Entertainment
Published February 24, 2024, 4:16 PM ET
A Wheel of Fortune contestant won the game last night but couldn't guess the bonus puzzle correctly.
After the episode aired, fans of the game show rallied around the contestant, insisting that she had indeed named the correct answer to the puzzle, but host Pat Sajak had failed to recognize it.
The contestant, a woman named Tamara, chose “What are you doing?” for the final puzzle category. After co-host Vanna White flipped over both the letters the show traditionally provides and the letters Tamara chose, she was left with “___N_NG A B___ _L_B.”
“Now watch what’s up there,” Sajak advised. “There is a huge letter board. If you say it, you can do it.”
She started with the word “fan,” but when she got stuck with that, she fell silent. When her ten seconds were almost up, she remembered “book club,” and just before the buzzer rang, she guessed.
A “Wheel of Fortune” contestant failed to win a $50,000 prize despite some viewers believing she gave the correct answer. Wheel of Fortune/ABC
The correct answer was “JOIN YOUR BOOK CLUB.” Some viewers think she guessed that, but others heard “run a book club.” In the clip, it sounds like she started to say something else before stating her guess.
“You were right,” Sajak told her. “Unfortunately I arrived a little late. When you got to Book Club, you ran out of time.”
He revealed that if she had been right, she would have won $50,000. Still, her winnings from the game totaled $21,132.
Pat Sajak didn't hear the contestant give the correct answer, but some viewers did. ABC
Fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to discuss the moment, with some expressing that they felt Tamara had been betrayed.
“Wheel of Fortune – the participant solved the puzzle correctly – you screwed it up again!” one person wrote.
Another said: “Wth. I thought she said that in time!!! And I thought the rule was: As long as you BEGAN before the buzzer sounded, you could be done!!”
Pat Sajak will retire at the end of the current season of Wheel of Fortune. ABC
“On 02/24/24, Tamara won the bonus round on the Wheel of Fortune,” one complaint states. “She already mentioned BOOK CLUB and then shouted, “JOIN A BOOK.” So she spontaneously joins a book club camp before time runs out. Where luck always robs people of money. Give her $50,000. She won!!!!”
“That's bullshit – she solved the puzzle before the buzzer!!” exclaimed another fan. “You duped another candidate!”
A similar issue occurred last month when a contestant named Megan presumably gave the correct answer to her bonus puzzle, but was denied her prize.
Wheel of Fortune contestant Megan missed out on another $40,000. Wheel of Fortune
The letters on the board read “P_N_ _RC__D” and the category was “Living Thing.” After 10 seconds, the buzzer sounded and Megan realized she had missed the bonus prize.
When White revealed the remaining letters and the correct answer, “Pink Orchid,” Megan realized how close she had been to winning.
“Maybe you were thinking too much,” Sajak remarked. “I’m thinking of a type of orchid.”
“I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you,” he added, struggling to show her the envelope with a $40,000 prize.
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