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 / ECONOMY & WORK

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on new car with the right answer. Audi gave her one anyway

While Rubush had guessed the word within 10 seconds, the 4-5 second pause she took before saying "WORD" cost her dearly.
UPDATED OCT 28, 2024
Host Pat Sajak performs during taping of the NFL Players Week 10th Anniversary on Wheel Of Fortune | Getty Images | Photo by Doug Benc
Host Pat Sajak performs during taping of the NFL Players Week 10th Anniversary on Wheel Of Fortune | Getty Images | Photo by Doug Benc

A "Wheel of Fortune" contestant was denied a brand new Audi Q3 despite answering the puzzle correctly. Charlene Rubush made it all the way to the bonus round and answered the puzzle in the episode, but a technical error prevented her from winning the prize. The audience wasn't happy with that and the incident went viral. Luckily, the posts reached the right audience at Audi who worked up a Christmas miracle to set things right.

The TV game show
The TV game show "Wheel Of Fortune" celebrates its 25th anniversary | Getty Images | Photo by Astrid Stawiarz

In the 2021 season, Rubush was at the final step of the show with a shot at winning the bonus round prize. The final puzzle fell under the category "What are you doing" and it said "_H_ _ S I N _   THE  RIGHT _ _ RD".

With the standard letters "R S T L N E", and the letters already guessed, and filled in, Rubush was inches away from the correct answer. When the countdown started, Rubush made her first guess, "CHOOSING THE RIGHT CARD," which was barely wrong. As she realized that only the last word in her guess was wrong she took a pause and corrected her answer to "WORD". 

Screenshot from a video | X | @whoisalexjacob
Photo showing the puzzle on game show Wheel of Fortune | X | @whoisalexjacob

Her second guess was correct and the answer was revealed to be "CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD." While Rubush had guessed the word within 10 seconds, the 4-5 second pause she took before saying "WORD" cost her dearly. 



 

The show's host, Pat Sajak, revealed that she hadn't won because the pause between "right" and "word" was just too long as the answer had to be continuous. As usual, Sajak went on to open the envelope Rubush had picked for her prize and it showed that she missed out on winning a brand new Audi Q3. The audience gasped as it took only 4-5 seconds for Rubush to miss out on the prize. When she went home with the $16,500 she had won, the audience wasn't happy. 

Fans of the show quickly expressed their outrage on social media, claiming that Rubush was robbed. The issue was propagated by another famous game show winner, Alex Jacob. The former winner of Jeopardy, who shared the clip of the incident, got in touch with the show's X handle. 



 

Jacob's sentiments were echoed across social media, and he even took up the issue with Wheel Of Fortune and Audi on Twitter. As his plea gained traction, it grabbed the attention of Audi. Soon, the company tweeted that Rubush was a winner in their eyes and they would present her with a well-deserved prize. 



 

Tara Rush, Audi of America's Chief Marketing Officer, told CNN that the company was “thrilled" to present the car to Rubush. “It is the season of giving after all and, technicality or not, we are always eager to share a bit of Audi magic and cheer!” Rush's statement read. 



 

While things turned out to be well for Rubush, several other contestants of the show weren't that lucky. In a similar case, finalist Paul Dodson failed to win an Infinity car after failing to answer an impossible puzzle. While the audience expressed their displeasure, Dodson did not get as lucky as Rubush.

This article originally appeared 1 month ago.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Guests on the show would run with it if they ever got that kind of money on Pawn Stars.
12 hours ago
The guest even said to keep the kids in the dark about how valuable these items were.
14 hours ago
The company had fantastic sales but a crushing debt with a high interest rate that the sharks hated.
17 hours ago
It was only Carey's second season in the show and he could have been part of a massive scandal.
1 day ago
“I won’t say anything, and you know why,” he said, with a gesture to zip his lips.
1 day ago
The ring was rescued by the guest's mother thanks to a stranger early in the morning.
1 day ago
"She blanked out. It happens to the best of us," a fan sympathized with the player.
1 day ago
The instrument originally belonged to the guest's grandfather who suffered a horrific injury.
2 days ago
The contestant's wife seemed embarassed at that point of time, and worried as well.
2 days ago
The co-founders of Dino Don got the shark that they always wanted on board.
2 days ago
One can understand why the measure is in place but the shopper was having none of it.
2 days ago
"My husband and I definitely noticed it! We had to rewind it a few times," a fan reacted.
2 days ago
All of the sharks agreed that she had a great product and the drive to be successful a businesswoman.
3 days ago
It's possible that the dog played a little part in making it easier for them to get a deal.
3 days ago
Without the help of his wife, the contestant would have gone home empty-handed.
3 days ago
The pawn store owner had a valid point since the item the guest had brought had numerous issues.
3 days ago
The contestant got the first part of the puzzle right but wasn't able to solve it in time.
3 days ago
"It's a lady's robe. A robe from 1750 is a very rare robe. The only other ones I know of this type, you'd have to go to Beijing," the appraiser said.
4 days ago
Harvey also got other hilarious answers, but nothing could match the woman's sass.
4 days ago
The Gronkowski family is famous for their contributions to America's sporting culture.
4 days ago