An article in the May 14 issue of The New Yorker magazine reported that “The chances that an American adult will get to the 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ hot seat in any given eighteen-month period are about one in three hundred and fifty thousand.” Lorraine Werner didn’t quite make it there herself--but she sure got mighty close.

     Werner, a rural development specialist with the Rural Development area office in Torrington, Wyo., made the final cut and traveled to New York City to tape the popular TV quiz show on May 24. Here’s the story behind the story on what she had to do to get there.

     “ABC-TV airs the show,” she explained, “and during the show it is announced when the show’s automated touch-tone quiz telephone lines will be open each month so that would-be contestants can try playing.”

     According to Linda McFall-Bailey, the public information coordinator at the RD state office in Casper, Wyo., the first step in the 'weeding-out process’ consists of correctly selecting--over the phone--five questions, which they refer to as 'fastest-finger’ questions, in less than 10 seconds per question. “If you get all five correct,” she said, “you’re eligible for that month’s drawings, in which a computer randomly picks the names of 500 persons from the estimated 20,000 'phone player pool’ members who had passed the 'fastest-finger’ automated touch-tone quiz during that particular time frame.” Of those 500 persons, ten are then randomly selected by computer again, are then called, and have 24 hours to return the call.

     “I’d been calling for about 18 months, and had also passed the 'fastest-finger’ test several times, but the computer hadn’t selected my name,” Werner recounted. But then on May 17 she received a call from an intern from the show, who left her a voice mail message.

     “I thought it was a joke at first--until I noticed the New York City area code on my caller ID,” she said. “Then I got so nervous I accidentally deleted the phone number that I needed to call back!”

     But she recovered her composure, was able to track down the number, and then returned the call. “The intern asked me questions about my employment, to ensure that I didn’t have any conflict that might disqualify me, such as working for ABC-TV.”

     Werner passed that review--and the next step was to take four days of annual leave. That’s because “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” paid Werner to fly to New York City and stay two nights, plus provided a daily stipend and transportation to and from the airport, as well as to and from the TV studio.

     The show was taped on May 24. Anything unusual about the taping session?

     “Oh yes, I didn’t realize that they’d put makeup on our hands--and that really blew me out,” she emphasized. “It’s because of their close-up camera shots of the hands during the 'fastest-finger’ competition.”

     “I was literally sworn to secrecy about the outcome of the show,” she affirmed, “but I still lined up all my friends and colleagues to watch it.” It aired June 3.

     The format of the show is that ten preliminary contestants play--on the air--a round of 'fastest-finger’ questions, and the winner immediately advances to the 'hot seat’ to become a contestant and be quizzed by host Regis Philbin. The remaining preliminary contestants are seated in the background, off-camera. During the hour-long show, Werner was able to participate in two chances of 'fastest-finger’ questions but was beaten out by other contestants, so she never made it to the 'hot seat.’

     While seated off-camera, did you secretly wish that the person in the 'hot seat’ would lose early, so that you’d have yet another chance at being the victor in 'fastest-finger’ questions, before the hour was up?

     “I didn’t secretly wish they’d lose--but I did wish that they’d hurry up their answers,” Werner quipped.

     “Nobody walked away feeling bad,” she added. “In fact, I’m still exchanging e-mails with my co-contestants.”