WESTFIELD, NJ — A lifelong love of games and a rare experience of having appeared on multiple game shows paid off recently when Westfield resident Scott Menke reached the final round of “Wheel of Fortune,” and had to solve the final phrase.
Hostess Vanna White lit up the board with a few letters, but Menke, 36, still had several letters to identify to solve the puzzle in the April 19 episode. He picked a few consonants, spurring show host Pat Sajak to remark, “Sounds like you made up your mind.”
With seconds to spare, the WOF player began shouting out possible answers. “Pick at the opportunity! Pack at the opportunity!” Menke yelled. “Jump at the opportunity!”
“That’s the one!” Sajak confirmed.
Opening the gold card, Sajak revealed that Menke had won a new blue Chevy Equinox, worth up to $40,000.
Menke sat in the vehicle and waved to the crowd. The victory was even sweeter considering that Menke had suffered a tough loss on “Jeopardy!” 15 years before.
Menke, a Johns Hopkins University alum, competed in the “Jeopardy!” College Championship Tournament in May 2009. An applied math major, he competed against Eric Betts, an Emory University journalism student.
During Final Jeopardy, then hosted by the late Alex Trebek, Menke wrote the wrong answer: “What is a headline?” Betts provided the correct answer: “What is a deadline?”
While noting at the time that Betts was “right in his wheelhouse” with the winning question, Menke also added that, when his campus held a screening of the episode to “see if Scott makes the finals,” it was tough to keep a smile.
“It was difficult. Being on ‘Jeopardy!’ was a dream of mine. That was the coolest experience of my life up to that time, getting flown out to Los Angeles, playing a game with other college kids. When I lost, I was upset in the immediate aftermath,” he said.
“What really turned things around for me was, after the show aired, I got a lot of compliments from friends and family about how I did well and came off well on TV. That helped me feel good about myself. I used to be kind of shy, and that experience helped me become more comfortable with myself.”
The Westfield Connection
Originally from Flemington, Menke and his wife, Kara Louis, who grew up in East Brunswick, moved to Westfield in June 2023 from New York City, where she still works. They share their home with son Aiden, who will turn 2 in June.
“He likes Westfield as well, for the record,” Menke noted.
“It’s a great community. We’re very happy here,” Menke said, adding with a smile that he was recently recognized at Whole Foods in Clark for his WOF appearance. “I’m a freelance data analyst who’s always looking for exciting opportunities.”
Reflecting on his multiple game show appearances, Menke noted that he had appeared on “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?” a few years after the “Jeopardy!” experience. “In 2019, I was on ‘The $100,000 Pyramid.’ “
“I’ve always loved games of all kinds,” he said. “I play a lot of chess. I play a lot of poker. Game shows to me were a fun way to compete and to show off my skills at trivia, puzzles and things like that.”
Appearing on multiple game shows is in itself an accomplishment.
“By the numbers, (landing a first show appearance) is quite difficult,” Menke said. “There’s a pretty exhaustive process, with a certain threshold you have to pass, involving skills as well as personalities. You need to be good at the game — and someone people would be comfortable having in their living room. Once you’ve been on one show, it’s probably easier to get on other shows.
“Right after I moved to Westfield, in June 2023, I applied online” to appear on “Wheel of Fortune,” he said. “I found out that this is the last year that Pat Sajak is hosting the show. I thought back to how cool it was to have met Alex Trebek. I thought how great it would be to be a part of the history of ‘Wheel of Fortune.’”
Menke participated in a practice game as part of the competition, he said. “I didn’t hear back from them for seven months, until February of this year. It was a pleasant surprise.”
Most recently, more welcome news was the “Wheel of Fortune” prize, the Chevy Equinox.
“In New York, we didn’t need any cars. Since moving to New Jersey, we have one car. We’ve been discussing needing another one for a while now,” Menke added. The “Wheel of Fortune” prize “was convenient, and we are super excited.”
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