Andre Ingram has gone viral a few times the last couple of years, most recently by winning the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune.”
Ingram, a guard for the South Bay Lakers, was a contestant on the show on Dec. 10. He won the show. Even though he didn’t win the bonus round, he still took home $31,750.
Ingram explained what winning felt like, via David Aldridge of The Athletic:
“I just seem to remember I couldn’t stop smiling,” Ingram said, recalling when host Pat Sajak declared him the night’s big winner.
“I couldn’t control myself,” he added. “Cheeks were hurting afterwards. Quite surreal that he says that. I’m just in that moment. I’m just taking it all in, like they say. I guess it’s easier to do that when you’ve been having some success with it. I was just genuinely enjoying, at that point, everything about it. Just happy that that’s Pat Sajak, that it’s Vanna White, ’cause you know how long they’ve been doing it. Who’s to say they won’t have another host soon? So to meet them, that’s the show that I wanted to be on.”
Ingram added that taxes will cut into his earnings from the show, but he’s still in awe of meeting Sajak and White, two people he watched on television for a long time:
“They make sure you know up front — the tax man is coming,” he said. “And … you don’t get paid for a few months, until after your show airs. It’ll be on time when I need it. Right now, I’m just truly enjoying the experience of it all. I’m still grateful for it. I think about it often. You don’t forget something like that.”
Hey, you guys might wanna see this 🏀 @Lakers @SouthBayLakers pic.twitter.com/6EATeQLC6Z
— Wheel of Fortune (@WheelofFortune) December 11, 2021
