'Wheel of Fortune' contestant wins $40,000 by solving puzzle two players before her failed to crack
Fans pointed that the puzzle was used twice during the early 2000s, and players had lost out on a car and the grand cash prize on both occasions.
Dec. 22 2025, Updated 2:28 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" is known to use tricky and tough puzzles during the Bonus Round, making it hard for the contestants to solve and win the final cash prize. However, Emily Carile earned an impressive $64,000 after she got a basic puzzle that had been repeatedly used before. Fans pointed out that the puzzle was used twice during the early 2000s, and players had lost out on a car and the grand cash prize on both occasions.
Carile claimed $2,000 during the Second Toss-Up round after correctly solving "Network Technician". However, during the next round, she hit a bankrupt wedge. Carile couldn't keep up with the other contestants and went bankrupt again. She made a strong comeback during the Triple Toss-Up Round under the What Are You Doing? category. Carile solved two puzzles, "Making Dipping Sauces" and "Skinny Dipping". This added $4,000 to her total. Luckily, during the Final Speed-Up Round (Phrase), each consonant was worth $6,000. Carile solved "It's a Done Deal," winning $18,000 for the round and bringing her final total to $24,000.
"I got my husband. This is my best friend Zach, and so grateful to be married to him." Carile said while introducing her husband to host Ryan Seacrest after advancing to the Bonus Round. She then gave the wheel a good spin with high prizes at stake. "Maybe walk away with $50,000 more, or $75,000 more, or $100,000 more," Seacrest said. Carile chose the "Phrase" category. She then chose H, C, D, and A after receiving the standard R, S, T, L, N, and E on the puzzle board. At this point, Carile couldn't contain her excitement since she already guessed the answer.
The board showed "_, A, C, _, T, _, _, A, S, _, C,S." Carile didn't wait a second as the buzzer went off and blurted out the right answer, "Back to Basics". "Well done. I had a feeling you'd get that," Seacrest celebrated her win. Carile won the bonus prize of $40,000, bringing her total to a whopping $64,000. Fans couldn't help but observe that Carile had ended up solving a tough puzzle. "Puzzle used on January 28, 2004, when Kathy adds The to Back to Basics and lost $25K. Also used on March 13, 2017, when Get was added to Back to Basics and not solved for a Nissan Juke," @sammylerman7136 stated.
"When the RSTLNE comes up... I knew that puzzle already. It was a repeated one back in 2000s. Well done for her winning $40,000," @robertclimate1563 chimed in. "The website for solving the puzzle had it listed as Food & Drink. It's not the first time they got the category wrong. Someone needs to pay better attention," @vickimoen805 added. "This puzzle was also used in the Bonus Round on the 1/28/2004 episode, and the contestant that day added "THE" to it and said "BACK TO THE BASICS"," @Mr.Face222 pointed out.
Watch the winning moment here.
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