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 / NEWS

'Wheel of Fortune' player narrowly wins a Mustang but some fans think he 'stole' it from his opponent

The player had proceeded to the bonus round after simply adding one letter to another contestant's guess.
PUBLISHED 6 DAYS AGO
Screenshot showing the contestant's reaction after the last-second win (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the contestant's reaction after the last-second win (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" is mostly about contestants getting lucky and driving away in a car or going home with a lot of cash. But it keeps fans engaged by creating hilarious moments as well as challenges for which audiences remain on the edge of their seats. While the show's Bonus Round offers players a chance to win big, it also puts them on a ten-second clock. Many have suffered heartbreaking losses in the round, but some like Max McGee have clinched astonishingly close wins.

Screenshot showing Max McGee and Pat Sajak after the bonus round
Screenshot showing Max McGee and Pat Sajak after the bonus round (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

In an episode from last year, McGee from Lake Barrington, snuck his way into the Bonus Round after stealing a narrow win from fellow contestant, Patricia Blackburn-Hunt. McGee, who previously appeared on the musical television series "Dance Fever" back in the 1980s, was in a tough battle with Blackburn-Hunt during the penultimate round of the show.

Taking a swing at the puzzle reading, " _, _ _ _ T _ N _, _ _, T_ _, _ _ N _ _"  Blackburn-Hunt guessed, “A MEETING OF THE MIND!”. Unfortunately, she missed one letter and was buzzed off leaving McGee to proceed by answering, "A MEETING OF THE MINDS."



 

While veteran host Pat Sajak congratulated McGee on the solution, he also praised Blackburn-Hunt, telling her, “That was a terrific guess, and I am so sorry. One letter got you there. It would’ve been a great solution." He then turned his attention to McGee congratulating him on the cheeky win. "You picked it up, and you end up as the big winner," Sajak said as McGee went ahead with a $32,910 prize collection.

Going into the bonus round, McGee spun the wheel and got his lucky golden envelope. Feeling confident from his previous victory, he decided to select the  “Phrase” category again for the Bonus Round as he was playing for a Mustang convertible. With the standard letters "R,S,T,L,N,E" filled in, McGee chose "H,D,C,O" as additional letters. He was finally facing a four-word puzzle that read “_E / _ RE / _O_ _ N_ / _OR_ _RD.” "It's a phrase, talk it out!" Sajak told McGee.

Screenshot showing the bonus round puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the bonus round puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

However,  when the ten-second timer went off, McGee was stumped by the long puzzle. He fired off a quick guess “We Are Moving Forward” which turned out to be incorrect. After hesitating a bit, he made another guess, "We Are Going On The Record" which too was wrong. With nearly milliseconds to spare, McGee made a last-ditch effort to get it right, saying, "We Are Moving Forward". As he said the phrase, the buzzer went off at the same time.

Screenshot showing McGee's reaction
Screenshot showing McGee's reaction (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

Luckily, the judges counted the guess as valid and Sajak announced that he was a winner. "I had to check with the judges. You ran back and you picked it up!" Sajak said while opening the golden envelope. This took his total prize value to  $77,645.



 

Viewers at home were equally thrilled to witness the last-second win. "Wow! You broke the buzzer!" @jgn24 commented on the show's YouTube clip. Some even felt like McGee didn’t deserve his spot in the Bonus Round, as he stole it from another player. “Max definitely STOLE it from Patricia! He COULDN’T have done it on his own! He would’ve thought the puzzle solve was an “E”! LMAOOOOO!” wrote @1MilitaryWifey1 on X.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The entrepreneur shared that it was a habit of his to reward the people who worked hard for him.
1 hour ago
Pointing at the shelf full of Great Value Orange Juice, the creator said that the brand is trying to fool people.
2 hours ago
For the contestant named Linda, the deal was further sweetened as she got to meet a celebrity.
1 day ago
When it was her turn to play, Mama Doris went blank on the fifth answer costing her team.
1 day ago
She herself couldn't believe that she had come up with a solution that seemed impossible.
1 day ago
Carey called the aspiring actor a 'future star' while celebrating his win on the show.
1 day ago
He got too close to the contestant but she played along while the audience laughed awkwardly.
2 days ago
The answer is one of the most absurd things that a contestant has said on the popular game show.
2 days ago
The farmer did admit that he could be biased in his explanation but made points many agreed with.
2 days ago
Fans joked that the host had a "senior" moment on the show while Carey also took it in a light-hearted way.
2 days ago
While Steve Harvey was eager to start the Fast Money round, the players were busy dancing.
3 days ago
The woman shared that one package had a single banana and an industrial size box of ramen.
3 days ago
Seasoned viewers took to the internet to call out the blunder while the woman seemed unaware.
3 days ago
His mother also joined him in celebration and walked right to the car.
3 days ago
Belz later said that nothing is as good as the win and it was his dream to be on the show.
4 days ago
Several commenters pointed out the possible reasons behind this issue.
4 days ago
Her technique was unusual but it did the trick and everyone was elated about the spectacular win.
4 days ago