Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'Wheel Of Fortune' Viewers Miffed After Contestant Misses Misleading Bonus Puzzle

Screentshot of an unsolved "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle
ABC

The game show was called out for placing the final bonus puzzle in the 'place' category, potentially costing a contestant $100k, after viewers felt like it was more of a 'thing.'

Wheel of Fortune fans seethed over a misleading puzzle that cost a contestant $100,000.

On an April 8 episode, Laura Young, a mother of two from York, Maine, made it to the Bonus Round where her lucky streak came to an abrupt end.


Young, who calls herself the “crazy walking lady" and said she walked over 3,000 miles in the past year, was informed that the puzzle category was "place."

But the dedicated wayfarer went nowhere fast when attempting to solve the two-word puzzle with the additional letters, “C, P, D, and O," none of which were on the board.

The board with the revealed four letters appeared like so:

“_ R _ _ E L / _ _ L _ _ _ _.”

To which the stumped contestant said:

“Oh, my goodness. There’s gotta be another vowel in there.”

Unfortunately, she didn't stand a chance as the ten-second timer ran out and the board revealed the correct answer was “GRAVEL WALKWAY.”

Host Pat Sajak twisted the proverbial knife by telling the expert ambler, “Ironically, it’s a walkway for you."

Even Sajak admitted to Young:

"But you had no shot at that."

You can watch Young's unsuccessful gameplay here.

Laura's Bonus Round | S41 | Wheel of Fortuneyoutu.be

Sajak felt bad for Young's loss and couldn't bring himself to show her the placard indicating she could have won $100,000.

He asked her to turn around as he showed viewers. Young obliged but spun back to see the lost prize money after hearing the audience collectively groan on her behalf.

"Number one, I feel terrible," Sajak said, adding:

"Number two, you knew there was no way you were gonna solve that puzzle with the letters you had."

But the host suggested she look on the bright side of things with her $19,350 total prize money.

"You did great," said Sajak.

However, fans thought the game show did Young wrong for attempting to pass off "gravel walkway" as a "place."

Viewers thought the answer was more of a "thing" than a location.

In response, social media user Christian Dixie took to X (formerly Twitter) and observed the game show gets crafty sometimes.

"Just a friendly reminder that #WheelOfFortune likes to add adjectives to trick their contestants in the bonus round for added difficulty."
"For example, GRAVEL WALKWAY on last night's show. 'WALKWAY' is the place, but Gravel is the adjective that describes the place, the walkway."

Other viewers thought the unfair puzzle was a deliberate sabotage ploy.


@QueenShamshley/X


Better luck next time, Laura.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Screenshot of Peter Doocy from Fox News
Fox News

Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy Skewers Trump With Brutal Jab About Falling Stock Market

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy pointed out how President Donald Trump's call for federal workers to retire amid stock market losses might have hit a snag now that their retirement accounts are "getting throttled" amid ongoing trade wars.

Ahead of a White House press briefing, Doocy recounted the "back and forth" Trump has had with the Canadian government over tariffs—as of now the Canadian government has announced retaliatory tariffs on $21 billion of U.S. goods—and noted that while Trump doesn't have to worry about re-election, CEOs "all need to go back to their boards and to their shareholders to explain what exactly is going to happen."

Keep ReadingShow less
Lady Gaga
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Lady Gaga Reveals She Battled 'Psychosis' Five Years Ago In Candid New Interview

Singer, songwriter, and performer Lady Gaga opened up this week about an experience that may not have been guessed by looking at her: her years-long struggle with psychosis.

During an interview with the New York Times' podcast The Interview, the singer confided:

Keep ReadingShow less
Bill Burr; Elon Musk
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/GettyImages, SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Bill Burr Just Destroyed 'Idiot' Elon Musk While Explaining Why People Shouldn't Fear Him

Stand-up comedian Bill Burr quashed fears about tech billionaire Elon Musk being any sort of a threat to Americans in a no-holds-barred rant on NPR’s Fresh Air podcast.

The Tesla CEO wasn't the only target of Burr's ire.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sarah McBride
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

GOP Rep. Abruptly Adjourns Hearing After Being Called Out For Misgendering Trans Rep.

Texas Republican Representative Keith Self was put in his place after misgendering Delaware Democratic Representative Sarah McBride—the first openly transgender member of Congress—when McBride fired back with a taste of his own medicine.

At a hearing hosted by the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe, Chairman Self recognized McBride to speak by saying:

Keep ReadingShow less
Meteorologist's Reaction Goes Viral After Tornado Hits Station During Live Weather Report

Meteorologist's Reaction Goes Viral After Tornado Hits Station During Live Weather Report

There's predicting the weather, then there's being in it.

Meteorologists are often seen either right in the middle of a weather event, soaking wet in a raincoat or huddled under a parka, or inside the climate-controlled studio in front of moving maps on the screen.

Keep ReadingShow less