March 10, 2026
Provided image/Vault Communications
Adam Kanter, who's tended and owned bars in Philly for decades, will be on an episode of 'Wheel of Fortune' that's airing Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Adam Kanter knows how to mix a drink. The longtime bartender has slung martinis and margaritas at the Prime Rib since it opened inside the Live! Casino & Hotel in South Philly, and he owned the former Rum Bar at 20th and Walnut streets. But he'll soon tap into one of his other strengths — word games — for his debut on "Wheel of Fortune."
Kanter, 44, will appear on the ABC game show in an episode airing Friday at 7:30 p.m. He and his family have played along for years inside their Sicklerville home, and Kanter typically cleans up; his college-age daughters have long urged him to audition. It wasn't until he saw an ad calling for contestants in December 2024, however, that he finally took the plunge.
The "Wheel of Fortune" audition process starts with an application, where prospective contestants solve a series of puzzles. Those who pass that round go onto a preliminary interview with a small pool of fellow applicants, mainly to see, Kanter says, how they'll "talk in front of other people." The final interview calls you back with a few others to solve puzzles. Then the producers decide who to put behind the wheel.
Kanter remembers acing these test rounds, but as the months went by without a call, he worried he'd overplayed his hand.
"I solved almost all of them," he said of the puzzles. "So I did really good. And I may have thought I did too good because I didn't hear from them for a long time."
But the call finally came in September 2025, and after a few false starts — the producers initially talked to Kanter about appearing on a couples' version of the show with his wife — he headed into the studio to tape his episode last month.
Kanter had, in some ways, been preparing for this moment for 20 years. On top of watching "Wheel of Fortune" each weeknight, he competed in regional Scrabble tournaments in Atlantic City and Philadelphia roughly two decades ago. He was a religious Wordle player, too, and now plays a bunch of free rhyming variations — Quirdle, Octordle and Hardle — along with Words with Friends.
Despite all that training, he found the fast gameplay intimidating.
"It's nerve-wracking because they don't give you a lot of time," he explained. "You have five seconds between the time that the letters are done popping up, and then you have a choice of either spin, solving or buying a vowel. So if you watch the game and you see people stuttering, or maybe they'll buy vowels when they don't need to buy a vowel, they're just buying time."
His coworkers and bosses will be watching the "Wheel of Fortune" episode at the Prime Rib on Friday, but Kanter will be hosting a private viewing party with friends and family. While his oldest daughter will be home from the Savannah College of Art and Design on spring break, his youngest has classes that day at Rutgers University. She's throwing her own house party on campus.
Kanter can't talk about how he did just yet, but he has advice for any other word game nerds hoping to spin the wheel.
"Just make sure you put your best foot forward and be excited," he said. "They say that in the interview, make sure you're excited. ... So I would just say to bring the energy."
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