'Wheel of Fortune' fans slam 'foolish' puzzle that cost contestant an additional $55,000
Fans often call out the producers of "Wheel of Fortune" for puzzles that are too difficult to solve, triggering a streak of losses in the bonus round. They once again expressed outrage after a puzzle cost a player $86,000. The contestant, Jason Warren, played the game beautifully before running out of luck by hitting the 'Bankrupt' wedge. While he fought back hard to reach the finale, he was stumped by the puzzle, "Young And Foolish," after being served a raw deal with his letter picks. While the player walked away with more than $31,000, fans were quick to call out the 'foolish' puzzle.
The player Jason Warren mounted a comeback after falling behind in the initial round and won $8,000. He also got a wildcard but lost it after landing on the "Bankrupt" wedge. Warren then found his footing back in the Express Round, where he cracked the prize puzzle to win a trip to Kissimmee, Florida, and a total of $21,470. He went on to sweep the Triple Toss Up round to emerge as the big winner of the night with $31,470.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, Warren picked the “Phrase" category and joined Seacrest at the wheel. He brought along three family members, Steve, Sharon, and Becky, to the stage to cheer him on. After picking out his Golden Envelope, he faced a three-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, he went on to choose, “C, H, P, and I,” as his additional letters. However, his letter picks did not help him much as the puzzle read, “_ _ _N_ _N_ _ _ _LISH.”
As soon as Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it was clear that Warren was stumped. While he guessed the last word, he had no idea about the first one. While he yelled out guesses like “Something and Foolish,” “Dumb and Foolish,” "Down and Foolish," "Phony and Foolish," and more, none of them were correct. After the time ran out, co-host Vanna White uncovered the answer, "Young And Foolish". Adding to the heartbreak, Seacrest went on to reveal that Warren had missed out on taking home an additional $55,000, which would have taken his total to $86,470.
While the player was disappointed, fans were outraged on social media. "It was a really 'foolish' answer and content. It's cruel," wrote one fan @sy-kd6km, in the comments on YouTube. "This puzzle has appeared in a Bonus Round before. It was a Teen Best Friends Week episode that aired in 2007. The audience thought it was easy, but the contestants thought differently," added @theweysermanisback5205.
You can watch the turn of events here.
More on Market Realist:
'Wheel of Fortune' fans slam contestant who failed to solve easy bonus round puzzle worth $45,000
'Wheel of Fortune' fans spot a change in bonus round prize as player loses out on $55,000
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