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'Wheel of Fortune' host Pat Sajak once ended up revealing an answer but no one noticed it

Luckily for the veteran host, no one in the studio caught the mistake on time.
PUBLISHED JUL 1, 2025
Screenshot showing Pat Sajak talking about the mistake (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Pat Sajak talking about the mistake (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel Of Fortune)

Pat Sajak made his mark in the history of television as one of the best game show hosts of all time, with his stint on "Wheel of Fortune." Although his successor, Ryan Seacrest, gets a lot of criticism over his mistakes, Sajak himself is remembered for some blunders that he got away with. Sajak once made a crucial error revealing the ever-important answer of the Bonus Round for a contestant named Jeffrey. While Sajak accidentally said the phrase out loud, luckily for him, neither the player nor anyone else in the studio got it, as the puzzle remained unsolved. But his co-host, Vanna White, did notice, and Sajak got an earful from her in a candid clip. 

Screenshot showing Vanna White and Pat Sajak talking about the incident  (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Vanna White and Pat Sajak talking about the incident (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

In the episode, Sajak was playing the game with Jeffrey, who had made it all the way to the show's coveted Bonus Round. There, he was faced with a two-word puzzle, and he didn't have enough clues on the board. Even with the show's standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, E" and his additional letters "A, P, G, and H" on the board, Jeffrey's puzzle read, "_ _ _ T E   _ R A N _ L _."

As only a few clues were on the board, Sajak jokingly said, "Yikes. Well, I'd rather be standing here than there, quite frankly." What he didn't realize, was that the last two words of his sentence were the solution to the puzzle.

Screenshot showing the puzzle  (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

Later, in a candid clip, co-host White questioned Sajak about the blunder. "Did you hear what you said?" she asked. "I did right after I said it. I wonder how many people at home caught it, but in setting up the thing, there weren't many letters up there, and I said, I'd rather be here than there, quite frankly, which was the puzzle." Sajak responded.

Luckily for the host, the player did not catch the mistake, and the puzzle went unsolved. While Jeffrey lost out on winning $40,000, Sajak must have taken a sigh of relief. "It goes to show you that people are concentrating and they're not paying any attention to me," the host added while in conversation with White at the end of the show. "It's funny what your mouth will say that your brain says, 'You shouldn't do that,'" Sajak shared on the lead-up to the mistake.



 

While the host was candid about the mistake, viewers suggested that nobody would have known if it had been kept under wraps. "He said it so quickly that I didn't hear the 'quiet' very well. If they hadn't brought it up, then most wouldn't have known," @rdbuilder2010 suggested in the comments on YouTube. "HILARIOUS! I was watching, yet also missed it. WOW!" added another fan called @twodogs716. 



 

Sajak retired from the show with his final run on the celebrity edition. The veteran host left the show in a bittersweet moment for fans after being a part of it for more than 40 years.

More on Market Realist:

'Wheel of Fortune' player loses car and gives Pat Sajak an angry look that viewers noticed instantly

TV icon Pat Sajak gave his final ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestants a huge reward: "It’s not my money"

'Wheel of Fortune' fans confused as Ryan Seacrest accepts answer that many believe was wrong

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