'Wheel of Fortune' fans call out 'stupidest puzzle ever' as contestant misses out on $75,000
“Wheel of Fortune” fans aren't happy about contestants losing out in the bonus round, and while the producers are blamed for making things too difficult for players, viewers recently slammed a puzzle for being the stupidest ever. A contestant answered the puzzle correctly, but it was so absurd that fans took to social media to express their outrage about it. Some fans couldn’t believe the answer and called it stupid. It was the first puzzle of the game, which was a Tossup worth $1,000.
The contestant who gave the correct answer was a woman named Paulomi Dholakia, according to a TV Insider report. The puzzle was part of the ‘Occupation’ category, and the contestant answered “Chief Happiness Officer?” with some confusion in her voice. This was the correct answer, much to everyone’s surprise. “I wasn’t aware that was a thing either, but every company should have one. Don’t you think?” host Ryan Seacrest said.
Fans of the show had a discussion about the matter on Reddit, and one of them called it the stupidest puzzle ever. “If they are going to state something as an occupation, it should have to be a legit occupation. Stupidest puzzle ever,” someone wrote under a post in r/WheelOfFortune. “I guessed the words but then I was like nope can’t be that .. and then it was lol,” added another.
“Puzzle-makers have been playing fast and loose with both the puzzle itself as well as odd category-warping,” a third fan wrote. Dholakia played exceptionally well throughout the game after getting the first puzzle right and seemed set to go to the Bonus Round. However, another contestant named Celina Alvarado delivered a strong performance towards the end and was able to win $30,350 and a trip to Costa Rica.
She was the one who advanced to the Bonus Round as Dholakia ended with $21,750. Alvarado had chosen the ‘Person’ category in the Bonus Round and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. After these letters were revealed, she chose the letters M, P, D, and I. After all the letters were revealed, the puzzle read, “TRI_I_ _ _ _ _.” This was a tough one to get right, and the contestant knew it.
Her 10 seconds ticked away, and Alvarado wasn’t able to get the correct answer, which was ‘Trivia Buff.’ Seacrest then revealed that she could have won an additional $75,000, which would have raised her total winnings to more than $105,000. However, the contestant wasn’t too disappointed as she had already won more than 30 grand and a trip to Costa Rica.
“The $75,000 envelope is obviously cursed at this point since no one won it at all this season,” one fan commented under the clip on YouTube. “It's amazing how close someone could be, but it's still so far away,” quipped another. “Uggggh. Really. Okay. This was a tough puzzle this round. The letter F would've given at least her fight chance. and course that $75,000 meltdown was rough on that one,” a viewer added.
While "Wheel of Fortune" fans don't appreciate such silly puzzles, fans on "American Idol," also hosted by Ryan Seacrest, are annoyed with sob stories now.
