'Wheel of Fortune' fans react as player misses out on 2nd million-dollar win in one season
Winning more than a million dollars on "Wheel of Fortune" is a rare feat, and few have managed to do it in decades. But in one season alone, fans almost witnessed a second million-dollar win, before being let down by the contestant's failure to solve a bonus round puzzle. The player, Kellee Williams, was stumped by a seemingly tough puzzle, and fans were quick to call out the show for presenting Williams with such a challenge. Some even claimed that producers did not want to give away a million dollars twice in the same Season.
Williams got off to a rough start after her competitor, Tierney, got the first Toss-Up puzzle right to take the early lead. Her struggles continued as another rival named Gainer took the second puzzle away from her. However, she made a strong comeback in the next round after landing on the One Million Dollar Wedge. She then won a trip to Texas as well, and bagged a total of $19,300. Williams eventually emerged as the big winner of the night with $21,300.
For the Bonus Round, Williams chose the category, "Phrase," for the final puzzle and carried the $1 million wedge along with her. With a chance to win $1 million, the contestant picked out her Golden Envelope and faced a two-word puzzle on the board. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, she chose "M, Y, D, and O" as her additional letters. Unfortunately, this didn't help her much as the puzzle read, “_O_ _ _ _ _LO_S.”
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed like Williams was stumped. While she made guesses like “Hot Holsters, “Dog Something,” and more, none of them were correct. Once the time ran out, co-host Vanna White, also dressed in the Wheel pyjamas, uncovered the correct answer, "How Fabulous." Adding to the heartbreak, Seacrest revealed that she lost out on taking home an additional $40,000, which would have taken her total to over $63,000. "It would have been $40,000. Not the million," the host remarked.
While the player was happy to take home over $21,000, fans were quick to call out the show for the tough puzzle. "Impossible to solve with the letters she had. She was a really good player, though!" wrote one fan, @loveforeignaccents, in the comments on YouTube. "TOTAL BUMMER," added @NIKOLAIBLANCOIX-b2l.
"This one was a toughie. This is kinda a caliber puzzle meant for the million. It could go so many ways and a good number of combos as well," explained @lunamelody2025. "Still in budget mode after the $1M win recently. No way they were letting even $40K be won in Bonus Land," alleged @digiblader1.
Watch the thrilling game in the video here.
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