Courtesy photo

Joe Gilberti, of Destrehan, played for the big bucks Thursday night on the Wheel of Fortune game show.

He was a contestant on the new episode, airing Dec. 15 on Fox.

Gilberti, a 1990 Destrehan High School graduate, got the opportunity to appear on the show during an open try-out in New Orleans last year.

"You’ve got to get lucky and get your name called," Gilberti said. He did get lucky and was called up on stage with four other contestants to figure out a puzzle that is similar to the game show.

He was also interviewed in front of the crowd.

"They are basically looking to see how you interact with the public," he said.

Luckily, he chose to lead the crowd in a Who Dat chant that got him invited to the next round.

Two months ago, he and his wife, Heather, hopped onto a flight to Los Angelos for filming.

While in California, they went on a tour of stars’ homes, walked down Hollywood Boulevard and visited Universal Studios.

"It will be an entertaining 30 minutes of TV to watch," Gilberti promised.

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