'Wheel of Fortune' contestant fails to guess easy phrase — loses out on $45,000 and a trip

"He almost had it, that was so close," an upset fan said about the disappointing loss.

UPDATED JAN 15, 2026

Vanna White and contestant Shane on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" fans have been frustrated by losses in the Bonus Round since last year, and contestants continue to disappoint them into the new year. A player named Shane got off to a breezy start and advanced to the final round with $29,148. He then chose the category "Phrase" and got an easy puzzle, but despite having the correct answer on the tip of his tongue, he lost $45,000 cash and a lavish trip to Finland.

Shane swiftly solved the First Toss-Up worth $1,000 by guessing "Saving to the Cloud". The Prize Puzzle - Phrase proved lucky, and he rightly guessed "You'll Be Spellbound". This round won him an adventurous trip to Europe valued at $8,798. He scored a hat-trick while solving the Triple Toss-Up - Word Play by getting all three puzzles and winning $2,000 for each, to collect $6,000. During the Final Spin Round, Shane guessed words "Dribbles, Shoots, Scores" and earned a total of $29,148 to advance to the bonus round.

He then introduced his husband, Robert, to the host Ryan Seacrest. After giving the wheel a big spin, Shane chose the "Phrase" category. He was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E, and then chose H, G, P, and I. The puzzle was revealed as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A F L I G H T. Shane attempted to solve it by saying "Pick a flight," "Take a flight," "Fly a flight," "Go for a flight," "Get catch a flight," but soon ran out of time.

However, he was unable to guess "Book a Flight" within 10 seconds. "You were so close to it," Seacrest reacted as he revealed Shane had lost a trip to Finland and $45,000 cash. Despite not solving the Bonus Round, Shane still won his accumulated total of $29,148 and a trip to Europe. Fans were left disappointed as another contestant lost the grand prize tonight. "He missed book a flight? That was so easy with the O's that could have helped," @Animegamespublishing complained.

"Man, the losing streak of the bonus round is still ongoing and another $45,000 loss again. I hope the losing streak will end tomorrow and I hope it won’t be a $100,000 loss if I see a $100,000 loss tomorrow, I’ll be upset," @TyreseMegastarJustDanceLover lamented. "The losing streak continues to 0-3 this is not a good week someone needs to break the losing streak tomorrow please don’t let it be a skunked bath," @StarrtasiaJackson-jj4ou added. "He almost had it, that was so close," @zaidarodriguez8455 chimed in.