'Wheel of Fortune' fans slam contestant for fumbling 'another easy solve' as he lost out on $40,000
As the player Eric Handzel failed to get the seemingly easy puzzle, fans were left a bit disappointed.
Sept. 20 2025, Published 10:45 a.m. ET
The only thing that annoys "Wheel of Fortune" fans more than the show coming up with impossible puzzles in the bonus round is how players fail to figure out relatively easy answers. Fans called out a contestant, Eric Handzel, for failing to crack a seemingly easy puzzle. While he was disappointed after losing out on an additional $40,000, fans were even more upset with his performance.
Handzel started the game on a roll as he solved the very first puzzle to take the early lead with $3,500. However, his competitor, White, gave him tough competition as she took him in the very next round. Handzel then went on to seal his lead as he cracked the Prize Puzzle to win a cruise to Patagonia and Argentina, worth $10,000 and a total of $17,350 in the bank, according to Andy Nguyen's blog. He carried the momentum into the Triple Toss Ups as well, adding more cash to his purse. In the end, he emerged as the big winner of the night with a total of $21,350.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, Handzel picked the category, "Around the house," for his final puzzle. As he joined the host, Ryan Seacrest at the wheel, he brought along his father for support. Turns out, Seacrest was a big fan of his father's signature boisterous laughter and was quite excited to meet him. “You have a great laugh, sir,” Seacrest shouted before Handzel spun the wheel.
After spinning the wheel and picking out his Golden Envelope, he was faced with a short two-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E" on the board, he chose “C, P, H, and A" as his additional letters to get more clues. With everything on the board, the puzzle read, “_ _ _ _ P_LL_ _.”
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed like Handzel had masterfully figured out the second word of the puzzle, "Pillow," but was at a loss for the first one. While he yelled out many guesses, including “Bed Pillow, Throw Pillow," and "Pillow,” none of them were correct. As the time ran out, co-host Vanna White uncovered the answer, "Body Pillows," and Seacrest added to the heartbreak by revealing that he had lost out on taking home an additional $40,000, which would have taken his total to $61,350.
However, fans did not let him off the hook before calling out his poor performance. "Seemed like another easy solve, but not everybody is going to solve every puzzle all the time," wrote @tima.curtis2488 in the comments on YouTube.
On the other hand, one fan, @Animegamespublishing, consoled the player, saying, "We don't have body pillows. But the good letters are w and b. Good attempt by the player, though."
More on Market Realist: