But by now, that’s all history.

And Bell is $69,000 richer.

“I had watched (the show) every now and then, but I wasn’t an avid watcher,” Bell said. “I started watching more when I found out I was going to be on. … I was a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. I kept doing crossword puzzles in the paper and watched the show to prepare.”

Bell said he had to pay for his plane ticket and hotel room, but if he had walked away from the show with nothing, he still would have been given $1,000.

“I didn’t believe him at all,” said Bell’s roommate Brian Tajer, a telecommunication, information studies and media senior. “It was when he actually flew out to California that I believed him.”

On the day his episode was filmed, Bell said he showed up on set with about 20 other contestants for a day of shooting six, 25-minute episodes. After running through paperwork, the contestants were given a rundown on the stage as well as instructions on where to look during the taping.

During his episode, Bell said he won two out of three toss-up puzzles, guessing the answers “skipping rope” and “rare orchids.” The toss-up puzzles involve guessing letters in words that fit within a specific category. The winner gets the privilege of starting the next round.

Bell said he won the bulk of the money in the last five minutes of the show. In the final regular round, he had about $5,000 when it was time for the final spin, which was worth $6,000 per letter. He ended up getting four letters correct in the answer “close but no cigar,” putting him in the position to proceed to the bonus round where he would play for the final prize.

“It was pretty funny,” said Shaun Jacobs, Bell’s roommate and a recent MSU telecommunication, information studies and media graduate. “All of his friends were laughing at how he had to talk. He would shout out the answers because they told him to yell. When he spun the wheel he had to keep clapping … and he gave an awesome high five to the old lady next to him. It was a kind of ridiculous-looking high five.”

Heading into the bonus round, Bell already had banked $29,000. He got his chance to pick three consonants and one vowel to help solve the puzzle, along with the letters “RSTLNE,” which the show provides.

The category: event. The event: seven letters. The time: 30 seconds.

Bell said he figured out the answer — “blowout” ­— before host Pat Sajak even stopped explaining the rules.

“It felt like an eternity after I said (the answer). I was waiting for him to say it’s right,” he said. “My facial expression said it all.”

The bonus card Bell picked was worth $40,000.

Once he actually saw the amount on the card, Jacobs said his friend looked like he was blown away.

“That’s quite a bit of petty cash for a college kid,” said Bell’s friend Jakub Sikora, a premedical and psychology junior.