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 fails to solve puzzle even though the most important word was obvious

The fans called out the contestant for losing a big prize over a simple puzzle.
PUBLISHED APR 20, 2025
Screenshots showing the contestant trying to solve puzzle on "Wheel of Fortune." (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshots showing the contestant trying to solve puzzle on "Wheel of Fortune." (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Viewers feel terrible about players who play really well in “Wheel of Fortune,” only to fall to a difficult puzzle at the end. But sometimes it's painful for them to watch a contestant throw away a major prize, even when they need to figure out a couple of simple words. But it's hard to solve even a simple puzzle when the pressure of getting it right in 10 seconds gets to the contestant, and that's why Ryan Halsey fumbled, even though the last word, which was key to the phrase, was almost entirely filled in.

Halsey had already won a whopping $39,450 and a trip to Costa Rica in the run-up to the Bonus Round, as per a report in TV Insider. He could have won a bigger amount of money in the Bonus Round or a brand-new Ford car if he solved the puzzle. Halsey had brought his parents, Tim and Jerry, to support him on the show. “Not Tom and Jerry,” host Ryan Seacrest joked. The contestant picked the Phrase category and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. After these letters were revealed, it read, “___L_ _E _EL _ _ _ TE_.” He now had the chance to pick three consonants and one vowel for the game to go further.

Screenshots showing the contestant's parents on
Screenshots showing the contestant's parents on "Wheel of Fortune." (Image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Ryan chose the letters G, F, H, and O. These were decent guesses, and it opened up the puzzle quite a bit. It now read, “_   _O_L_   _E   _EL_GHTE_.” The fourth word was almost clear for Halsey to see, and the rest of the words would've been easy to guess after that. However, as the clock started ticking down, no matter how much he tried, the contestant did not think of the answer in time.

Screenshot showing the contestant trying to solve the puzzle. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the contestant trying to solve the puzzle. (Image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

He muttered some answers that might have been close, but none of them was the correct option. “You were on to it,” the host said before revealing the correct answer, which was ‘I would be delighted.’ He then opened the envelope to see what Halsey could have won, and the word ‘Ford’ was written inside it. The contestant knew at this point that he had missed a big opportunity to win a car. 

Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest and the contestant. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest and the contestant. (Image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

There was a little disappointment in his reaction, but overall, there were no hard feelings. He graciously accepted the defeat and moved on since he had won almost $40,000 without the Bonus Round anyway. Fans, however, were not ok with this, since they believed that it was an easy puzzle to solve and that the contestant shouldn’t have had a problem getting it right. They called this out in the comments on YouTube.



 

“Ouch! And I literally got that myself! Oh well, there's always tomorrow,” one user commented. “I was surprised he didn't get it. Congrats on the other wins,” added another fan. “To the other Ryan (Not Seacrest): I am VERY disappointed in you!  EVEN I KNEW WHAT THE PUZZLE WAS!!!!!!” exclaimed a viewer, who was clearly let down.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The nascent nature of the company prevented the sharks from investing in it.
8 hours ago
Harvey seemed quite annoyed after the guest revealed her surprise and rightfully so.
1 day ago
Both Rick and his son Corey had a lot of luaghs while talking about this item for obvious reasons.
1 day ago
She was just happe to be with Drew Carey on stage, and perhaps did not expect such a big win.
1 day ago
The segment started with a couple of people entering the stage wearing cakes over their heads.
1 day ago
The valuation he asked for was as crazy as the outfit he wore, and the sharks said no.
1 day ago
The contestant's answer had no lewd intention but Steve Harvey made sure it did.
2 days ago
Fans of the gameshow are known to be vocal about their needs and this was just an example of that.
2 days ago
The guest stood firm at what he wanted and Harrison was forced to raise his low-ball offer.
2 days ago
The contestant was confident in his abilities and he steered his team to an impressive win.
2 days ago
The sharks could not believe what they had just witnessed but it sure was entertaining.
3 days ago
The guest said that she wanted $15,000 but had to settle for just a couple grand.
3 days ago
Fans of the show were shocked she was not able to get it right after coming so close.
3 days ago
Corcoran was confident that the entrepreneur would take her deal but that was not the case.
4 days ago
The host's expressions upon seeing the answers on the board were absolutely priceless.
4 days ago
The guest was a friend of the Harrisons and he turned out to be quite the negotiator.
4 days ago
The guest had an item that was presumably made in the pre-1800s era, which made it valuable.
5 days ago
She had asked for $250,000 when she came and she walked away with close to $400,000.
6 days ago
The showrunners must have had a storm on their hands when they were called out.
6 days ago
Steve Harvey burst out laughing when he heard that answer, as was the case in much of the round.
6 days ago