Wheel of Fortune Pays Off for Vanna White with Key to Las Vegas

There’s always something spectacular going on at the annual Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The world’s most prominent gambling industry exhibition kicked off yesterday, and will continue all week at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, where one of the most intriguing events on today’s agenda will involve GSN’s immensely popular Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White.

Vanna White receive Key to Las Vegas for Wheel of Fortune Slot Series

Just a few hours from now, the lovely Ms. Vanna – Pat Sajak’s beloved sidekick from the decades-old television game show – will be honored at 2016 G2E. For her relentless contributions to the casino slots community via the famous Wheel of Fortune Slots Series, Ms. White is being presented with a Key to the City by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.

Aside from the unparalleled level of entertainment the world has received from Wheel of Fortune branded games (the TV show and the slot machines respectively), there’s one other thing they have in common. The television series is the most adored and longest running game show in the history of television, while the Wheel of Fortune Slots series is the most successful of all reel spinner themes ever produced.

Wheel of Fortune Slots – Then & Now

Originally released by International Game Technology (IGT) in 1997 – some 22 years after the game show’s 1975 debut – the first variation of the Wheel of Fortune Slot used iconic elements from the game show, including the theme music, sound effects, and the symbolic Wheel in its Bonus Round. Being so recognizable, the game quickly caught the attention of slots fans across the US.

The following year, IGT took the concept a bit farther, installing an actual, spinning wheel atop the slot machine. The wheel featured 22 prize slots with payouts ranging from 20 to 1,000 credits.

Since then, IGT has gone wild with its release of new Wheel of Fortune Slots, having produced more than 230 of them in the last two decades. One of the most recent was the series’ first 3D Wheel of Fortune Slot, released in June 2016.

The epic slots theme has been responsible for turning more than 1,000 of its players into instant millionaires, having paid out a staggering $3+ billion in life-altering jackpots since it’s first edition was produced 19 years ago.

According to statistics, Nevada is the most profitable state for Wheel of Fortune Slot fans, where more winners have cashed in for $1+ million jackpots than in any other US states. It was also reported that more than 42 million travelers passing through Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport have stopped to play these games.

Las Vegas Honoring Vanna White

Many of the 230+ Wheel of Fortune Slots Series creations have been endowed with characterizations provided by Vanna White herself, including cinematic clips and voice overs. She’s played an integral role in the exponential popularity of the industry’s most successful slot theme, and will be rightfully honored for those contributions later today.

The Key to the City will be bestowed upon the lovely Ms. Vanna White by Las Vegas Mayor Goodman at G2E on Tuesday, September 27 at 2:00pm PST. It’s sure to be a real treat for all convention goers in attendance this afternoon.