Courtesy Photo Efim Shapiro, a radio producer and Middletown resident, will be a contestant today on the TV game show “Wheel of Fortune.” Shapiro loves to play the piano and speaks fluent Russian, according to a press release from Sony Pictures Television. The show will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. on WMAR, channel 2, out of Baltimore.

Shapiro, 30, of Middletown, would not say what he won, but said it was better than the minimum $1,000 prize contestants get. He received a little bit of cash and the prize, he said. Shapiro and his wife plan to gather with neighbors to watch the show, taped Nov. 20 in California.

Shapiro signed up for an audition online, and promptly forgot about his application. Nine or 10 months later, he heard back from show representatives asking him to audition at a hotel near Dulles International Airport.

Shapiro is a producer for the Joe Madison Show, a news and political commentary show on SiriusXM Radio. He took the day off and went to the audition.

"It was real low-key," he said.

The 60 people auditioning were asked to take part in puzzles and answer questions. After the first round, about half the auditioners were dismissed. Those remaining were asked to take a turn spinning a miniature wheel, resembling one used at a carnival. Auditioners would call out letters, as if they were on the show, and try to determine the phrase.

"I did really poorly at the audition," Shapiro said. "But I had a good attitude and I had a lot of fun. I think they go for charisma. They want people to be happy, to look like they want to be there."

Shapiro also dressed well. He wore nice slacks and a dress shirt, but not a coat and tie.

"I saw some people who looked kind of sloppy," he said. "I thought my chances would be better if I wore decent clothes."

"Wheel of Fortune" is more a game of chance than its game-show sister "Jeopardy," he said. His stepbrother appeared on "Jeopardy" while in high school in the early 1990s.

Shapiro flew to Los Angeles for the Nov. 20 taping the day before, a Thursday. Contestants pay their own travel, but are guaranteed $1,000 to cover expenses. A shuttle bus brought Shapiro and 17 other contestants to the studio at 7 a.m. that Friday morning.

The shows are taped four times a month, with six shows taped in a single day. Along with the 18 out-of-town contestants, there are two backups from the L.A. area.

"Nobody slept much the night before," Shapiro said. "I was extremely nervous."

He went to California alone, but his cousin, Angie, flew in from Salt Lake City to watch the taping and give him support.

Producers give the contestants lengthy instructions. Food and drinks are provided, but contestants had to ask permission to go to the bathroom.

Shapiro was on the second show taped that day, at about 1 p.m.

"I was lucky to win anything," he said. "There came a point when I thought I was going to walk away with nothing."

The other contestants represented many ages and geographical areas, he said. "They try to get a cross-section of people," he said.

After the show, Shapiro went to visit his stepbrother in San Francisco, the same one who had appeared on "Jeopardy," before returning home a few days later. He planned to keep the results a secret from everyone, but said that resolve lasted about two hours after he got home.