Unhappy fans of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune are claiming a contestant from California was robbed of $40,000 when she tried to solve a bonus puzzle.
The contestant, Megan, was trying to guess the answer for the “Living Thing” category as viewers watched with anticipation, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
The outlet continued:
After Megan spins the wheel and it lands, host Pat Sajak picks up the prize estimate card and walks her to the puzzle board that reads, “‘_ _N_ ‘_R_ _ _ _.’”
Megan guesses a few letters until the board reads, “‘P_N_’ ‘_RC_ _ D.’”
With just 10 seconds left on the timer, Megan blurts out her final guess of what sounded like, “Pink Orchid” or very faintly could be heard as, “Something Orchid.”
The video shows the moment the buzzer sounds and the board reveals the words “Pink Orchid.” Megan responds by stating, “Pink! Oh!”
Sajak then opens the card to reveal she apparently missed out on winning $40,000. However, Megan kept smiling. She did win $14,007.
Social media users and fans of the show known as “America’s Game” made their opinions quite clear on the matter. Some were upset and believed she should have won, while others did not agree.
“She said it correctly at first,” one person replied to the Post story, while another said, “I was watching, and I thought she said the right answer. It sounded like it.
“She never said pink,” someone else wrote. Yet another user said, “She totally said right at the start. That’s really wrong of them. Give her the money. Do what is right.”
In December 2021, Audi decided to give one of its vehicles to a Wheel of Fortune contestant who lost her prize during the bonus round because of a technicality, Breitbart News reported:
Contestant Charlene Rubush had ten seconds to guess the puzzle, according to WHIO. She first said, “Choosing The Right Card,” which was incorrect. As the time neared an end, Rubush guessed, “Choosing The Right…Word.”
“This one’s tough because you said all of the right words, including the word ‘word,’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous,” said host Pat Sajak. “We’ll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry you did a good job in getting it, but we can’t give you the prize, and it was the Audi, oh man.”
The clip went viral online, and Audi saw it and decided to give her the car.