Heather Latter
Local residents may want to tune in to “Wheel of Fortune” tonight because Davina Albanese, formerly of International Falls, Mn. and the daughter-in-law of Fort Frances councillor John Albanese, will be spinning the wheel as a contestant on the popular game show.
The episode is the season premiere and the first in a week-long series of shows that were taped in Las Vegas, where Davina Albanese currently lives.
The show was taped in mid-July but Albanese cannot discuss the outcome, including whether she won any of the cash or prizes up for grabs.
“They [Davina and husband, John Paul] were actually here visiting the beginning of July when she got the message, so as soon as they went back, the following Friday she went for taping,” her mother-in-law, Allyson Albanese, explained.
She noted her daughter-in-law works at Harrah’s at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill and was approached by a customer, who turned out to work for “Wheel of Fortune” and suggested she try out for the show.
Albanese then went to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to try out—not even thinking she would make the cut.
“There’s only 15 people that get to take part for the week of Vegas and she was one of the 15,” Allyson Albanese noted.
“She’s a beautiful girl, so I don’t blame them for picking her.”
Meanwhile, her family here in Fort Frances is hoping she brings home some cash and prizes.
“We really wanted her to win a million dollars, but I don’t know if we would have kept that quiet,” Allyson Albanese chuckled.
Davina Albanese’s friends and family in Las Vegas will be watching the show tonight in a private dining room at Harrah’s.
Meanwhile, Allyson Albanese will be home taping the episode so her husband can watch it after he gets home from tonight’s council meeting here.
“We’re really excited. We’ve never known anyone before on a television game show,” she enthused.
But apparently Davina Albanese isn’t a stranger to being in the spotlight. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, she was featured in a magazine that highlighted people from that area.
“She’s been in the right place at the right time,” her mother-in-law said.
