the show

During the episode, Kari Deeks competed alongside Mark Pittman and Jaelyn Cooper. 

After a weak start, she did not have much luck during the Toss-Up rounds. 

However, she made up for it by solving the Before and After Puzzle, which earned her $2,400. 

After losing out on the wild card, things were not looking good for her. 

But Deeks, with her acumen in puzzles, solved the Prize Puzzle and won a Disney Wish Cruise. 

She talked about the excitement of winning the Disney Cruise and remarked that her kids have never been on a plane or cruise.

“It’s going to be so rewarding to watch them experience all of this through their eyes," she said (via The Gazette). "To see them on an airplane for the first time, to see them on this cruise, to see them see these characters, all because of Wheels of Fortune is just very cool.” 

She also spoke about the filming of the episode and shared that it was completed in just 45 minutes. 

After rewatching the episode, Keri remarked:

“Rewatching it was kind of surreal because I forgot about a lot of what was happening.” 

The moment she might want to forget would be the time when she lost in the Bonus Round. 

During the episode, after winning $23,921, Ryan Seacrest asked if she wanted to “keep the streak alive?”

After spinning the wheel, she got the letter ‘P’ and was given R, S, T, L, N and E on the screen. 

She had to guess the phrase; her third chosen consonants were H, D, M and her vowel was A.

She had to guess the phrase in 10 seconds after A and M were added to the rest of the letters. 

Deeks failed to guess the phrase, which was “overly ambitious.” 

And she had to head home with $23,921.

She also shared that she had been auditioning for the show for many years.

In 2024, she was called for the auditions, which she attended, but was unable to move forward.

Her chance finally came when she received an email from the team calling her to film the Christmas episode.

Kari shared that she and her husband were greeted by Vanna White when they arrived at the studio. 

“That really just set the tone for the entire day," she said. 

Stay tuned for more such updates.