Hayes Center Woman Spins the Big Wheel and Takes Home $40,000

Madeena McAffee of Hayes Center won $40,000 on Wheel of Fortune and she didn’t have to buy a single vowel to do it.

McAffee was the winner of the Nebraska Lottery’s 2024 Wheel of Fortune Second-Chance Promotion and was whisked to Los Angeles and got a chance to spin the big wheel.

The Wheel of Fortune Second-Chance Promotion offered Nebraska Lottery players who entered non-winning $5 Wheel of Fortune Scratch tickets through the MVP Club at nelottery.com a chance of winning a VIP trip to the set of the classic game show and a spin on the famous wheel.

The prize package included round trip airfare for two to LA, three nights at the Marina Del Rey Marriott, a tour of Sony Studios, a guided bus tour of Hollywood, $500 in spending money, two tickets to be in the audience for a live taping of three episodes of Wheel of Fortune and access to the Mega Money Maker Event, which included the chance to win at least $2,000.

McAffee’s name was drawn on July 31, 2024, and all she had to do was wait the two months before her trip to LA.

“It was a long wait, but it was worth it,” she said.

After the first night of settling into the hotel, McAffee and the rest of the winners from other state lotteries woke up early and headed down for a Hollywood bus tour.

The tour gave them a chance to get a taste of Southern California’s most famous sights. The Walk of Fame, the TCL Chinese Theater (whose sidewalk is brimming with the handprints of Hollywood royalty) the high-end retail stores of Beverly Hills’ famous Rodeo Drive.

The tour also took winners along the streets that made LA famous (and in some cases, infamous), the Sunset Strip, the corner of Hollywood and Highland where the biggest movies host their premieres and Melrose Ave., home to some of LA’s trendiest restaurants and shops.

The following day, the group headed for Sony Pictures Studios in nearby Culver City for a walking tour of movie sets and some of the most famous props and movie vehicles, including the Ghostbusters Ecto-1, the sound stage used to shoot “The Wizard of Oz” and even Walter White’s RV from “Breaking Bad”.

After the tour, the winner group joined the studio audience for three episodes of Wheel of Fortune.

That was just the appetizer, and the best was yet to come. The Mega Money Maker Event began on the same stage immediately afterward. All winners got a chance to spin the big wheel.

McAffee gave the wheel a spin and landed on a glittering $20,000 prize, which also included a spin on the bonus wheel where she won an additional $20,000 for a total of $40,000.

“It was an amazing trip,” she said, “They really took care of everything.”

Published on 11/01/2024