'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on $40,000 in bonus round as fans blame 'tough' puzzle
Fans also share some tips that could've helped Bain win the bonus round but it was too late.
July 1 2025, Published 12:46 p.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" fans are very invested in the way things turn out for contestants, and they're heartbroken when someone loses out on a big prize. But when contestants kept losing out in the bonus round for 19 straight games, people grew frustrated and even blamed the puzzles. The losing streak started with a contestant named Corrina Bain, who lost out on taking home $61,000 due to a tough bonus puzzle. At the end of the round, viewers in the studio and at home groaned at the flight attendant's heartbreaking loss.
Bain was off to a flying start in the game after solving the first few Toss-Up puzzles to take the early lead. While her competitors tried to catch up, only Leinen came close by winning the Prize Puzzle and a trip to Hawaii, as reported by TV Insider.
The three players went on to solve one puzzle each in the Triple Toss Up round, but in the end, Bain emerged as the big winner with a total of $21,800 in cash. She then advanced to the Bonus Round and chose the category, "Phrase" for the final puzzle.
Bain was joined by her "brunch crew," which included her mother, her boyfriend, and her mother-in-law. She then spun the wheel alongside Seacrest, who picked out the Golden Envelope for her. With a chance of winning up to $100,000 or a brand-new car, Bain was faced with a four-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E" on the board, she chose "H, D, M, and I" as the additional letters to get more clues. With everything on the board, the puzzle read, “_ _ _ _ IN THE D_ _.”
With only a handful of clues on the board, Bain looked puzzled before the clock started ticking. She took her time to figure out the answer and could make only one guess, "Made in the day" within ten seconds. “You were on the right track,” Seacrest said, as co-host Vanna White revealed the answer, “It was ‘Back in the Day.'” Even the studio audience let out a loud groan after the phrase was revealed. To add to the heartbreak, Seacrest flipped the golden envelope, revealing that Bain had lost out on winning an additional $40,000.
Viewers at home expressed their disappointment as well in the YouTube clip of the Bonus Round. "Tough puzzle, but good game. Just the same," one fan named @nathanieljourat6723 wrote. "This puzzle has been reused from like 10 years ago," suggested another viewer called @milotickz. Meanwhile, some fans shared a bit of advice as well, which could have helped Bain solve the puzzle."I would've said... ABCD, and I would've got it still. BAC_ N T_E DA would've been that," @robertclimate1563 explained.
While the loss was heartbreaking, the contestant stayed calm, unlike another contestant named Justin Orr, who left the host puzzled with his wild pig call in the middle of his introduction.
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