'Wheel of Fortune' player solves difficult puzzle and wins a massive $50,000 on her son’s birthday

She knew the answer long before the timer started ticking down and won a massive chunk of money.

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April 25 2025, Published 8:46 a.m. ET

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“Wheel of Fortune” has witnessed several special moments in the lives of contestants and their loved ones, including a proposal. In one such touching episode, a boy whose mother was a contestant on the show spent his birthday in the studio cheering her on. As his gift, she played well enough to reach all the way to the Bonus Round and did a great job of winning big for her son.

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Once in a while, some contestants have luck on their side and make the most challenging rounds look like a walk in the park. That’s what happened with a woman named Becky. She had brought her two sons, named Max and Van, to the show. Van was celebrating his birthday that day and seemed happy to be on the stage. “Not a bad gift, this whole thing, right?” host Ryan Seacrest asked. “Oh, a trip to Costa Rica’s wonderful,” he answered.

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That must have been one of the prizes the contestant had won earlier in the game, as the host said, “He’s taking you up on that.” It was then time to spin the wheel, and it landed on an E. Becky had picked the What Are You Doing category. As per the norm on the show, she was first given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. This was a long puzzle, and only a few letters were revealed. It read, “_E__R___N_ _ __E_.” Now, it was time for the contestant to pick three consonants and one vowel. Becky decided to go with the letters D, M, C, and A. These were good choices, and the puzzle opened up further to read, “MEM_R___N_ A __EM.” The contestant knew the answer before her 10 seconds started. Her mannerisms told the whole story. “She’s already stretching over here,” Seacrest said.

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Her 10 seconds started ticking, and it wasn’t long before Becky said, “Memorizing a poem.” That was the correct answer, and she jumped around, clapping her hands in celebration. The host then revealed the envelope, and it turned out that she had won $50,000.

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Becky was taking home a total of $73,150. “Amazing, doesn’t feel real,” she said, the happiness evident in her face. “You knew it before we even got to it,” Seacrest mentioned. Even Van was having a hard time believing that his mother won such a large amount of money, as he had his hand on his chest. Fans of the show loved the moment and made their thoughts clear in the comments section of the clip on YouTube.

“Way to go, Becky!  I'm sure your son Van is very happy with his Birthday Gift from you!” one user commented. “Congratulations Becky on your huge win tonight 🎉🎉🎉 and Happy happy birthday Van 🥳🥳🥳” added another. “Costa Rica & MMA lessons for the boys to protect their gorgeous mom 🎉🎉🎉 - huge congrats, Beautiful Becky!! 🫰” one more user wrote.

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