'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on additional $40,000 prize because of a single word

The audience let out a loud groan as the correct answer was revealed later on.

PUBLISHED AUG 17, 2025

Screenshot showing the contestant trying to solve the puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Contestants losing out in "Wheel of Fortune" is heartbreaking for viewers, but it's even worse when a greater achievement, but winning it is a totally different ball game. Not many can claim to have been victors in the final round. Sometimes, a contestant can be right at the cusp of getting it right but just miss out on the right answer. That’s what happened in an earlier episode of the show, and the studio audience let out a massive groan when the right answer was revealed.

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The contestant was a woman named Corrina Bain. She was from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and worked as a flight attendant, according to a TV Insider report. Bain had made her way to the final round of the show after winning $21,800 earlier. She now had the chance to win even more money or, better yet, a brand-new car. But winning in this round is easier said than done, as she found out.

Bain had chosen the Phrase category and was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E as per the norms for the show. She then had the chance to pick three consonants and one vowel. The contestant picked the letters H, D, M, and I. Unfortunately, these did not do much to open the puzzle up, and it still looked like an incredibly tough solve. The puzzle now read, “_ _ _ _ IN THE D_ _.”

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

The contestant had 10 seconds to get it right in order to win the big prize. She was on the right track as she muttered, “Made in the day.” However, her time quickly came to an end, and that was not the right answer. “You were on the right track. It’s back in the day,” host Ryan Seacrest revealed, which drew a loud groan from the audience in the studio.

He then opened up the envelope to reveal that Bain could have won an additional $40,000, which would have taken her total winnings to $61,800. The disappointment was clear on the contestant’s face when Seacrest revealed what she could have won. However, it did not last for long. The contestant was going home with $21,800, which was a large sum of money that she could be proud of winning.

Not winning in the Bonus Round can be a heartbreaking loss, even if you’re not a contestant on the show. In a different episode, a contestant named Kyla lost the chance to go home with $40,000. She did win $14,000 earlier, which was a good amount of money. But the people most affected by this loss were her kids.

Kyla’s husband had said to her, when she got the chance to be on the show, that they’d get a dog if they won. Unfortunately, that did not happen, and their kids were left heartbroken as they weren’t going to get a dog.