'Wheel of Fortune' fans call player 'the best contestant ever' as she solved $40,000 puzzle in seconds
The player, Lisa Thomas's phenomenal comeback after falling behind initially.
Aug. 19 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" fans faced disappointment for several episodes in a row as players kept losing in the Bonus Round. That's why when a contestant puts up a great performance to win the round, it's natural for them to be thoroughly impressed. One such player, Lisa Thomas, played the game phenomenally to get close to the 'Million Dollar Wedge' and a 'Wild Card'. However, she lost both of them before reaping the benefits. Nevertheless, she mounted a strong comeback to still make it to the Bonus Round and won the $40,000 prize.
She had a flying start after solving the first puzzle to win $1,600. However, her rival Bethran soon surpassed her by solving a couple of Toss Up puzzles. Thomas then made a strong comeback in the Express Round to solve the puzzle 'Critical Dud' to win an exotic trip to the Divi Village Golf & Beach Resort in Aruba worth $9,157, according to Andy Nguyen's blog. She then went on to ace a couple more puzzles in the Speed Round, and ended up being the big winner of the night with $14,657 in cash and the trip.
Alongside the host, Ryan Seacrest at the wheel, Thomas was joined by her daughter, Stephanie, on stage for support. After picking out her prize envelope, Thomas was faced with a two-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, she chose "C, P, M, A" as her additional letters to get more clues. With everything filled in, the Bonus Round puzzle read, "L A _ _ S _ _ A C A T _ _ N."
Even before Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed that Thomas had already had the answer figured out. When the clock started ticking, she didn't waste a second to yell out the answer, 'Lavish Vacation.' After co-host Vanna White confirmed the answer, Seacrest revealed that Thomas had won an additional $40,000 from her prize envelope, taking his total winnings to $54,657.
While everyone in the studio was impressed, viewers at home were thoroughly amazed as well. "Lisa worked hard tonight! After losing the million-dollar wedge and the wild card, she didn’t give up! Proud of her and hope she has a wonderful trip to Aruba!" wrote one fan, @Daniel540-longisland, in the comments of the show's YouTube clip. "Best contestant ever. Way to go Lisa!" added @myles-spikewebby8519.
"Way to go, Lisa! You did a great job! Great solve!" wrote another fan, @jamesmcilwee8939.
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