'Wheel of Fortune' fans heartbroken as army veteran lost $100,000 due to his poor selection of letters
The player, Ron Wheeler, tragically got no clues after his letter picks for the final puzzle.
July 14 2025, Published 10:49 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" fans are invested in every contestant's game, and they are left either heartbroken or frustrated when a player loses out. On many occasions, puzzles that are too tough are blamed, but sometimes, even small mistakes in picking letters can cost a contestant big prizes. Such a loss was witnessed when an unlucky army veteran named Ron Wheeler tragically lost out on an additional $100,000 after his choice of letters left him clueless in the show's Bonus Round. The veteran took it well, but fans expressed their thoughts about the loss.
Wheeler had a tough start as he missed out on a series of early puzzles, but luckily, his competitors struggled as well. Wheeler made an astonishing comeback in the Express Round by solving the prize puzzle to win an exotic trip to the Papagayo Beach Resort in Curacao worth $8,225. While the other players tried to claw back, Wheeler maintained his lead and won the episode with a total of $16,525 in cash, along with the trip.
With a chance of winning $100,000 more or a brand new car, Wheeler advanced to the Bonus Round and picked the dreaded "Phrase" category for his final puzzle. He then joined the host, Ryan Seacrest, at the wheel to give it a good spin. After picking out his Golden Envelope, Wheeler faced a long four-word puzzle. After only two of the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E" showed up on the board, Wheeler chose “D, G, C, and I" as his additional letters. Unfortunately, none of the letters appeared in the puzzle, which read, “_ N _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ E.”
“Well, Vanna’s not going anywhere, which isn’t a great sign," Seacrest noted, before wishing the player good luck. As the host kicked off the ten-second timer, Wheeler tried his best to guess the answer, even with only two letters on the board. He yelled out several phrases like “On To The Next,” “On To The Life,” “In To The Zone,” but none of them were correct. When the time ran out, the answer was revealed to be “On My Way Home.” Adding to the heartbreak, Seacrest went on to open the Golden Envelope, which showed that Wheeler missed out on winning an extra $100,000.
While Wheeler took it on the chin, viewers flocked to the comments on YouTube to empathize with the player. "In Ron's defense, when Vanna stays still, it's never a good sign. It still hurts like hell, though. That was brutal. Sorry, Ron! I feel your pain!" a fan called @Garrison_the_Barbarian wrote. "That was tough - it definitely would’ve been a $100K solve if he pulled it off. Oh well, congrats, Ron!" added another viewer called @scottleung9587. In another episode, a similar loss led to a sweet moment where the contestant, Marisol Gonzalez, gave the sweetest reaction by giving Seacrest a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
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