The best purchase Laura Hall recently made was buying a vowel -- five vowels to be exact.

Hall, a Des Moines resident, was a contestant on "Wheel of Fortune's" "Greatest American Cities" episode, which aired March 2.

"I bought a lot of vowels!" laughs Hall. It was a way to buy time to think."

Her strategy paid off because she walked away with $4,250 in winnings.

Hall is a health and physical education teacher at Federal Way High School and a lifelong fan of "Wheel of Fortune. "I've been watching for as long as I can remember being able to read," she says.

After years of successfully solving the word puzzles from home, she wanted to try her luck as a contestant.

"I've been applying to be on the show since I turned 18 years old -- almost 10 years!" says Hall. When the 39-foot long, bright yellow Wheelmobile rolled into town last year looking for potential contestants, Hall was ready for her audition.

"I told them that I would have a lot of energy," says Hall who clapped all day while filming and reminded herself to constantly smile. Her enthusiasm paid off and she was notified within two weeks that she was selected.

It was no small feat considering over 10,000 contestants apply annually and only 600 are chosen.

"I was so happy that I started crying when I got the letter in the mail," she says. Accompanied by her mother, sister and boyfriend, the energetic blonde with the TV-ready personality was soon on her way to Culver City, California, to tape her episode.

"I was really nervous!" she says. It takes only 45 minutes to tape an episode and there is very little preparation.

"The biggest prep work we did was practicing how to spin the wheel and making sure it went all the way around," recounts Hall.

While she says the wheel is smaller in real life, it is surprisingly heavy and weighs approximately 2,400 pounds -- just over a ton.

"I got some muscle behind it, though!" giggles Hall whose athletic background did her P.E. students proud.
Hall says that due to nerves, she was mostly concentrating on "not passing out on national television" rather than solving the puzzles, but the results say otherwise. She dominated her round and won $4,250 dollars by completing the phrase "Paradise Lost And Found."

The prize money, however, is icing on the cake. Hall mainly cherishes having had "such a really cool experience."

She met hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White whom Hall says were really nice in person.

"Vanna came and said 'hi' while we were getting our makeup done and I ran up and gave her a big hug."
When the episode aired, Hall attended a viewing party at a local sports bar with family and friends.

She was also touched by her students' enthusiasm. "The kids were so excited for me and they all watched it, too," she says.

Perhaps the biggest thrill, however, was sharing the experience with her grandparents.

"They watch Wheel every, single night and I remember going to their house as a kid and watching it with them," says Hall. "My grandma is in her eighties and she was so excited about me being on the show! Her retirement center even put it in their newsletter."

Her next big purchase after buying all those vowels? She is using her prize money for a 16-day trip to Italy with her mother and sister.

Her next big adventure may even be another game-show appearance. She chuckles at the idea. "Well, my boyfriend and I joke about it," Hall says. "Who knows, maybe that will be our next endeavor!"