Spin City: Local Fireman Gives The Dish On Game Show Appearance

To some it looks easy — spinning the wheel, calling out letters and trying to solve the puzzle. 

But that's probably because they've never been up on stage in front of millions of television viewers waiting for their turn to spin. 

"It's a lot different than being at home watching…you can't just shout out answers once you think you know.  You have to wait quietly, hoping for your chance to solve," said Little Neck resident Paul Smith, who will appear on the long-running game show, "Wheel of Fortune" on Friday.

Smith, a fire captain with Ladder Company 11 in Manhattan's Lower East Side, is used to being in high-stress situations. However, the 25-year Fire Department of New York veteran said being on "Wheel" was unlike anything he's ever faced.

"I'm used to going out the door of the fire truck and running into all different kind of situations, but this was an entirely different anxious feeling," Smith said.

Still for Smith, playing what he called his favorite game show in front of a live studio audience was the chance he'd been waiting for a very long time. 

"My daughter Eileen is the one who sent my name into the show…she'd been sending it in for years and this time they called us," he said, stressing that his experience on "Wheel" far exceeded his expectations.

"I even did alright, too," Smith said, stopping just short of revealing how much he won.

For that, viewers and newly-minted fans of the veteran fireman — and now, game show contestant — will have to tune in tomorrow night to find out. 

"You'll just have to watch and see," Smith said.

Watch Paul Smith take a turn on Wheel of Fortune tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. on WABC Channel 7.