'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on car because he couldn't identify a fruit correctly

"Wheel of Fortune" contestants who play well throughout the episode often crash out in the bonus round. One contestant lost out on his chance of winning a brand-new car after failing to guess the name of a fruit correctly. Fans of the show were not happy with the loss, despite it being a decent attempt by the player. He was still able to take home a substantial amount of prize money. The contestant was a man named Nathan Simpson, and according to a TV Insider report, he played really well to get to the Bonus Round with $26,450. He had brought his mother to the show, who said she loved his son, to a rather muted response from the crowd. “You can aww louder, come on, that was sweet,” host Ryan Seacrest said.

Once the formalities were out of the way, it was time to play the game. Simpson gave the wheel a good spin, and it landed on the triple stars. The contestant had chosen the ‘Food and Drink’ category and was per the rules of the show, was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. He then had the chance to pick three more consonants and one more vowel.

The contestant chose the letters K, C, H, and A. These were not enough to open up the puzzle for a definitive answer, as it now read, “_A_A_A   _ _ _CE.” Simpson’s 10 seconds started counting down, and he tried his best to get the puzzle right. He said, “Banana place,” but that wasn’t correct. Eventually, his 10 seconds came to an end, and the contestant was not able to get the correct answer.

The answer was then revealed as ‘Papaya Juice.’ Seacrest then opened up the envelope to reveal that Simpson could have won a car, which was disappointing. But the contestant was not too displeased as he was going home with more than $26,000 in the bank, which was a lot of money. Fans of the show, however, were not happy that the contestant lost the car, and they made their thoughts clear in the comments section on YouTube.

“Me and my mom screamed at him A MILLION times that the first word was not BANANA,” one fan commented. “I'm getting worried about some WoF fans and Ryan cuz I feel if the million isn't won soon, everyone gonna lose their minds,” quipped another. “First of all, food and drink appears to be a good sign for the win today.... but now it turns out TRICKY. The P would've got the win. It is juice, but we're looking at papaya instead of banana. So the Hyundai... stays in the garage as well,” one more fan wrote.

Watch the video here.

More on Market Realist

'Wheel of Fortune' fans console contestant who fumbled an easy puzzle and cost him a car

'Wheel of Fortune' player loses out on an extra $40,000 by a second — fans say 'that hurts'

'Wheel of Fortune' fans spot a change in bonus round prize as player loses out on $55,000