'Wheel of Fortune' player loses car in bonus round — fans say the puzzle was too tough to solve

Fans were also left as confused as the contestant after seeing the puzzle.

PUBLISHED OCT 23, 2025

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

"Wheel of Fortune" contestants crashing out in the bonus round has become the norm, and only a few exceptional players manage to win big in the final stage, much to the frustration of the fans. They have slammed players, come up with conspiracy theories, and blamed tough puzzles for this on different occasions. The latest to join those who failed to win big in the final round of the show was a contestant who went home with a decent amount, but fans felt that the puzzle he faced was too hard to solve.

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

The contestant was a man named Michael Soltis, as per a TV Insider report. He had won $20,240 on his way to the Bonus Round and had also earned a Wild Card. That Wild Card should have increased his chances of winning, but that was not the case in the end. Soltis lost out on a car in that round, which left a lot of fans and perhaps even host Ryan Seacrest disappointed.

Soltis had chosen the ‘Place’ category and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. After those letters were revealed, the contestant now had the chance to pick three more consonants and one more vowel. Soltis chose the letters K, C, Y, and O.

Screenshot showing the contestant spinning the wheel. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Seacrest then said that thanks to the wildcard, he could choose one more consonant, and Soltis picked D. These were decent choices, but they did not do a lot to open up the puzzle enough for the contestant to immediately understand what the correct answer was. It now read, “_Y OLD _ _ _NTS.”

Soltis blurted out a couple of different answers, like “my old points” and “my old plants,” but neither of them was correct. Ultimately, his 10 seconds ran out, and he did not get the right answer, which was then revealed to be ‘my old haunts.’ Seacrest then opened up the envelope in his hands, and it had the word ‘Wrangler’ written on it. The contestant seemed to be confused after seeing what the correct answer was.

Screenshot showing Ryan Seacrest revealing the prize. (Image credit: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

He was not the only one who felt that way, as a lot of fans felt that it was too tough a puzzle. They made their thoughts clear in the comments section of the clip on YouTube. “This puzzle was very hard. HAUNTS got me,” one fan wrote. “I was completely clueless on this one,” added another. “I got it, but I just kept going when I got it lol. What does that even mean?” the third user asked. “I never heard of the new phrase word before,” one viewer mentioned.