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You could say this North Mankato alpaca farmer fleeced one of the nation’s most popular TV game shows, as Chad Cabanilla sheared his way through the competition to take home almost $184,000 in cash and prizes during a five-night run on “Wheel of Fortune.”

Cabanilla, 40, was finally bested by another contestant during the Spring Forward Champions Tournament on that fifth show, which aired Wednesday night, when he came within just a couple thousand dollars of keeping the winning streak going.

“[I was] super lucky to be part of that, because if you won the first or if you won your game, you moved on into the next day and played again,” Cabanilla said about the Champions Tournament. “And I was lucky enough to play on five shows in a row.” 

Cabanilla told MPR News that he’s been an avid fan of “Wheel of Fortune” since he was a child, and that he loves game shows. So, he said he was very excited when he got the call about competing on the show.

“The overall experience of it that not just the average person gets to do in a lifetime,” Cabanilla said. “Millions of people apply to be on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ every year, and there’s so few people that get the actual opportunity to even go out and spin the wheel and be on the show. …everything about it will stick out to me, and it’ll be a memory that will last forever.”

To prepare for his appearance as a contestant, Cabanilla said watched the show every night and also revisited old episodes. He downloaded the “Wheel of Fortune” app onto his phone and played the game during his spare time.

“A lot of it is luck, and also the wheel and how it spins for you and where it lands,” Cabanilla said. “If the puzzle comes up and it’s in your favor, and you know it. The wheel has to work with you as well when you’re spinning.”

In addition to taking home a boatload of cash, Cabanilla also won trips to Amsterdam, Aruba, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Seattle and Washington D.C. He’s most excited about going back to Vietnam. 

“Vietnam is one of my favorite places that I’ve ever been, and to win another trip there, it was just super, super great.” Cabanilla said. “I’m a big foodie, and Vietnam has such good food, and it’s just a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful place to go. So, I’m really excited to go back.”

Cabanilla said his family, including his husband Daniel Gilbert, 48, were ecstatic about his appearance on the game show.

“[Daniel’s] a big game show person, too,” Cabanilla said. “And we watch game shows together all the time. ‘Wheel of Fortune’ we watch all the time, and if we can’t watch it during the week, we DVR them and just watch the shows together on the weekend as well. So, he was really, really excited for me.”

Aside from the trips, Cabanilla said he doesn’t have plans yet on how he wants to spend his winnings. He hopes to invest a good chunk of it into his alpaca farm, Double C’s Alpacas, which he started back in 2006.

“Maybe get a few more alpacas, do a couple more updates on the farm,” he said. “For the rest of the money, I have no real plans for it as of right now, and I’m just gonna enjoy it and kind of sit on it right now, and see where things go.”

Minnesota News

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Hannah Yang

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A North Mankato alpaca farmer walks away with almost $184,000 in cash and prizes after a five-night run on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ that aired this week. His winnings include trips to Amsterdam, Vietnam, Aruba and Costa Rica.

Courtesy of Chad Cabanilla

a man poses for a photo on a game show set

Courtesy of Sony Pictures Television

a man stands with an alpaca in front of a silo

North Mankato alpaca farmer wins nearly $200K in five-night run on 'Wheel of Fortune'

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