ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Wheel Of Fortune contestant misses out on $1 million prize because of one simple word

The contestant who was on a roll lost it all in the bonus round.
PUBLISHED SEP 24, 2024
Screenshots from the video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune
Screenshots from the video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune

“Wheel of Fortune” can be a brutal game at times. While many have won big money, more have lost their hopes and dreams. However, rarely has anyone lost in as heartbreaking fashion as Vivian Tran. The contestant who was on a roll picking up the million dollar shot and a wild card, lost it all in the bonus round. After getting two out of three words right, Tran was at a loss for the third and final piece of the puzzle.

Screenshot from the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune
Screenshot from the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune

During Ryan Seacrest’s second week of hosting the long-running game show, Tran made her way to the bonus round with the “One Million”. Thus, the $100,000 prize was replaced with $1 million as she spun the wheel. After collecting the envelope, the contestant proceeded to solve the puzzle.

Screenshotfrom the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune
Screenshotfrom the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune

She had chosen the category, "What are you doing?" for her final puzzle. With the standard letter" R S T L N E" filled in, the puzzle read, "_ _ _ E R_ N_ _    S_ _ E     _E L_". With this, Tran had to guess three consonants, including her Wild Card and one vowel to complete the puzzle. 

Screenshotfrom the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune
Screenshotfrom the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune

Tran guessed "C, H, I, M, P" after which the puzzle read "_ _ _ R I N_      S_M E    HELP". She then had ten seconds to try and complete the phrase. On her first attempt, Tran got the last two words, 'Some Help' right. However, the last word, "OFFERING" escaped her in all of her guesses. 

Screenshotfrom the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune
Screenshotfrom the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune

To add insult to injury, as Tran lost out, the host revealed that the envelope she picked after the spin was the $1 million prize. Even Vana White was shocked to see how unfortunate it was for the contestant. 

Screenshot from the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune
Screenshot from the YouTube video | YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune

Nevertheless, Tran took home the $27,000 she had initially won in the game. While it was a steep fall from what it could have been, it still offered some consolation to the unlucky contestant. 



 

Seacrest hosted his first "Wheel of Fortune" at the beginning of this month following Pat Sajak's retirement from the show. It was the first time in 40 years that someone other than Sajak was at the helm of the game show. 

The 49-year-old entertainment veteran told  USA TODAY that he was excited to keep the wheel spinning but he had big shoes to fill in.

While Tran lost out for failing to guess a word, previously a contestant lost out on big money and a brand new Audi Q3 despite getting all the words.  Contestant Charlene Rubush made it all the way to the bonus round and answered the puzzle in the episode, but she took a 4-5 second pause to say the last word.



 

Thus, due to the show's rules which say that the answer has to be said in one go, Rubush was denied the prize. Her loss triggered an uproar on social media propagated by another famous game show winner, Alex Jacob. He tagged both the show and Audi on X (formerly Twitter) requesting them to make it right. 



 

Soon, the viral post caught Audi's attention, and the company worked up a Christmas miracle. Audi recognized Rubush's win and offered her a brand-new car, which was well deserved.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
There have been awkward moments on the show in the past but few can top this one.
2 hours ago
Some fans believe that rising prices have forced the showrunners to settle for local destinations.
5 hours ago
It's not easy to leave the host stunned into silence, but some contestants come up with unbelievable answers.
7 hours ago
This was a big let down and it was evident from the host's reaction after the Bonus Round puzzle.
9 hours ago
Fans also went a step ahead and suggested that White should consider hiring a new stylist.
1 day ago
The answer was so shocking that both host and contestant just stood in silence for a few seconds.
1 day ago
Drew Carey clearly has a sharp eye as he helped keep the integrity of the show intact.
1 day ago
Carey has achieved a lot in his time as the host of the show, including his co-workers' respect.
2 days ago
Ryan Seacrest has a long way to go before he can be as loved by fans as his predecessor.
2 days ago
There have been several complaints about Great Value products of late on social media.
2 days ago
It's not often that one gets to see such a captivating performance on "The Price is Right."
3 days ago
There's probably no better judge of this matter than the veteran host of the popular game show.
3 days ago
Everyone in the studio was shocked for a moment before they all saw the funny side of things.
3 days ago
It's not often that the sharks get somewhat annoyed and still offer a huge deal to the entrepreneur.
3 days ago
Watches have always been valuable items but this woman had no idea just how much these ones were.
4 days ago
Some have even called out Ryan Seacrest for awarding the win despite the incorrect pronounciation.
4 days ago
Items from the Olympics usually end up in some museum but this one was different and unexpected.
4 days ago
The strategy is considered unpleasant by a lot of fans since it involves cutting down another player's chances instead of making a better bid.
4 days ago
The veteran host proved his worth as an unbiased judge of the popular game show.
5 days ago
Although things in the studio went down smoothly, people highlighted issues on Reddit.
5 days ago