'Wheel of Fortune' viewers convinced player lost $100,000 over unfair puzzle: "I've got beef with..."
Pat Sajak didn't enjoy popularity among audiences as the host of "Wheel of Fortune" just for his wit, but it was his empathy and the connections he shared with contestants that set him apart. He showed his more emotional side during an episode of “Wheel of Fortune” when a contestant named Laura Young lost in the Bonus Round. She was doing well and had won $19,350 along with a trip to Aston Waikiki Beach Tower in Honolulu, Hawaii until that point as per TV Insider.
For the Bonus Round puzzle, Laura picked the Places category and was asked to pick three vowels and one consonant apart from R, S, T, L, N, and E. The Maine resident picked C, P, D, and O but none of those letters were in the puzzle. With the timer at 10 seconds, she was facing an uphill task as the puzzle read “_ R _ _ E L / _ _ L _ _ _ _.”
It was tough and both Laura and Sajak knew that the chances of things working out for her were slim. The 10 seconds ticked away and the answer was revealed to be “Gravel Walkway.” After this Sajak comforted the contestant by saying, “But you had no shot at that.” What he did not expect was an even bigger disappointment when he opened the envelope to see how much she had lost out on.
The veteran host could not bring himself to show the envelope to the contestant and asked her to turn away. He then showed the envelope to the crowd which let out a loud gasp as the potential prize was $100,000. Sajak then handed it to Laura who gasped at it as well. “Number one, I feel terrible. Number two, no way you were gonna solve that puzzle with the letters you had. Number three, you won $19,350. You did great and were a lot of fun,” he said.
Fans of the show also had a lot to say about the disappointing end to the contestant's run. Twitter user @nikkifhall pointed out, I’ve got beef with whoever makes the final puzzles on #WheelofFortune. I’d consider gravel walkway to be a ‘thing’ and not a place. The answers have been whack this week."
On the other hand, @QueenSmashley added, “A ‘gravel walkway’ is a thing, not a place. Get your s*** together @WheelofFortune.”
Sajak has bid farewell to the popular game show as a host but he is still remembered for the way he reacted to moments when contestants failed to win big despite doing well. One such moment involved a contestant named Vivian Tran who missed the opportunity to win $1 million. After she chose her consonants and vowels, the puzzle on the screen read “___ERIN_ S_ME HELP.”
She had opted for the 'phrases' category and blurted out several of those in her 10-second time limit. Her guesses included “wondering some help” and “answering some help.” However, she failed to see the most obvious answer, which was “offering some help.” Vivian held her head in disappointment as the correct answer was revealed and she failed to win $1 million.
However, it was not all bad news for the contestant. She had played fantastically well in the rest of the show and walked away with a $27,300 cash prize and a trip to Europe as per E News. The million dollars, however, probably would have made that trip a lot more exciting. But she wasn’t complaining about it either way.
