ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant gives a shoutout to his kids and nearly runs out of time to answer

The player had everyone on the edge of their seats as time was running out.
PUBLISHED JUN 9, 2025
The man and the puzzle that he had figured out (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)
The man and the puzzle that he had figured out (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" contestants often get into tricky situations where things lead to a close finish. But sometimes people also take risks, which might put their chances in jeopardy and keep fans on the edge of their seats. One such contestant was Bradley Rose, who had reached the bonus round and had 10 seconds to solve a puzzle. Although he had figured out the answer, the man decided to give a birthday message to his kids and almost ran out of time, according to a report on Newsweek.



 

Rose was in a very secure position as the board was reading "HAPP_ T_ HEAR THAT" with 10 seconds to go. But instead of just saying "Happy To Hear That," he said, "Sino, Kalani, Shiloh, Daddy loves you." Pat Sajak said that he slipped in the message to his kids in a sneaky way, but also added that the buzzer could've gone off before he said the answer.

The coveted Bonus Round of "The Wheel Of Fortune" has had a love-and-hate relationship with the fans as it has both given away big prizes and caused heartbreaking upsets. However, recently, the scales were tipped toward hate and speculation more as the show came close to breaking the longest streak of losses in the Bonus Round. After 19 straight losses, fans on social media started to speculate the show had run out of money but one player named,  Rachel Granier,  put an end to it by breaking the streak.

Screenshot showing Rachel Grainer on the Wheel Of Fortune (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)
Screenshot showing Rachel Grainer on the Wheel Of Fortune (Image source: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune)

In the initial rounds, Granier showed she is a tough competitor by racking up $22,200 in cash winnings to advance to the Bonus Round. Before her, 19 other players lost everything from $40,000 to brand-new cars in the final round of the show because the puzzles had gotten unusually tougher. 

Grainer was confident as she chose the category “Phrase” for her puzzle. The category. After receiving her standard letters, the three-word puzzle read, “_ _ _ R     _ _ _ R N E _       _ _ _ _ T S.” After some thinking, Granier went on to choose the additional letters "C, M, P, and O, but none of her consonants stuck to the board.  With everything filled in, the puzzle read, “_ O _ R      _ O _ R N E _      _ _ _ _ T S.”

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

When Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, Granier seemed to be at a loss for the third word in the puzzle. After throwing out some guesses, Grainer astonishingly got the entire phrase,  “YOUR JOURNEY AWAITS.” The host revealed that the answer was correct, and she had won $40,000 from her golden envelope.



 

While Grainer celebrated her over $60,000 win, fans rejoiced that the show narrowly avoided breaking the all-time record of 20 losses in a row. This also put an end to the numerous Reddit threads that speculated that the show was purposely making players lose.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Fans complained that the unusual clue cost the player a chance to challenge for the win.
18 hours ago
The founders of xCraft struck a rare and expensive all investor deal on Shark Tank.
22 hours ago
The dynamic host finally broke silence on exit rumours, cementing his intent to continue his job.
23 hours ago
The painting and a note from the renowned artist, Hovsep Pushman left the expert in awe.
1 day ago
Banking on a bad guess made by his opponent, Ryan Burkett guessed the correct answer and took home a massive win.
1 day ago
The World War II era sketch was given to the guest's father by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman.
1 day ago
The contestant, Madison, hit the jackpot with less than a second remaining in the 'Race Game.'
2 days ago
Both the contestant and fans believed he stood no real chance of solving the Bonus Round puzzle.
3 days ago
The spooky item was a great find for the pawn shop, but the asking price was too high for Corey Harrison to cut a deal.
4 days ago
Despite saying that the item was worth a small fortune, the expert was confident about its future.
4 days ago
Harrison almost blew the deal for the gold & diamond encrusted ring over $3,000.
5 days ago
Insulted by her refusal to partner up, Kevin O'Leary told Lori Greiner, 'Do not screw with Mr Wonderful...'
5 days ago
The witty host reminded everyone that he’s never afraid to deliver the perfect clap back.
6 days ago
TikToker Madilynn Cameron alleged she was asked her to get a membership to use the self checkout facility at Walmart.
6 days ago
The toy train set from the Lionel company turned out to be a invaluable treasure.
6 days ago
The pawn shop boss, Rick Harrison wasted no time to get the mummy authenticated.
6 days ago
The elderly guest was visibly shaken to learn the value of her prized family heirloom.
6 days ago
In an Instagram post, Drew Goldfarb got candid about his big win, friends he made along the way, and things he learnt.
6 days ago
Ken Jennings accidentally let a curse slip and spoiled a clue — and the goof-up made it to air unedited.
7 days ago
The expert admitted that the item wasn't the most appealing thing to appraise.
7 days ago