‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans call $100,000 loss 'heartbreaking' after contestant fumbles easy puzzle
Fans said they weren't 'having a few laughs' after Kiana Moreland missed the $100,000 jackpot.
Aug. 17 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
Fans of "Wheel of Fortune" were upset with yet another Bonus Round loss that cost a contestant the $100,000 jackpot. During the show's 50th anniversary week, contestant Kiana Moreland, who made a comeback to reach the finale, was bested by a seemingly easy puzzle, "Having A Few Laughs." While the contestant was happy to go home with nearly $20,000, viewers had a lot to say about the unfortunate loss.
In the episode, Moreland, a University of La Verne graduate from Grand Terrance, California, went up against Frankie Allocca from Howard Beach, New York, and Cara Green from Albany, New York. She had a rough start as Green took the early lead by solving the initial couple of puzzles. However, Moreland trailed closely behind and mounted a comeback in the Express Round, where she solved the prize puzzle to win an exotic African Safari, courtesy of Overseas Adventure Travel, worth $12,990, per Andy Nguyen's blog. In the end, Moreland emerged as the big winner of the night with a total of $19,290 cash and the safari.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, she chose the category What Are You Doing? for her final puzzle. She spun the wheel alongside the host, Ryan Seacrest, and after picking out her prize envelope, she was faced with a long four-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, R, S, T, L, N, and E on the board, she chose D, C, H, and A as her additional letters. With this, her final puzzle read, "H A _ _ N _ A _ E _ L A _ _ H S."
As soon as Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed like Moreland didn't have the solution in the bag. While she got two out of the four words, “having” and “laughs,” she couldn't figure out the rest of the missing pieces. When the clock ran out, co-host Vanna White revealed the answer, "Having A Few Laughs." While the near miss was unfortunate enough, Seacrest added to the heartbreak by showing Moreland that she lost out on taking home an additional $100,000.
Nevertheless, Moreland showed great sportsmanship and had a few laughs in the end, as she went home with a $19,290 prize package and a Wheel of Fortune-branded shot glass collection. Fans were quick to express their feelings on the loss as soon as the show shared the clip on YouTube. "That was a heartbreaking loss," wrote @Animegamespublishing.
A few complained that the puzzle was easy enough for Moreland to get. "What makes this worse is that I literally solved it myself! It is so sad she didn't get the $100,000," shared @06MAN. "I got the puzzle before her time started. There’s nothing to laugh about when missing out on $100,000," suggested @CelebrityGamerTV.
Fans had another reason to be unhappy, as the loss meant they couldn't see Seacrest's celebratory B-Boying moves on the show, which he previously showed off after a big win.
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