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 who won $40,000 at last moment now wants to compete on 'Jeopardy!'

The contestant, Matt Benton expressed he wanted to enjoy the moment before thinking of the future.
PUBLISHED AUG 3, 2025
Screenshot showing Matt Benton attempting his Bonus Round puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Matt Benton attempting his Bonus Round puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" are popular game shows competing to get the attention of viewers for decades. But fans and contestants are always at an advantage as they have more shows to watch and compete in. One of them was a "Wheel of Fortune" winner, who bagged a last-moment $40,000 win on the show and expressed his interest in giving "Jeopardy!" a shot. The contestant, Matt Benton, a Navy veteran and realtor, took the show by storm by scoring a Bonus Round win with just one second to spare. Speaking to ABC Columbia, the Blythewood, South Carolina, resident shared his experience and future plans.

Screenshot showing the winnning moment (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the winnning moment (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

In the episode of the game show, Benton played against Myrna Joy Pilot, from Los Angeles, California, and Bruna Valente-Bua, from Revere, Massachusetts. Benton took the game by storm to take an early lead. He kept the momentum going and won an exotic trip to Iceland and Canada before the end of initial gameplay. In the end, he emerged victorious with $22,148 in cash to advance to the Bonus Round.

Screenshot showing Benton alongside Ryan Seacrest at the wheel (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Benton alongside Ryan Seacrest at the wheel (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

Going into the finale, Benton chose the category, “Place" for the puzzle, and he was joined by his wife, Stephanie, on the stage as he spun the wheel alongside host Ryan Seacrest. Before picking out his prize envelope, he was then faced with a long three-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E" on the board, he went on to choose “F, D, G, and O" as his additional letters. With everything filled in, the puzzle read,  “_      F_R_ _ _ _ L_ND.”

Screenshot showing the final puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the final puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, Benton looked stumped by the longest word in the puzzle. He desperately tried to get the correct answer, shouting out guesses like “A Foreign Land,” “A Fairytale Land,” and “A Forbidden Land,” and more. Unfortunately, none of them was correct. With just 0.9 seconds left, Benton got the answer, “A Faraway Land,” to win the Bonus Round.

“Yes! That’s it! With 0.9 seconds to go, you got it in time! You went through all of the lands and you got the right one!” Seacrest said, before revealing that he had won an additional $40,000, which took his total to $78,148. 

Speaking to ABC News, Benton shared that it was a dream-come-true moment for him to just appear on the show. “It’s extremely gratifying. I’ve dreamt of being on 'Wheel of Fortune' since I was a kid," he said. "Ever since then, I’ve wanted to be on it. And if you’re gonna be on it, you want to win it,” he added.

Upon being asked what was going through his head in the Bonus Round, Benton shared that he decided to take a breather before going for it. “I tried to give myself a break even before filming began. I kind of said, ‘You know what? This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you win or lose, it’s going to be a great day, and so by the time I made it to the bonus round when I’d won the main part of the game, I was like, ‘You know what? It can’t get much better than this,” he said.

Screenshot showing Benton celebrating his win with his wife (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Benton celebrating his win with his wife (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

Furthermore, Benton expressed his interest in trying out for "Jeopardy!" as well. However, he still wanted to enjoy his win on "Wheel of Fortune" before moving on. "I’ll probably ride this high for a little bit. This is really exciting, and so I really try to live in the moment, these couple of trips that I won are gonna be incredible, and try to be smart with the money I won,” he told the publication.

More on Market Realist: 

'Wheel of Fortune' player's mom left in tears after daughter wins $72,000 as her birthday present

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant wins a total of $122,000 after his rival makes the 'worst guess ever'

'Wheel of Fortune' player gets rare second shot at big win after producers realized their mistake

RELATED TOPICS JEOPARDY WHEEL OF FORTUNE
MORE ON MARKET REALIST
It wasn't an ordinary ring but the 2004 Patriots Super Bowl Ring, which Harrison refused to let go.
3 hours ago
Harvey was in disbelief after he misheard what Ming-Na Wen's teammate said.
4 hours ago
Harvey could feel the pain as he collected the answers from the contestants.
5 hours ago
The owner of Harry Karstens' First Ascent Denali Ice Axe was shocked to learn how valuable it was.
1 day ago
As model Rachel Reynolds slammed on the brakes, fellow presenter Alexis Gaube nearly fell over.
1 day ago
Harvey couldn't believe his eyes when an answer did not show up on the board.
1 day ago
The winner, Trish yelled "This cannot be happening!" as she sat in her new car.
1 day ago
The seemingly tough puzzle cost contestant, Kelly Amodio a brand new Mini Cooper.
1 day ago
The contestant, Jodi Hope took home $75,000, using her puzzle solving skills.
2 days ago
The guest had to promise on camera to share the profits with her friend who gifted the item.
2 days ago
Harvey just couldn't seem to understand what Giuliana Rancic's mother was saying.
2 days ago
Harvey had to take a moment to school the contestant on how the game is played.
2 days ago
It seemed like Veronica forgot she was holding the host's hand after the win.
2 days ago
The owner of the Jean-Michel Basquiat Oil Stick Painting made it clear that it wasn't going anywhere
2 days ago
The player, Jason Warren missed out on taking home more than $86,000.
3 days ago
The TikTok creator @thebiteo87 stirred a debate on social media by exposing the new tactic.
3 days ago
Harvey couldn't believe what the NFLPA stars would choose for their wives to wear
3 days ago
Harvey barely held on to the podium after hearing the answers that shook him.
4 days ago