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' contestant wins $120,000 after a surprising mishap changed the whole game

As it so turned out, a crucial ruling from the judges led to a BIG win for the player.
PUBLISHED APR 2, 2025
Screenshots showing the moment after snafu happened and the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshots showing the moment after snafu happened and the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

Since Ryan Seacrest took over the hosting duties from the legendary Pat Sajak, he has produced many great moments and quite a few goof-ups on "The Wheel of Fortune." Most recently, a snafu from the host nearly cost a contestant named Keith Upton $100,000. Luckily for the player, the judges of the show stepped in to save the day. 

Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest on Wheel of Fortune (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest on Wheel of Fortune (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

 

In the March 27 episode, Upton, from San Diego, California, went up against fellow participants Clare Antoine and Dhaina Grubb. Upton bonded with the host early on over their shared love for coffee and clothing. The player started off with a flyer, solving the first puzzle and earning a Wild Card right off the bat. While his fellow competitors tried to catch up to him, Upton maintained his lead by solving more puzzles, winning money and a grand trip to Barbados.

By the end of the initial rounds, Upton emerged as the big winner with $20,730 in cash. Meanwhile, the other two contestants could only get $18,000 and $1,000 after the initial rounds of the game. Thus, Upton went on to play the "Bonus Round" with a chance of winning a brand new Ford car or up to $100,000.

Screenshot showing the player alongside Ryan Seacrest (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the player alongside Ryan Seacrest (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

For the final puzzle, the player picked the “Event” category. He was joined by his wife, Havilah, on stage, who cheered him on as he took on a three-word puzzle. However, the game did not start off smoothly for the player, as the host encountered a problem early on in the round. As Upton spun the wheel, the marker landed on the edge of the apostrophe and A, and the host couldn't decide which envelope to pick. “Well, that’s interesting. It has never happened to me. Do I go this way or this way, judges?” the host asked. He finally got the message to go with the apostrophe, which turned out to be crucial for the game in the end. 

Screenshots showing Ryan Seacrest's dilemma (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshots showing Ryan Seacrest's dilemma (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

“That was a first for me," Seacrest noted before proceeding with the game. With the standard letters "R, S, T, L, and E" filled in, Upton chose “C,H, D, A," as his additional letters and a "B” as his Wild Card consonant. With everything on the board, the three-word puzzle read, “THE B_ _  _ _NALE.”

Screenshot showing the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

Before the ten-second timer kicked off, the player looked quite confident. Without wasting a second, he yelled out “THE BIG FINALE” as his answer, which turned out to be correct. To add to the player's delight, Seacrest went on to reveal that he had won an additional $100,000 from the golden envelope, which essentially the judges picked out for him. As confetti fell from the ceiling, the player celebrated the win by hugging his wife. “That was incredible! When did you know it?” Seacrest asked Upton, who shared that the "ALE" in "FINALE" gave away the answer for him.



 

In the end, Upton walked home with a grand total of $120,730 from the show. As the total showed up on the screen, he got quite emotional, and Seacrest told him that everyone understood why.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Jimmy Alexander became the first player to lose a brand-new car on season 43 of the show.
6 hours ago
The contestant, Brianne Peterson got extremely unlucky with her letter picks for the final puzzle.
8 hours ago
The guest was told that the Jasper Johns Flag Print wouldn't be valuable but it was worth thousands.
9 hours ago
It didn’t help that Alvin Rosales was playfully scolded by the host just before losing the Bonus Round.
1 day ago
The photos featured some looks of the show's legendary former host, Alex Trebek, as well.
1 day ago
The player, Kate Stuntz, pulled off a miraculous win to take home over $68,000 and a trip to Iceland.
1 day ago
The owner couldn’t believe the value of Jane Peterson’s "The Floats" gouache painting.
2 days ago
The player, Callie DeWeese, failed to choose the right letters in the Bonus Round, leading to her loss.
2 days ago
The personal digs at the host have been relentless on the show by producers and players.
2 days ago
The guest had no idea how valuable her grandfathers Dutch tinware coffee pot was.
3 days ago
It wasn't one of Steve Harvey's jokes that cracked Bridget up so bad.
3 days ago
Fans now won't be able to stream more than five most recent episodes of the new season.
3 days ago
Despite the questionable morality of CATE App, Neal Desai managed to partner with two Sharks.
4 days ago
A supplier of Costco's Dubai Styled chocolate issued a notice regarding misinformation of allergens.
4 days ago
While some felt the puzzle was easy, many agreed that the player's letter picks let her down.
4 days ago
Harvey couldn't believe that a contestant mentioned John Madden as a response to the question.
5 days ago
The host was impressed with the contestant, John Boese's puzzle solving skills.
5 days ago
Despite making a decent offer, Harrison could not make a deal for the rare Mormon Bank Dollar.
5 days ago
The player, Lisa Santangelo, was dumbfounded by a puzzle that was allegedly reused by the show.
6 days ago
The player, Brittany Brock was visibly shaken after the big $40,000 win in the Bonus Round.
6 days ago