Lifelong 'Wheel' fan from Gurnee will appear on show Tuesday

Since childhood, Keri Isacovici has watched Wheel of Fortune and imagined what it would be like to be a contestant.

This summer, the 37-year-old finally got a chance to find out and Tuesday evening viewers can tune in to the show to see how she fared.

“It was like a Cinderella moment,” Isacovici said of being on the set. “It was so special to have been chosen and I remember feeling so grateful for the whole thing and being so proud of myself for taking a risk.”

Over the years, Isacovici would consider applying to be a contestant but never worked up the nerve.

Finally last summer, Isacovici, who lives in Gurnee and works for the Buffalo Grove Park District, submitted a 30-second video to the producers. Months went by without hearing back so Isacovici concluded she had been passed over. So it was quite a shock in March when she got an email from the show asking her to schedule a Zoom interview with a casting producer.

“I remember logging on and being nervous about it but I told myself 'I'm just going to be me,'” Isacovici said.

That interview and a subsequent group interview went well and in mid-July she was told she would be a contestant for an episode to be filmed July 21. She said one of the coolest parts was when the parents and kids at the Buffalo Grove Park District learned she was going to be on the show.

Before too long she was bidding her husband and two children adieu and flying out to Culver City, California to join a gaggle of other wide-eyed contestants and veteran hosts Vanna White and Pat Sajak.

Sajak already had announced he intended to retire. Isacovici said being able to be a contestant during his 41st and final season made it all the more magical.

“I grew up with him and Vanna White so it was a surreal moment,” Isacovici said. “They are just as kind and nice as they seem on TV.”

Isacovici is hopeful her story is an inspiration to others.

Her episode on “Wheel of Fortune” will air at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on ABC7.