Photo Credit: Wheel of Fortune®:  © 2021 Califon Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photographer:  Carol Kaelson

By: Megan Roche

Big money, big money! Denville’s own and Newark Academy teacher, Jim Coe recently made an appearance on Wheel of Fortune during Teachers Week, where Coe said it was nothing but fun.

“I would absolutely do it all over again. I wouldn’t do anything differently and the game was what it was,” Coe says with a laugh. 

Coe comes from a board and card game loving family, so when he applied to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, he was ecstatic. He also stumbled across the application for the $100,000 Pyramid, where he also appeared a few years back. 

“I applied to both on the same day and $100,000 Pyramid called me that same exact day. I actually filmed that show in May 2018 and it aired September 2018. Both of them are very similar, they were both wild experiences that felt like a dream the whole entire time I was taping. I couldn’t believe it was happening,” Coe shared. 

When Coe applied for Wheel of Fortune, it was spring of 2018. 

“I applied in 2018 and I didn’t hear anything until late spring of 2019. Wheel reached out when they were holding auditions in New York City. There was a conference room at a hotel where they had a miniature version of the game set up. There were about 60 other people with me at the audition. We were all in a room and we just played the game. If you solved the puzzle, you won a little gift like an autographed photo of Pat and Vanna or a hat. They really just wanted to see if you had energy and were clapping and knew how to play the game. I was one of the last people in line to go. I thought “I’m going to run this board”, I was so sure of myself. I spun and my go to letter was “R” and the guy said, “No R’s” and told me to sit. That’s when I thought my shot was over,” Coe recalled. 

When he got the letter that he was actually selected as a contestant, he couldn’t believe it. Fast forward to September 2021 and the dream was finally realized. Though the audition process was a long wait, Coe enjoyed every second, from filling out the application to appearing on the show itself.  

“I came home one day and it was my birthday. The mail came and I opened the letter and sure enough it was Wheel of Fortune with “Congratulations, You’re In!” and I thought “Oh my God, this is amazing!” They basically asked for my availability, and they would reach out when they had a slot for me,” Coe shared. 

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Coe flew to Los Angeles to appear on the show with other teachers from around the nation. As just the teachers were allowed on the set, the groups of educators became each other’s audience. When Coe arrived back to the East Coast after his appearance, his wife was eager to know how it went. That’s when Coe decided he wasn’t going to let her in on his winnings, until the episode aired at least.

“Since the show was on a Friday night (September 17), I wanted her to watch the episode with everyone else. All I told her when I got back was ‘it’s not lifechanging money and I didn’t win any trips.’”

Coe and his family took up space at the bar at Rockaway River Barn restaurant and watched the show live with friends and family. Eventually, the entire bar was invested in Coe’s game.  He was fortunate enough to make it to the final puzzle.

“I’ll never forget that I picked the category place. I figured that as a history teacher, I could probably figure out a place pretty quickly. It was two words and I remember reading an article beforehand that P G H and O are the best letters to pick for the final puzzle. I get blank blank blank E T and blank O blank E. I realized that I was trapped because all I saw in the second word was “home” and it ended up being Quiet Cove,” Coe says. 

Although he didn’t guess it right, he wouldn’t go back and change anything about his experience on the show.

The students at Newark Academy and tons of parents, colleagues, and friends were all so proud of Coe just for being on the show. Coe shared that he received numerous emails and messages in the days after his episode, congratulating him on a job well done. At Newark Academy, Coe serves as the dean for the Class of 2022 but also as the PA Announcer for pep rallies and play by play sports action. 

“I had to go to school the following day after my episode aired to call a soccer game. One of the dad’s came running up to me with his phone to show me pictures of the entire girls soccer team at his house watching the show after their practice together. He was showing me photos and videos of them screaming as I was solving puzzles. It was really, really, fun and they got a good laugh out of me. It was awesome to see all the support and a rewarding reminder to see the lives I’ve touched through teaching,” Coe said.  

Looking to try your hand at Wheel of Fortune? Coe passed along a tip to make sure you get the most out of your experience.

“When you are playing at home, you are just trying to solve the puzzle. When you are actually playing on the set, if you want to get to the end, you have to do the math. It’s all a numbers game. There is actually a board on the set off to the side of the camera that has the bank and potential earnings from that particular round that shows you where you stand. You are playing the word game, but you are also combining that with math. There is so much going on internally to try to trip you up,” Coe says. 

As far as the dream game show appearance, Coe says he’d love nothing more than to be on Jeopardy. 

“My long term goal is to be on Jeopardy. But, the rule with Wheel of Fortune is that you can only be on two game shows in 10 years, so I will be 42 before I can do that, but I’d be ecstatic if I could get that opportunity.”