‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant lands on million-dollar wedge — then loses it all in the final moments

With a $1 million prize on the line, Cindy Koenig fell short on a puzzle that many fans felt was quite solvable.

PUBLISHED JUL 20, 2025

Screenhot showing Cindy's Bonus Round and puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

Fans of "Wheel of Fortune" had a lot to say after a contestant came close to winning $1 million before suffering an agonizing loss. The contestant, Cindy Koenig, took the game by storm and took the coveted million-dollar wedge to the Bonus Round. With a chance to win the grand prize, Koenig faced a seemingly easy puzzle, which turned out to be impossible for her to solve. While the player had a tough time, fans felt the final puzzle was quite solvable.

Screenshot showing the moment of loss (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

In the episode, Koenig from San Diego went up against Wanda Coleman from Country Club Hills and Brent Bates from Las Vegas. She got the early lead by solving the first couple of puzzles, leaving her competition in the dust. She kept up the momentum going into the Mystery and the Express Rounds, where she won big money to take her total to $18,500 in cash, the sparkly Million Dollar Wedge, and an exciting trip to MGM Grand in Las Vegas, worth $7,500, as per Andy Nguyen's blog. While her fellow competitors tried to claw back at the lead, Koenig emerged as the big winner of the night.

Screenshot showing Cindy at the wheel (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

Going into the Bonus Round, Koenig picked the tricky 'Phrase' category, and she had the chance to win big, as her green wedge made the show replace the $100,000 prize with $1 million on the wheel. As she joined the host, Ryan Seacrest, at the wheel, she brought her husband Alex and daughter Lauren to the stage. After picking out her Golden Envelope, she was faced with a four-word puzzle.

With the show's standard letters—R, S, T, L, N, E— filled in, the Koenig chose M, G, P, and I as her additional letters. Her picks turned out to be phenomenal, revealing six more clues on the board. With all the letters filled in, the final puzzle read, "I T _ _ G G E _ M _ M E M _ R _." Despite the clues on the board, it seemed like Koenig was stumped by the phrase.

Screenshot showing the player trying to solve the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

As soon as Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, the player struggled to come up with an answer. After some thinking, she made a few attempts, saying, "It joggles my memory," "It juggles my memory," but none of them were correct. After the clock ran out, the host revealed that she had gotten all but one word right, as the answer was "It jogged my memory." "Oh, take a look up there. You're right on the edge of it," Seacrest exclaimed. To add to the heartbreak, Seacrest flipped the envelope to show Koenig that she had missed out on winning an additional $75,000 and was inches away from landing on the $1 million envelope.

While the player handled the loss sportingly, viewers didn't cut her any slack on social media. "Wow, I can't believe she didn't get that! I said it immediately," wrote @Pammy_Yolo in the comments of the show's YouTube clip. "I was screaming at the screen: JOGGED! IT JOGGED MY MEMORY!" shared another fan, @anthonyguarino4242.