'Wheel of Fortune' player misses huge prize after struggling with just one last word in the puzzle
Ryan Seacrest has been under close scrutiny from loyal fans of his predecessor, Pat Sajak, ever since he took over as the host of "Wheel of Fortune." He has fumbled at times and was blamed for costing contestants a win. One of them was Christopher Young, an introverted army veteran, who won an all-inclusive $27,398 vacation to Ireland. Young got the chance to try his luck during the bonus round, and he was very close to achieving his goal. However, host Ryan Seacrest threw him off track with a snarky comment at the last minute, according to TVInsider. The army instructor chose the “What Are Young Doing?” category after spinning the wheel, and he settled for "C, D, M, and A" as his vowels. That is when Seacrest sarcastically commented, “You planned that out." This made Young nervous and anxious right before solving the easy puzzle.
The five-word puzzle read out: “R _ D _ N _ / M _ / _ _ _ E / T _ / _ _ R _.” Young instantly answered half of it correctly, “Riding My Bike To…,” was his guess. With only ten seconds on the buzzer, the California native thought of "cars" and "yards" to solve the remaining bit of the puzzle. "Got some work to do here. But just focus on it. Talk it out if you need to. That can help," Seacrest said, discreetly giving away the answer with his sassy remark. Just as Young was about to second-guess his thoughts, the time was up. “Riding My Bike To Work," was revealed as the right answer on the puzzle board. “Ahh, see, I work too far away. I would never do that,” Young joked about his failure. "40 miles. I ain't going to do it," he added.
Earlier in the show, the California native started off on a winning streak. He won $2000 during the Tossup, and after solving the "Travel Tips" round, Young collected $5,900.
He was accompanied by his wife, Megan, during the Bonus Round. "That's my wife. That's the love of my life. My beautiful wife, Megan," he said while introducing his spouse on camera. "Oh, this is very sweet. Megan, I have a question for you. Is he always this quiet?" Seacrest inquired about Young's nature. "Always," Megan quipped. "Always, right? Well, he's having a good time," Seacrest added. Unfortunately, the couple missed out on a $40,000 vacation to South Africa and Botswana.
Fans also expressed disappointment in the comments. "Ooh, as soon as he said 'riding my bike to', I knew it was work -- prior to that, I had no clue -- and thought he knew it, too. Can't believe he couldn't end up figuring it out. My work is many miles away as well, but it still popped into my head. Anyhow, fun guy!! Hope he enjoys his winnings & his trip to Ireland!" @loveforeignaccents remarked. "He was on the right track! So close, but he did great!!" the official 'Wheel of Fortune' mentioned under the YouTube video."Regardless of the show's outcome, nobody can deny that Christopher is an absolute character. Very likable!" @Garrison_the_Barbarian chimed in.
