DAYTONA BEACH — When Michael Corbett won the Wheel of Fortune's "Home Sweet Home Giveaway" a year ago, the retiree from Dayton, Ohio, didn't hesitate picking his prize from four options.

A new home in Daytona Beach's Latitude Margaritaville.

As an added bonus, Corbett in May got to meet the hosts of his favorite television game show, Pat Sajak and Vanna White.

That meeting included a surprise guest: Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter whose 1977 signature tune "Margaritaville" is the chief inspiration for the 55-and-older community off of LPGA Boulevard.

Related: Jimmy Buffett and Wheel of Fortune want to give you free house in Westlake - how to win it

"He (Buffett) leisurely came out and said, 'I've been in your new house, making up margaritas,'" Corbett recalled. "He then gave me a hug and said, 'Welcome to Margaritaville.'"

Wheel of Fortune will show that May 20 meeting on its program this week when it holds its second annual Home Sweet Home Giveaway viewer contest, Monday through Friday.

The contest is being put on by the syndicated television show in partnership with Latitude Margaritaville developer Minto Communities and partner Margaritaville Holdings, a company co-owned by Buffett.

Corbett, identified on the show as "Michael C," said he didn't believe it at first when he received the telephone call informing him that he won last year's contest.

"The call came up on caller ID as 'unavailable,'" he said. "I didn't answer it at first. But that afternoon that same number came up so I answered it."

When the man on the phone who identified himself as "Greg" said he was calling on behalf of Wheel of Fortune, Corbett said he hung up again, thinking it was a scam.

But he finally decided to hear him out after the representative from Interactive Solutions continued to call.

After Corbett, who turns 71 on Wednesday, confirmed he was 55 years of age or older and that he had no affiliation with either the television show, its sponsors, Minto or Margaritaville Holdings, he was informed that he qualified for the prize.

Corbett said he immediately spent the next weekend doing research to verify that Interactive Solutions did work on behalf of Wheel of Fortune and that it had an employee named "Greg."

But he held off on breaking the good news right away to his wife, Vickie, who was vacationing in Thailand at the time with the couple's adult daughter.

Like her husband, Vickie, 69, also was skeptical, but changed her mind when the couple were invited to fly down to Daytona Beach to meet with Minto officials and go on a tour of Latitude Margaritaville.

Vickie said seeing the community in person and meeting some of its residents blew her away.

"It was like, oh my gosh," she said, explaining that the model house they toured was bigger than it looked online.

The couple said they were also taken by the friendliness of the residents and staff, as well as the then-planned amenities, including a Fins Up! fitness center, Latitude Bar 'N Chill restaurant, a resort-style community pool, and bandshell amphitheater featuring live music and special events throughout the week.

Corbett said it was a no-brainer when it came to deciding which prize to pick.

While the other prize options were a new home in the Latitude Margaritaville in Hilton Head, South Carolina, a townhome in Orlando or $150,000 in cash, Corbett said Daytona Beach was the only choice that offered both close proximity to the ocean as well as to Disney World, his favorite place to visit.

Vickie said she had long wanted to ditch the Midwest and its harsh winters for the Sunshine State.

Now that the Corbetts have lived here for several months, the couple said they remain convinced they made the right choice.

"It's more than I could ever imagine having in my life," Vickie said. "The people are friendly, welcoming and ready to help if you need it and you can have as much or as little social interaction as you want."

"The people here really do know how to party," she added.

While the Corbetts don't drink, they were happy to get a Margaritaville blender as one of their housewarming gifts, which comes in handy making the kind of "frozen concoctions" Buffett sings about, only of the non-alcoholic kind.

Neither Michael Corbett or his wife profess to be big Parrotheads, the name Buffett fans like to call themselves, but they admit his music is starting to grow on them.

Vickie Corbett said she prefers the music of Melissa Etheridge, while Michael said, "I'm more of a TV fan," adding that watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are a nightly ritual for him.

And the community has plenty to offer even for non-Buffett fans, the couple said.

"They had a party for the 50th anniversary of Woodstock that was a lot of fun," Vickie Corbett said. "People dressed up in '60s clothes, vests with fringe, bell-bottoms, tie-dyed t-shirts and long-haired hippie wigs. For Halloween there's going to be a dance and a showing of 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' on the (community's) big screen (video monitor in the bandshell)."

The couple said the community also organizes group outings to venues in the greater Daytona Beach area, such as going to the oceanfront Hard Rock Hotel on A1A for happy hour, or going to see a movie at a local theater.

"There's always something going on here, something to do," Michael Corbett said.

Mike Belmont, president of Minto Communities USA, said his company's partnership with Wheel of Fortune to put on the Home Sweet Home Giveaway has helped give its Latitude Margaritaville communities national exposure.

"It resonates with a lot of (potential home)buyers who are faithful Wheel of Fortune watchers," Belmont said.

"We've been able to track many sales (of homes at the Latitude Margaritaville) to the exposure we've received from Wheel of Fortune," he said.

Since welcoming its first residents in March 2018, the Daytona Latitude Margaritaville just west of Interstate 95 recently sold its 900th home, with 622 completed.

The community today is home to more than 1,000 residents, Belmont said.

The Publix grocery store at the new Latitude Landings shopping center near the entrance to Latitude Margaritaville at the corner of LPGA Boulevard and Tymber Creek Road is set to open Nov. 7.

Construction is well underway on a Latitude Margaritaville residents-only oceanfront beach club in Ormond-by-the-Sea that is expected to open in either June or July of next year.

And Minto is expected to begin construction of the second phase of its residents-only Latitude Town Center in mid-to-late 2020 that will add more amenities.

The grand prize for this year's Home Sweet Home Giveaway is a choice of either a new home at either the Latitude Margaritaville in Daytona Beach or Hilton Head valued at $350,000, a single-family home in a Minto community in Palm Beach County or $150,000 in cash.

More information on the contest, including the rules, can be found online at wheeloffortune.com.

This story originally published to news-journalonline.com, and was shared to other Florida newspapers in the GateHouse Media network via the Florida Wire. The Florida Wire, which runs across digital, print and video platforms, curates and distributes Florida-focused stories. For more Florida stories, visit here, and to support local media throughout the state of Florida, consider subscribing to your local paper.