'Wheel of Fortune' player loses $50,000 after getting a puzzle that had fans asking 'are you serious?'

Fans of game shows such as "Wheel of Fortune" are so invested in the wins and losses of contestants that they slam the host and producers if seemingly unfair puzzles or decisions cost a contestant a big prize. This is why many of them were upset when players kept losing in the bonus round. According to a report in TV Insider, a recent episode of the show saw the eighth straight loser in the bonus round, and viewers are pinning the blame on the show runners instead of slamming contestants over the disappointment.

The reason behind that is the difficulty of the puzzles. The eighth-straight loser of the Bonus Round was a woman named Vicki Rowe who worked as an English teacher. Her personality made a lot of people fall in love with her, and Ryan Seacrest called her “very sweet” for calling him “as cute as a button.”

She had won $17,500 and a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on her way to the Bonus Round. Vicki picked the ‘What Are You Doing’ category and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. She then picked the letters C, K, P, and I, but those letters did not reveal much of the puzzle. It read, “_ _ _ _IN_  _R_ _N_.” This was a tough one to figure out, and the contestant failed to do so in her 10 seconds. The correct answer was ‘buzzing around’. Since a lovable contestant lost due to a tough puzzle, the showrunners faced the wrath of the fans. That is exactly what happened in the comments section of the clip on YouTube. “Are you really serious right now? Not one single winner in the bonus round, and we’re on the verge of getting skunked again,” one user commented.

“This is ridiculous another day without a winner  in the bonus round we need a big money winner soon,” added another. “8 STRAIGHT NOT WINNING IN BONUS ROUND THAT IS NOT GREAT! 8 IN A ROW THAT HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH,” one more said. This is not the first time this year that fans have been critical of the show for not having a Bonus Round winner. They had slammed the writers for giving players an impossible puzzle to solve on other occasions as well.

The contestant was a woman named Kristyn Hobbs. After she had picked her letters, the puzzle read, “R_ _ _ _GING IN THE  _ _C_ _ _R_.” This was in the ‘What Are You Doing’ category as well. She failed to get it right in 10 seconds, and the correct answer was ‘Rummaging in the backyard.’ This was an unusual phrase, and fans didn’t like it one bit.

“I got rummaging, but I couldn't get 'backyard' obviously because nobody rummages through their backyard,” a viewer pointed out. “That’s gotta be one of the toughest bonus puzzles I’ve ever seen,” a fan added. “No one rummages in the backyard!!!” read another comment.