'Wheel of Fortune' fans spotted a puzzle that used a famous catchphrase from another game show
"Wheel of Fortune" and "Deal or No Deal" are some of the most popular shows in television history, and could be seen as rivals. But sometimes there are crossovers when hosts from one show appear on another, and at times some of them even express admiration for each other. In one instance involving a contestant named Nicole Robinson, her loss turned into a bittersweet moment as fans were touched by a reference to another popular game show "Deal or No Deal."
The player from Sugar Land, Texas, shared that she is a cancer survivor and she has been cancer-free for five years during the introductions. The law student faced two players Channing Hans, and David Quinn, and did exceptionally well in the initial rounds of the game. She had a flying start after solving the first puzzle and the Mystery Round puzzle as well, according to TV Insider. Along with an early lead of $5,200, she won a Wild Card Wedge as well. While the Express Round was a little slow for Robinson, she bounced back to take the lead with $10,000 and a trip.
Finally, in the Triple Toss-Up round, she aced all three puzzles and solved the Speed-Up puzzle as well. In the end, she amassed a total of $13,000 in winnings along with a trip to Los Cabos. She then went to the Bonus Round with a good margin over the runner-up.
In the final round of the show, Robinson selected the "Thing" category for the bonus puzzle. Host, Ryan Seacrest told the viewers that since it was the 50th anniversary celebration week, the player had a chance of winning a minimum of $50,000 and a maximum of $100,000.
With the standard letters, "R, S, T, L, and E" filled in, Robinson chose the additional letters “A, C, G, and H.” However, her picks did not yield much as the two-word puzzle on the board read, “_ _ N A L _ _ _ E R .”
When the clock started ticking, Robinson was scrambling for words. She kept trying but couldn't solve the puzzle in time and lost the round.
"Well, you were sounding out trying to get there," Seacrest said before co-host Vanna White revealed the answer to be "FINAL OFFER," which happened to be a well-known catchphrase from Howie Mandel's game show, "Deal or No Deal." "Probably needed a little more help to get to that," the host remarked before revealing that Robinson had lost out on winning an additional $70,000 from her golden envelope. “Still, you’re walking away with $13,000,” the American Idol host said at the end.
Fans on social media were quick to spot the "Deal or No Deal" reference with many lauding "The Wheel of Fortune" for paying tributes to the show. "A deal or no deal sort of vibe here. A great tribute to host Howie Mandel," wrote one viewer @Animegamespublishing.
"Your FINAL OFFER would have been $83,000 and you recently dealt at $13,000. Hmm, tasty thought, huh?" added another fan @anenglishvillageforroberti2863.
