Farewell Emmy hug for ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host Pat Sajak?
In June, Pat Sajak bid farewell to his regular daily duties as the host of “Wheel of Fortune” after more than 40 years in the role. The Emmys sent him off with a nomination for Best Game Show Host, but will he take home the trophy as a going away present? It would be his first victory this century.
For most of their history, Best Game Show and Best Game Show Host were given out at the Daytime Emmy Awards, but when the television academies realigned their categories, the game show prizes were shifted to the prime time event. In all, Sajak has been nominated 23 times — 21 in daytime, now two in prime time — and he has claimed the prize on three occasions: 1993, 1997 and 1998. So it has been more than a quarter-century since his last victory.
Last year the award went to Keke Palmer for “Password,” and she’s nominated again this year, leading with 16/5 odds based on the combined predictions of registered Gold Derby users as of this writing. She’s backed by all five Expert journalists who have currently placed their bets so far here in our predictions center. Also predicting her to win are eight out of 11 Gold Derby Editors, 18 of our Top 24 Users and 21 of our All-Star Top 24.
But Sajak is favored by three Editors, four Top Users and two All-Stars, placing him second in the race with 19/5 odds. Even if Palmer wins again, however, this might not actually be Sajak’s last chance at the gold. Though Ryan Seacrest is taking his place for the daily edition of “Wheel of Fortune” starting in September, Sajak will be back for what ABC calls his “final spin” leading “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” this fall. So next year’s Emmys will be his real last hurrah, and perhaps his retirement will be worth two Emmys instead of just one.
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