'Wheel of Fortune' contestant wins $40,000 after easily solving a tough puzzle in bonus round

At a time when fans of “Wheel of Fortune” have been repeatedly disappointed by contestants in the bonus round, comeback stories feel like a breath of fresh air. There are several such occasions in the show's history when a player turned the tables, but a contestant named Frank Mentesana stands out. The pro-wrestling fan was trailing behind Angela Johnson from the beginning of the episode, but soon solved a puzzle to figure out the word "World Atlas" for $18,000 and overtake her. He then raced to the bonus round and took the 'Phrase' category, which is known to be tough, according to TV Insider.

But Mentesana was in no mood to slow down as he picked H,C,F and O, with more than $25,000 in his kitty. It seemed difficult for him when the board showed "T O _ _ H / _ _ T / F _ _ R" with his pick of letters filled in, but Mentesana guessed "Tough but fair" as the phrase, and stunned everyone.

Fans couldn't believe he pulled off the stunning comeback and that too in style by making the tough puzzle look like a cakewalk. One viewer wrote, “I never would’ve guessed it! Good job, Frank." This was followed by a comment that read, “I can’t believe he got it! I never would have guessed that!” And finally a fan pointed out, “Talk about two close shaves in one in the Speed-Up! He spun up the big one, beat the buzzer, and won by just a couple thousand, not to mention this amazing Bonus Round solve. I wonder what else Frank can pull off, but kudos to him for all he did tonight!”

In a similar turn of events, a contestant named Benjamin Hunter made one of the most epic comebacks in the show’s history. Despite not winning the final round, Hunter went home with a whopping $44,000, and he did it all for his wife.

Hunter was left with nothing after landing on the Bankrupt wedge during the prize puzzle and lost the $9,350 he had won until that point, as per a TV Insider report. However, during the Triple Toss Ups and final puzzle, he played exceedingly well and ended up with $44,000, much to everyone’s surprise.

“Coming into the end there, you’ve got no money. Then that one tossup, and then all of a sudden $44,000. I love this show so much. The way you can come back like that,” Ryan Seacrest remarked. Speaking to Maggie Sajak after the show, the contestant revealed that despite going bankrupt during the game, he stayed focused to go home with his wife as a winner. Even Sajak was impressed with the comeback, and she made no attempt to hide it.

“Oh my goodness. What just happened?” she asked. “My wife. I couldn’t leave without winning one game for her,” the contestant answered. “I’m feeling overwhelmed. I feel good, but then I’m excited, and I guess it will bubble over when I’m on the airplane going home.”

Hunter could have won a lot more money than he did had he gotten the puzzle right in the Bonus Round, but it was just not meant to be. As per the norms of the show, she was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. Once these letters were disclosed, the contestant had to choose three consonants and one vowel. He picked the letters G, C, M, and I. After these were revealed, the puzzle read, “_ _M_ _S  S_ _R_N_.”

This was the Person category, and Hunter now had 10 seconds to solve for the right answer. Unfortunately, the puzzle was too difficult and he wasn’t able to get it right. The correct answer was ‘Famous Soprano.’

Fans of the show loved the comeback despite the contestant not winning the Bonus Round. “Dang, $44,000 before the Bonus Round? I'm quite impressed,” one user commented under the clip on YouTube. “Wow, Benjamin Rocks, But Too Bad It Failed The Bonus Round. But Still Epic,” quipped another. “Good effort Benjamin,” a third fan wrote.