Have you ever dreamed of making $50,000 in one afternoon? Saturday, UW-Madison senior Matt Jacobs will have the opportunity to do so when he competes on the game show Wheel of Fortune.

Jacobs is one of 15 Midwestern-college students chosen to test their chances on the program, which first aired in 1975.

Jacobs, a communication arts and political science major, said he heard about the opportunity via a mass e-mailing and was one of 3,000 students to apply. Several weeks later he found that he and 160 other students, 10 from UW, were randomly picked to audition in his hometown, Chicago.

Jacobs ended up making the cut again and will head to the windy city this weekend to try his luck. Jacobs said he isn’t sure why he made the cut, but suspects it was because he tried to look like a “typical college student.”

Jacobs said he is not sure what to expect, but he is looking forward to a meeting with hostess Vanna White.

“Maybe something will spark,” he said.

Jacobs said if he wins he will throw a “‘Matt Wins Money’ party with ice cream and Cristal” and probably buy some “nerdy tech devices.”

He said he has no specific strategy, but plans to use his common sense and stick with frequently used letters such as r, s, t, l, n and e.

Even if he does not win, Jacobs said he looks forward to the taping.
“The whole thing is kind of ridiculous because it all started as a joke,” Jacobs said.