'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses $40,000 after the most common blunder everyone makes
"Wheel of Fortune" fans are elated when a contestant wins, but they are also heartbroken when someone loses out after doing well. As for those who lose because of silly mistakes or a blunder on the show, fans make sure either the contestant or the host is called out. A contestant named Tamika Star, who made a common letter choice blunder in the show's "Bonus Round," was on the receiving end of a similar outrage from fans.
In the episode, Starr, a singer who works with the armed forces from Triangle, Virginia, played exceptionally well throughout the rounds. Starr won the game by amassing $16,400 in prize money and went on to the Bonus Round where she had a chance of winning up to $100,000 or a brand-new car. For the final round, the Virginia native had to choose from the categories, "Person", "Thing", or "What Are You Doing?". She picked the "What Are You Doing" category which most fans consider to be a little tough.
After spinning the wheel, the two-word Bonus Round puzzle for Starr read, “_ _ _ _ N _ / _ R _ _ N _," with the standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, E" filled in.
The contestant then had to pick the additional letters, three consonants, and a vowel to help her with solving the puzzle. Starr went on to pick "I, G, C, and D" as her additional letters. This according to the long-time fans of the show was a major blunder. According to them, the What Are You Doing? puzzles mostly start with a word ending in -"ING". Thus, choosing any one of the letters is redundant as the players pretty much have it already.
Starr wasn't well versed in the game strategy as she picked "I" as her vowel. With her letters filled in, the puzzle read: “_ _ _ I N G / _ R _ _ N _," clearly indicating that the first-word ended in ING.
Starr was clearly stumped by the puzzle when the ten-second timer was started. She fired off a number of guesses including "Flying, Driving, Crying" for the first word, all of which were wrong. Finally, time ran out and the answer was revealed as "JUMPING AROUND." As the contestant lost out, even the host, Ryan Seacrest admitted that picking a different letter, perhaps "J" would have helped her win. To add to her dismay, Seacrest revealed that she lost out on winning $40,000 from the golden envelope.
Viewers at home were quick to point out the massive blunder that Starr made on the show. "Your pick for the letters is not so good... she picked the G and the I which were wasted picks of course. This was why it became harder," @robertclimate1563 commented under the YouTube clip.
Hardcore fans shared elaborate explanations as well. "Pretty dumb to call "I" and "G" when you have the "N" right there in the first word because it usually ends in -ing for "What are you Doing" & secondly she didn't even bother to say the second word, so if it was in fact "flying around", she wouldn't have gotten the money anyhow. Worst attempt ever," @loveforeignaccents complained.
