While most students during winter break were hanging out at home or vacationing with friends and family, sophomore Allen Gannett was in Los Angeles competing for cash on the popular game show Wheel of Fortune.

“It was exhilarating and kind of out of this world,” Gannett said. “Completely different experience from watching it on TV.”

Although Gannett, a political science major, is legally bound not to speak about how much money he won on the show, he was guaranteed a minimum $1,000 in prize money.

On the day of filming, Gannett said he had to be at the studio by 7:45 a.m. and was there till 5 p.m. The show films a week’s worth of episodes – six shows – in one day of filming.

“It felt like the entire thing was about five minutes long, even though the show is a 30-minute show, it went by like that,” Gannett said. “It’s very fast, it’s a lot harder [than playing at home] because adrenaline is running, there’s lots of pressure, it’s actual money.”

Gannett said the other contestants were very nice and enthusiastic, and one of the people he played against is a student at nearby Catholic University.

Last year, Gannett sent in applications for five game shows just for fun.

“I was watching TV, watching game shows, watching Wheel of Fortune, and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ So I went online, filled out some applications and Wheel of Fortune happened to go all the way,” Gannett said.

In May, Gannett spent a day in New York going through three rounds of auditions before receiving a letter notifying him that at some point in the future he would be a contestant. To prepare, Gannett said he practiced for a solid week using the Wheel of Fortune computer and iPhone game and watching the show as much as possible.

“I was pretty hardcore about it, it was my winter break project,” Gannett said.

Gannett said he definitely plans to try for another game show, and that it’s a fun and exciting way to make some money. If possible, Gannett’s dream game show is “Deal or No Deal” because he said it looks easy.

“Everyone should try [a game show] at least once,” Gannett said.

Gannett’s show will air Feb. 26 on ABC, and Expanding Democracy!, a student organization of which Gannett is the president, will be holding a viewing party, Gannett said.