'Wheel of Fortune' fans slam puzzle that cost player $40,000 — even Ryan Seacrest called it 'tricky'
Contestant Joey Sweet took the loss in stride, but the show's viewers weren't happy with the puzzle selection.
Aug. 25 2025, Published 1:45 p.m. ET
The latest season of "Wheel of Fortune" was riddled with tough Bonus Round losses, and fans have only the puzzles to blame. One such tough solve, which cost a contestant, Joey Sweet, $40,000, even made the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, admit that it was a bit too much. While the player was happy to take over $16,000 home, fans blasted the show for including the near-impossible phrase in the final puzzle.
In the episode, Sweet, a program director for teens and longtime Vanna White fan from Oceanside, California, went up against Tamika Martin, Dawsonville, Georgia, and Lindsay Demsky from Detroit, Michigan. While Martin took the early lead in the game, Sweet made a comeback in the Mystery Round and Express Round to win a Caribbean Coastline to the Barceló Maya Riviera in Mexico worth $7,350. In the end, he emerged as the big winner of the night with a total of $16,150 in cash, the trip, and a Wildcard wedge, as well, according to Andy Nguyen's blog.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, he chose "Phrase" for the final puzzle. After spinning the wheel alongside Seacrest, Sweet picked out his prize envelope and was faced with a three-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, he chose "C, D, M, A," and the extra letter "F" using his Wild Card to get more clues. However, his letter picks didn't yield many clues, and the puzzle read: "CAR_ED _ _ _AND."
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, Sweet looked stumped by the puzzle. With the clock ticking, Sweet tried to yell out a few guesses like "Cleared In Hand," which was not correct. When the timer ran out, co-host Vanna White revealed that the answer was, "Carved By Hand". Even the host admitted that the puzzle was difficult. "This is a tricky one," he said. "Tough one. Even with the head start," he went on to add, before showing Sweet that he lost out on winning an additional $40,000.
While Sweet took the loss in stride, the fans watching at home weren't happy with the show's puzzle selection. "I wouldn’t have gotten that unless I picked the right letters. Tricky one indeed," wrote one viewer, @lunamelody2025, in the comments of the show's YouTube clip.
"Joey did a great job! He just wasted letters in the first word, but I knew the first word was carved. Hope he enjoys his well-deserved trip! Awesome to hear that his father met Vanna White!" added @Daniel540-longisland. While the tough puzzle cost Sweet $40,000, in another episode, a similarly brutal one cost another player a $1 million win.
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