'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses $40,000 over tricky puzzle — fans call it 'harder than it looks'
Fans were divided on whether Adam Wredberg's Bonus Round puzzle was solvable or not.
Aug. 27 2025, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" fans often slam puzzles for being impossible to solve, but on one occasion, they were divided about a contestant's loss in the bonus round. The player, Adam Wredberg, who took the game by storm in the initial rounds to win nearly $30,000 in cash, was stumped by a tricky puzzle in the finale. Some fans backed the player, calling the puzzle too difficult, while some thought he flubbed it.
Wredberg was off to a flying start as he cracked the very first puzzle to take an early lead. He racked up $13,100 in cash and a Tahitian cruise trip by the Mystery Round. He kept his momentum up in the Express Round as well, where he solved the prize puzzle to win another trip, the Trafalgar tour of America's National Parks, worth $9,800, according to Andy Nguyen's blog. In the end, he emerged as the big winner with $29,900 in cash and the trips.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, Wredberg chose the unusual category "What are you wearing?" for his final puzzle. Alongside host Ryan Seacrest at the wheel, he was joined by his brother Andy and his sister-in-law, Jessica, on the stage. After picking out his Golden Envelope, he was faced with a three-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, he chose "M, F, G, and O" as his additional letters. With this, the puzzle read, "M _ F _ N _ _ _ L O T _ E S."
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it looked like Wredberg got the first and the last word right already. While he guessed, "My fun clothes, my funcles," among other words, he failed to guess the one in the middle. "Oh, I like my funcles. It's not my uncle’s clothes," Seacrest said before the board showed the correct answer, "My Fancy Clothes." Adding to the heartbreak, the host went on to reveal that the player lost out on taking home an additional $40,000.
While Wredberg took the loss well, his performance in the Bonus Round triggered a debate in the comments section of the show's YouTube clip. "That was notably harder than it looks. I wouldn't have gotten fancy right out of the gate without another letter," argued one fan, @lunamelody2025, in favor of the contestant.
However, some felt that Wredberg flubbed the prize. "Two dullards in a row in Bonus Land this week! These puzzles should've been solved - they weren't that hard! Yes, I know it's nerves - but still, you gotta solve easy puzzles like this," suggested @digiblader1.
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