'Wheel of Fortune' contestant mocked for fumbling two simple puzzles and losing out on $40,000

"Wheel Of Fortune" fans are largely supportive of players, and even blamed puzzles that were too difficult for a losing streak in the bonus round. But that doesn't mean that players can get away with terrible blunders while solving easy puzzles. One such contestant faced flak on social media after missing out on not one but two simple puzzles. The player named Derek Stutz had a nightmarish game as he fumbled a 'sausage' related puzzle during the "Triple Toss Up" round of the show and then failed to solve an easy Bonus Round puzzle that cost him $40,000. Viewers showed no mercy as they roasted him online. 

During the initial rounds of the game, Stutz put up a great show by taking an early lead with $14,250 and a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In the Triple Toss Up round, contestants took turns to solve the puzzles, and Stutz missed out on the first two. Then came the disastrous puzzle, which read, “V_ _ _ _A  S_U_ _GE.” Stutz went first and guessed “Venison Sausage," which was wrong. His competitor then picked up the pieces and got the answer, "Vienna Sausage". 

Viewers showed no mercy as they roasted Stutz in comments on the show's Instagram post. "Lol went in with the strategy to at least get a guess in!" wrote one user. "This guy was too relaxed for those to be unintentional mess-ups," a fa called @random_dude2009 wrote. However, former contestant, Jerry Milenbach came out in defense of Stutz, and wrote, "I truly can sympathize with Derek - on my three pip ups - I missed the first one Intelligent Individuals (I had said intelligent candidates) - I got the second of Clever Contestants :). But the third Pat had a little fun with me as I said Deceptive Players and it was Perceptive Players lol. Yes - I should have realized the first letters were the same 😂 Pat did say well the deceptive player is doing quite well. I had a $9K lead."

Nevertheless, Stutz made a quick recovery in the following rounds and solved the final puzzle as well to earn $22,250 and emerge as the winner. He advanced to the Bonus Round and faced a four-word puzzle that read, “_ A _ T _ N G     _ _ R       A       P A _ _ A G E."

While the puzzle looked straightforward, Stutz looked stumped. As Seacrest started the ten-second timer, the player tried his best to solve the puzzle, shouting out answers like “Waiting Our Package,” “Painting Our Package,” “Staying Out Package,” and “Taking Our Package." However, he crucially failed to notice the "A" on the board, because of which all of his answers were wrong. 

The show's co-host, Vanna White, then revealed that the answer was "Waiting For A Package". Adding to the heartbreak, Seacrest opened the Golden Envelope, which showed that Stutz missed out on winning an additional $40,000 in the Bonus Round. 

On YouTube, fans did not miss a chance to mock the player. "Idk what’s worse…the fact that he had the perfect set up to win, or that he kept trying to solve the puzzle 4 times, forgetting it was 4 words and not 3," one viewer @justinm.1 wrote. "I literally solved it myself. That would have been child's play for me on the show!" a fan @06MAN added.

While no one but the contestant was blamed for this loss, in another instance, fans blamed the show's host. Recently, viewers expressed frustration online, blaming Seacrest for a loss that a player named Todd Meyer suffered in the crossword round as the host forgot to remind him of the rules.