'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on $75,000 after failing to solve a near-impossible puzzle

For generations of viewers, “Wheel of Fortune” signifies the hope of winning big prizes, including cars, cash, and vacations, within one night. But former contestant Chad Benner had a very different experience. On an earlier episode of the show, he had won more than $14,000 on his way to the Bonus Round. He had the chance to leave the show with a whopping $89,000, but his luck ran out right at the end. Despite the loss, he was a good sport and didn't have anything against the show.

“Once in a lifetime experience, I really can’t, I can’t put it into words. Like, I’m a word guy, but I can’t put it into words. It was just an incredible experience,” he said, according to a report in WSAZ3. His kids were also excited to see him on the show. “It’s a show I grew up watching here at my Mamaw’s and Papaw’s, and just like the fact that he was on it was like, whoa, this is mind-blowing,” Caleigh Benner said.

The family got together for a watch party when the episode aired, but they weren’t able to celebrate a Bonus Round win. Chad had chosen the Living Things category and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. He was then asked to pick three consonants and one vowel, and he chose M, C, P, and I. However, this is where the game got really cruel. The only letter that appeared in the entire phrase was E, and that too in only two places. The puzzle read, “_ _ _ _   _E_ _E _ _ _.” This was near impossible to get right, but the contestant still tried, and said, “Dead heathens,” which amused host Ryan Seacrest, but wasn’t the correct answer. ‘Baby hedgehogs’ was what the board revealed, and the host admitted at that point that it was too hard.

The host then revealed that the player could have won $75,000 had he gotten it right. Chad seemed disappointed for a moment there, but quickly got over it. When the show was aired, he was having the time of his life with his family and loved ones. He even had his name tag on his shirt from the time that he was on the show.

Chad shared a video from that day on Facebook where he admitted that the Bonus Round still haunted him. “So yeah, now the cat’s out of the bag. Bonus round,” he said. “Baby hedgehogs will haunt me all my life.” Seacrest did his best to comfort the contestant after the loss, and that is something that he has been doing beyond the game show.

According to MEAWW report, Ryan Seacrest, the host of “American Idol” admitted to mixing up that and “Wheel of Fortune” to comfort a contestant who had forgotten the lyrics to a song she was singing. “I’ve stood here (American Idol) and said, ‘Welcome back to Wheel of Fortune," he had confessed at the time.