‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player’s Dyslexic Son Helps Him Win $56,000

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Wheel of Fortune viewers could be forgiven if they got a little teary-eyed on Monday’s (February 10) episode when a contestant revealed how his dyslexic son inspired him to compete on the show. Matt Popovits, a pastor from Houston, Texas, played against Jessica Kuharik from Escondido, California, and Kunteia Willis from Tacoma, Washington.

When host Ryan Seacrest initiated the introductions, he asked Popovits how his son, Jack, encouraged him to be on the game show.

“I have two great kids – Ava and Jack,” Pop0vits said. “And when Jack was diagnosed with dyslexia, we said, ‘Let’s watch Wheel as a way of helping him learn to read and spell’.”

“So, we started watching Wheel and he said, ‘Dad you should audition.’ And I said, ‘I will if you help me and he did and here we are!’”

Popovits’ children and his wife, Lisa, were in the audience to watch him live out his dream and win more than $56,000.

At the end of he game, Popovits ended with a total of $16,350 and a trip to Mexico. Willis had $6,300 and Kuharik ended with $6,750. But, Popvits would wind up with nearly three times more than he ended with when he correctly answered the puzzle in the Bonus Round.

He picked the category “Phrase” and picked the letters “B, G, H, and A.” After revealing what letters from those he had, along with the given “R, S, T, L, N, E,” Popovits’ puzzle read, “_’_  ALL TH_ _ BS.”

Popovits didn’t even wait a second until Seacrest told him that he had 10 seconds to guess the puzzle and shouted out, “I’m all thumbs!,” which was the correct answer. Seacrest revealed Popovits’ winnings to be $40,000, totaling $56,350. His family ran over to hug him and congratulate him. When Seacrest asked Jack what he thought of his dad’s win, he replied, “Amazing!”

The Wheel contestant talked about how he felt after winning such a big amount and how special it was to have his son there with him.

“This will go down as a top ten moment in my 44 years of life. But what has made it so great isn’t the fact that I got to play an iconic game or win the bonus round. It was sharing that moment with my family and then celebrating it with all of you. Also, Ryan and Vanna are the real deal – so very kind,” he posted to Instagram on Monday.

Popovits shared photos of him and his family and friends watching his episode in his living room, along with videos and photos from his time on the show.

In another Instagram post, Popovits explained that after Jack helped him, they sent in an audition tape and ended up at Sony Pictures Studios a few weeks later.

Wheel fans couldn’t get enough of the emotional story and flocked to the comments to tell Popovits how much his story meant to them.

“We were all screaming watching! Amazing!!!,” one Instagram user wrote.

“Like ACTUALLY INSANE,” said another.

“Congratulations! So much fun to watch,” commented another.

“That was epic, and your story, I loved it!” one last fan wrote.