'Wheel of Fortune' contestant chokes up and hugs Ryan Seacrest after she won $67,000
The contestant named Whitney could barely control her emotions as she celebrated with Ryan Seacrest.
July 6 2025, Published 9:46 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" contestants are known for emotional reactions after winning, and these range from screaming in joy to breaking down. One such player was nearly in tears as she celebrated her grand win on the show. The player, Whitney Smith, took everyone by storm while she also had fun moments with the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, in the build-up to the Bonus Round. In the end, Smith nearly broke down in the arms of the host as she emerged as the big winner with prizes worth nearly $70,000.
Smith was off to a flying start after solving the first Toss Up puzzle to take the lead. While the other contestants tried to claw back, with Kroll briefly taking over the lead, Smith came back in the Express Round to win big. She solved the prize puzzle and won a six-day expedition through the Amazon worth $13,660. She then went on to solve a couple more puzzles and emerged as the big winner with $27,460 in cash and the exotic trip.
Going into the Bonus Round, Smith picked the popular category "Place" and joined Seacrest at the wheel. Before spinning, Seacrest congratulated her on the money she had won so far, and in all that excitement, Smith couldn't speak up and whispered, "I know." Seacrest jokingly mimicked the player, saying, "We don’t have to whisper."
After spinning the wheel, the host picked out the Golden Envelope for the contestant, and Smith was faced with a short two-word puzzle. The show then gave her the standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, E," but unfortunately for her, only two of those letters showed up on the board. Thus, Smith went on to carefully pick her additional letters, "H, G, D, and O," and they turned out to be crucial as her puzzle now read, "_ O G G _ N G_ _ T H".
As Seacrest wished her good luck and kicked off the ten-second timer, Smith already looked excited as if she had gotten the answer already. Without wasting much time, she guessed "Jogging Path" and the show's co-host, Vanna White, told her that she was correct. Smith jumped up and down in the air before giving Seacrest a big hug to celebrate the victory.
To add to her delight, the host revealed that she had won an additional $40,000 from her Golden Envelope, taking her grand total to a whopping $67,460, alongside the exotic trip. Smith nearly broke down after the reveal as she profusely thanked the host.
Even the viewers of the show watching it at home could feel the joy of the contestant. "This is why game shows never get old. Seeing this young woman's joy is so gratifying. Winning a trip to the Amazon and all that cash must feel surreal to Whitney. Just so happy for her," wrote @lnl3237, in the comments section of the show's YouTube clip. While the fans enjoyed the happy moment on the show, recently viewers expressed concern over their favorite host's "frail look".
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