YONKERS, NY—November 9, 2026— Yonkers Public Schools teacher Luke Havranek was so overwhelmed when he solved the puzzle and won the grand prize on the television game show Wheel of Fortune that veteran co-host Vanna White had to give him a reality check.
“She pinched me,” Havranek recalled. “When the envelope was opened and I won the 100 grand, Vanna White came over and gave me a hug. I asked her if this were real and she replied, ‘Do you need me to give you a pinch?’ The American icon, Vanna White, pinched my arm.”
The surreal moment was not a dream. Havranek, an English as a New Language (ENL) teacher at Robert Halmi Sr. Academy of Film and Television, successfully guessed the answer in the final round. His total winnings of cash and prizes added up to $138,749.
Wheel of Fortune co-host Ryan Seacrest was stunned by the correct guess. The word was “busybody.” Havranek had just three letters: “s,” “o,” and “d.”
“It’s a matter of pattern recognition,” Havranek said. “I worked backward. After the ‘d,’ I figured the last letter had to be a ‘y.’ From there, I went backward, filling in the blank spaces until I blurted it out.”
Havranek admits he is obsessed with word games and puzzles. His family always has a crossword puzzle on the kitchen table, available for anyone who wants to contribute. When he was young, his grandmother watched Wheel of Fortune and rewarded him with a dollar if he could solve the puzzle before her. In sixth grade at Dodson School, Havranek remembers a teacher having students publish a book. While most students wrote narratives, Havranek created a puzzle book.
A love of language led Havranek to the classroom. He sees a parallel between what he teaches and how he approaches Wheel of Fortune.
“When decoding text, it’s important to be able to see the different parts of the word,” Havranek said. “I identify the root word, the prefix and suffix. It’s about recognizing patterns.”
The experience in front of the camera also provided Havranek with many stories and lessons that he can share with TV and film students at Halmi. The episode, which was recorded in August, was produced in the same studio in Culver City, California, where The Wizard of Oz was filmed.
Havranek and Halmi co-workers celebrated with a watch-party on the night that the episode aired. For nearly three months, he had to keep his big win a secret. Now, he’s being inundated with congratulations and well-wishes.
“So much love,” he said. “What a blessing!”