'Wheel of Fortune' player wins $45,000 in bonus round — plans to pay back her father with it

The contestant had seemingly broken a few things that belonged to her father in her younger days.

PUBLISHED NOV 5, 2025

Screenshot showing the contestant trying to solve the puzzle on "Wheel of Fortune" (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Contestants on "Wheel of Fortune" have a lot of plans to spend the cash that they win on the show. But rarely has someone played with the objective of paying back their parents. That is what one contestant said that she wanted to do if she won in the Bonus Round in a recent episode of the show. It was revealed that the contestant owed her father a certain amount of money.

Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest and the contestant. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune) — Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest and the contestant. (Image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

The contestant was a woman named Lauren Klaus, and according to a TV Insider report, she was a sucker for true crime stories. She brought her brother, husband, father, and daughter on the show to support her in the Bonus Round. Turns out that the Klaus family has a great time celebrating Halloween, as Lauren’s father worked as a funeral planner. So, Lauren and her brother would plan Halloween parties in the funeral home, and their friends would even take pictures in the caskets.

Lauren’s father would even drive them around in the hearse. After the introductions were made, Ryan Seacrest posed the question to the contestant’s old man. “So you let them have parties with the caskets?” “Yes, many times. She destroyed a couple of caskets on me,” he answered. The contestant then chimed in and said, “Maybe I could pay him back now.”

Screenshot showing the contestant's family. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Lauren had already won $16,200 leading up to this point, and she had chosen the ‘What Are You Doing?’ category. As per the rules of the show, she was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. After those were revealed, the contestant had the chance to pick three more consonants and one more vowel. She chose the letters G, M, K, and O. These letters did not open up a lot of the puzzle, as it now read, “_ _ _ _NG LO_ _S O_ _ _N.”

The contestant, however, did not seem to mind that at all. As soon as her 10-second timer started counting down, she answered, “Having loads of fun.” That was the correct answer. Seacrest then opened up the envelope and revealed that Lauren had won an additional $45,000. That brought her grand total in cash and prizes up to $61,200. That was enough for her to be able to pay back her father.

Screenshot showing the contestant's reaction to the prize money. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Seacrest knew that and said, “She can pay you back.” Fans of the show loved the segment and mentioned their thoughts on YouTube. “Way to go, Lauren! You've definitely been having loads of fun tonight!” one fan commented. “Congratulations, Lauren, on winning 45k to end the week of the bonus round,” quipped another. “Great job on your win tonight, Lauren. I'm impressed,” a third user wrote.