Sandy Hook Man Takes A Spin On

The Wheel Of Fortune

By Kaaren Valenta

It may have been the fact that Tom Buonocore is a stay-at-home father of four, or perhaps it was his ability to make up a rap song on the spot, but whatever gave him the edge, the 42-year-old Sandy Hook resident recently won a coveted spot on the television game show, Wheel of Fortune.

The show featuring Mr Buonocore’s appearance will air at 7 pm on Friday, March 4, on Channel 8.

“It was the experience of a lifetime,” he said this week. “I’ve been a Wheel of Fortune fan forever.”

A former branch manager for the Consumer Credit Counseling office in Danbury, Tom Buonocore has been a stay-at-home dad for the past ten years. He works part-time, on weekends, at the Target store in Bethel; his wife, Lucina, is a business analyst for Trialegiant, a marketing company in Trumbull.

Mr Buonocore said it was “a total fluke” that he wound up on the game show.

“I was watching Channel 8 and saw that there were open auditions for the Wheel of Fortune at the Mohegan Sun Casino last October,” he said. “About 1,000 people showed up. I’ve never been to anything like that before.”

The game show organizers put all 1,000 names into a tumbler and randomly drew six names. “They did that four times,” Mr Buonocore said. “Those 24 had an opportunity to try out at the 10 am auditions. Twenty-four more were drawn, six at a time, for 12 o’clock and 24 for 3 o’clock.”

Mr Buonocore’s name was not drawn until the third round of the 3 pm session. “I had almost left by then, because it was about 3 pm and I had been there since 9 am,” he said.

The 36 potential contestants had to solve puzzles, play smart, and show personality, he said. But the first thing they were asked to do was to tell a little about themselves.

“I had the advantage of going late and seeing how others responded,” he said. “Many of them were so flat and I know [the auditioners] were looking for enthusiasm. So in between breaks I made up a rap song — I couldn’t tell you what it was now — so that [song], and the fact that I’m a stay-at-home dad, might have made me stand out.”

Mr Buonocore is the father of four boys: Andrew, 13, who is a seventh grade student at the Newtown Middle School; Jake, 10, a fifth grader at Reed Intermediate School; Cooper, 6, a first grader at Middle Gate, and Brian, 3.

“After the audition, I was told that I’d be notified in about eight weeks for a callback,” he said. “Nothing happened until the ninth week, when I got a letter telling me that they would like me to come back for a second audition. There were about 50 people in it from auditions that were held all over the region, not just at the Mohegan Sun.”

This time the potential contestants were required to take a test to see how many puzzles they could solve in five minutes. They then competed with other contestants who had made the cut, and out of 50 people, about 15 were chosen for shows that would be taped in the future.

“They told me it could be as long as 18 months before I’d get a call, but I was notified in November, and I flew to Los Angeles on December 4 for the taping,” Mr Buonocore said.

Because contestants are required to pay their own travel and lodging expenses, Mr Buonocore wound up going alone. “I wanted to take my family but it would have cost about $5,000 for six of us to go,” he explained. “I have a brother, Bob, who lives in Oakland, California. He and my niece, Claire, picked me up at the airport. We checked into a hotel and went to the taping the following day.”

Six shows were taped on that day; Tom Buonocore was on the fifth show to be taped. “I sat there with 17 other contestants from 10 am to 5 pm,” he said. “The waiting was torture. But all of the contestants were friendly — everyone was rooting for each other. You wanted everyone to win. You just wanted to win a little more to get to the last puzzle.”

Mr Buonocore said he is pretty good at solving the Wheel of Fortune puzzles — at least at home.

“At home I’m a star,” he said. “It wasn’t nearly as easy at the show because of the lights, the studio audience, and the cameras. I wish I could do it again. The first time you are so nervous. It is definitely not a relaxing experience. The second time around would be a lot more fun. ”

We won’t spoil the suspense by telling readers how just well Mr Buonocore did, other than to say that he did, indeed, get to the last puzzle.

Mr Buonocore said he had a lot of interaction with Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak; not nearly much with Vanna White, who was much quieter.

“Pat Sajak is very friendly and funny. He puts you at ease,” Mr Buonocore said. “But the pace of the show is much different than you’d expect. Everything is rush, rush, rush to keep the energy of the show high.”

The show set also was a surprise. “It was much smaller than you’d imagine by watching the show on television,” he said. “It was probably only about 40 feet wide and the audience was only about 100 people.”

The wheel also was heavier than he expected. “It took real muscle to spin it,” he said.

Mr Buonocore’s biggest regret was that he didn’t get the chance to say the names of his sons on the show.

“Pat Sajak asked me my children’s ages and I told him, but I forgot to give their names. That was the first thing the kids complained about when I got home. Hopefully they won’t be too scarred by that.”

About 40 of the Buonocores’ friends and family are planning to gather at their home on Kaechele Drive to watch the show and celebrate.

“I had a blast,” he said. “It was quite a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”