'Wheel of Fortune' player wins $40,000 after solving a tough puzzle — with just a second to spare

A "Wheel of Fortune" contestant stunned the fans and the judges of the show with a last-millisecond win in the Bonus Round. The player, Sarah LaPilusa, seemed stumped by the final puzzle, "Fussy Babies," as the clock started ticking. She guessed the answer just as the buzzer went off, and host Ryan Seacrest wasn't sure if she got it in time. However, the judges ruled in her favor and awarded her a massive $40,000 win.

In the episode, LaPilusa—a mental health clinic owner and psychologist from Poway, California—went up against Jimmy Holgerson and Yolanda Tillett. The three made a unique panel of contestants, featuring an Army vet (Holgerson) and someone who had partied with Snoop Dogg (Tillett). 

After a rough start, LaPilusa found her groove by the second Toss Up puzzle, solving it to win over $2,700 and take the lead. She continued her winning streak by solving the prize puzzle in the Express Round and winning a luxurious trip to the Corazon Cabo Resort & Spa in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, worth $8,000, according to Andy Nguyen's blog. By the end of the game, LaPilusa emerged as the big winner of the day, taking home $15,050 in cash and a vacation in Cabo.

The clinic owner was joined on stage by her husband, Justin, and two daughters, Samantha and Ally, as she spun the wheel alongside Seacrest. With a shot at winning an additional $100,000 or a brand-new car, Seacrest picked out the Golden Envelope for her. LaPilusa was presented with a two-word puzzle under the 'People' category. After revealing the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E and her additional letters M, B, H, and O, the puzzle read, “_ _ SS_  B_B_ES.”

Despite having some clues on the board, the puzzle wasn't easy for LaPilusa. After the host wished her good luck and kicked off the ten-second timer, the player looked visibly stumped. She still went on to yell out a few guesses, including “Jazzy babies," which was wrong.  At the very last moment, she got the correct answer, "Fussy Babies," just as the buzzer went off. “Oh my God! It is ‘Fussy Babies.’ Did she make it in time, judges?” a shocked Seacrest asked, turning to the producers. A second later, he got confirmation that LaPilusa had made it just in time.

“You got it! Congratulations!" Seacrest said as the player screamed and hugged him. To add to her delight, he revealed that she had won an additional $40,000, which brought her total to a whopping $55,050. “That was incredible! I’ve never seen anything so close,” the host said, as LaPilusa celebrated the win with her family. 

Even though Seacrest wasn't prepared for the last-minute win, it all went smoothly for the host in the end. However, that wasn't the case when he was recently caught off-guard by an unfortunate $1 million loss on the show. An insider recently told The Sun that Seacrest wasn't fully prepared to handle the big win/loss situation and the pressure as a new host. 

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