'Wheel of Fortune' contestant leaves Ryan Seacrest gasping as she loses $40,000 over a single letter
"Wheel of Fortune" contestants usually leave Ryan Seacrest stunned when they cruise through puzzles and make bonus round wins look like a walk in the park. But when someone loses, the host is as disappointed as the fans. On one occasion, Seacrest was scared of a contestant who was all excited after getting eerily close to winning an additional $40,000 in the Bonus Round. The player, Shannon Hunt, showed great promise through the initial rounds to win more than $20,000 in cash. However, she missed the final puzzle "You Wear It Well" by misplacing a single letter, and left Seacrest gasping.
She was off to a flying start in the first Toss Up rounds, and going into the PR Round, she bagged the big $17,000 cash prize and an all-expense paid trip to Denver. Hunt managed to keep the momentum going in the final few rounds of the night by solving a flurry of puzzles. In the end, she emerged as the big winner of the night with a total of $20,800 in cash and a trip.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, Hunt chose the category, "Phrase" for her final puzzle. Alongside Seacrest at the wheel, she brought along her husband, Tim, on the stage for support. After spinning the wheel and picking out her prize envelope, the contestant was faced with a four-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," filled in, she went on to choose "B, H, C, and A" as her additional letters. Unfortunately, the choice of letters didn't yield many clues as the puzzle read, "_ _ _ _ E A R _ T _ E L L."
While the phrase wasn't clear, it seemed like Hunt had figured out the majority of the puzzle as she kept yelling guesses like, "Can't Hear It Well," as soon as the clock started ticking. However, she couldn't figure out the puzzle in time, which left Seacrest gasping for air. "That’s okay. So close. You got me excited. I’m happy. I thought you got there," the host said before unveiling the answer, "You Wear It Well". He then went on to add to the heartbreak by revealing that Hunt had lost out on another $40,000.
While Hunt tried her best to win, fans believed that the puzzle itself was quite tricky. "Whoa, now I realized if she called the W in here. Tricky one tonight!" wrote one fan, @anenglishvillageforroberti2863, in the comments on YouTube. "Another trick phrase," @shellyblanchard5788 added.
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