'Wheel of Fortune' winner's family pats him on the head — Ryan Seacrest says 'don't beat him up'
Frank Mentesana's family got a little too excited after the win, and even host Ryan Seacrest had to intervene.
Aug. 11 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
Emotions often run high on "Wheel of Fortune," especially after a big cash win. However, for contestant Frank Mentesana, it ended up nearly hurting him as he almost got beaten up by his own family. The player who bagged a $40,000 Bonus Round win was joined by his brother-in-law, son, and brother, who couldn't control their excitement after the win. In the end, all was okay, as the player went home with over $60,000.
In the episode, Mentesana, a pro-wrestling fan from Brooklyn, New York, went up against Angela Johnson, from Phenix City, Alabama, and Ada Vega, from St. Cloud, Florida. He had a rough start as Johnson took the early lead, leaving everyone in the dust. She maintained her lead going into the Express Round, where she won an exotic Scottish cruise, according to TV Insider. While she had won over $20,000, Mentesana trailed with only $5,850. However, he made a strong comeback in the Triple Toss Up round after Johnson made a hilarious blunder by incorrectly guessing the puzzle "A Case of the Munchies" instead of "A Case of the Mondays." Mentesana picked up the pieces and went on a roll till the final Speed Up puzzle.
He solved the final puzzle and won $18,000, which gave him the lead at the very last moment. He emerged as the big winner with $25,850 while Johnson had to settle for $20,600. Advancing to the Bonus Round, Mentesana chose the category "Phrase" for the final puzzle.
At the wheel alongside the host Ryan Seacrest, Mentesana was joined by "a crew" of his son, Braden, brother-in-law, Michael, and brother, Ciro, on the stage for support. After picking out his prize envelope, he was faced with a short three-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," filled in, he chose “H, C, F, and O” as his additional letters. This gave him a puzzle that read, “T O _ _ H / _ _ T / F _ _ R.”
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, Mentasa seemed to have figured out the first word already. After deliberating for a few seconds, he came up with the correct answer, "Tough But Fair." “Yeah, that’s it, you got it!” Seacrest exclaimed before revealing that he had won an extra $40,000. Mentesana was rushed onto the stage by his family, who started aggressively patting him on the head and back to celebrate. "Wait, now don't beat him up!" Seacrest quipped, looking at the celebrations.
In the end, Mentesana went home with a total of $65,850. While Seacrest had to save Mentesana from getting beaten up, in another episode, he couldn't save a player from getting "kissed by a camel" as the wild incident had already happened in the past.
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