‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans complain game show ‘ruined it again’ after contestant was denied prize money

Entertainment

By Emily Trainham, Fox News

A “Wheel of Fortune” contestant won last night’s game but failed to guess the bonus riddle correctly.

After the episode aired, fans of the game show began to support the contestant, insisting that she had actually named the correct answer to the puzzle, but that host Pat Sajak had not recognized it.

The contestant, a woman named Tamara, chose “What are you doing?” for the final puzzle category. After co-host Vanna White delivered the lyrics the show traditionally provides and the ones Tamara chose, she was left with “___N_NG A B___ _L_B.”

“Now pay attention to what’s up there,” Sajak advised. “There is a huge letter board. If you speak it, you can do this.”

He started with the word “fan,” but when he couldn’t get anywhere with that, he fell silent. When her ten seconds were almost up, she came up with “book club” and, just before the bell rang, she made a guess.

The correct answer was “JOIN A READING CLUB.” Some viewers believe that’s what she guessed, but others heard “running a book club.” In the clip, it appears she started to say something else before giving her guess.

“You were right there,” Sajak told him. “Unfortunately, I was a little late. “When you got to ‘book club,’ you were running out of time.”

He revealed that if he had been right, he would have won $50,000. Still, his gambling winnings amounted to $21,132.

Fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to discuss the moment, with several expressing that they felt Tamara had been set up.

“Wheel of Fortune – the contestant got the puzzle right – you messed it up again!” one person wrote.

Another said: “Con. I thought he said that in a LONG time!!! And I thought the rule was that as long as you START before the bell rang you could finish!!

“On 02/24/24, Tamara won the bonus round, on the wheel of fortune,” a complaint reads. “She already mentioned BOOK CLUB and then yelled: JOIN A BOOK. So joining a book club camp came out of her mouth before time was up. Where fortune always steals money from people. Give him his $50,000. She won!!!!”

“That’s nonsense, she understood that puzzle before the bell rang!!” another fan exclaimed. “You scammed another contestant!”

A similar problem occurred last month when a contestant called Megan was believed to have said the correct answer to her bonus puzzle, only to be denied the prize.

The letters on the board appeared as “P_N_ _RC__D” and the category was “Living Things.” After 10 seconds, the bell rang and Megan realized that she had lost the extra prize.

When White revealed the remaining letters and the correct answer, “pink orchid,” Megan realized how close she had come to winning.

“You may have been thinking too much,” Sajak commented. “Thinking about a type of orchid.”

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you,” he added, struggling to show her the envelope containing a $40,000 prize.