'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses Chevy over 'tricky' puzzle and viewers are feeling bad for him
The contestant, Billy Kendra got very close to driving home a brand new Chevrolet Blazer.
Sept. 19 2025, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" fans are completely invested in a contestant's wins, which is why they also feel deeply for them when they lose. Naturally, they sympathized with a contestant after the heartbreaking loss of a car. The contestant, Billy Kendra, a Navy vet of 20 years, fought his way to the finale, where he bagged the Golden Envelope carrying the Chevrolet Blazer. In the bonus round, he got one of the two words in the puzzle, but the clock got the better of him as he failed to get the word "Savvy." Nevertheless, he took the loss of the new Chevy sportingly, and the fans had nothing but good things to say.
Kendra got off to a rough start as he struggled to get off the mark during the first Toss Up rounds, while his rival, Woods, took an early lead with nearly $4,000 in the bank. However, Kendra made a strong comeback in the Express Round, where he cracked the prize puzzle to win a trip to the Hotel Effie Sandestin in Florida worth $8,450, according to Andy Nguyen's blog. The seasoned recruiter then went on to crack a few more puzzles in the following rounds to emerge as the big winner with $14,350 in cash.
After advancing to the bonus round, Kendra told the host, Ryan Seacrest, that he had brought his bodyguard, Gary, to the audience, whom he had put in the Navy 35 years ago. He then spun the wheel, picked out his Golden Envelope, and 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 went on to choose "D, M, F, and I" as his additional letters. However, his letter picks weren't great as the puzzle read, "S _ _ _ _ _ _ N S _ M E R."
As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it was clear that Kendra was at a complete loss. While he got the second word, "Consumer", he couldn't figure out the first word as he kept saying, "Super Consumer, Scary Consumer, Story Consumer," before the timer ran out. Co-host Vanna White then revealed that the answer was "Savvy Consumer." "You're close. You're on the right track," Seacrest exclaimed before revealing that Kendra lost out on driving home the Chevy.
"You got $14,350. And the love of your good buddy over there. Nice to meet you. Thank you for your service," Seacrest said in the end, as Kendra smiled and shrugged off the loss. While the player was still smiling, fans couldn't help but sympathize with him. "That was tricky. I got consumer figured out, but that was it," wrote one fan, @lunamelody2025, in the comments on YouTube. "I got it - but if I were Billy, I don't think I would expect two consecutive Vs in the same word," added @scottleung9587.
"Savvy is a hard word with double V's, and believe it or not, if Billy had chosen a "V" then he would've got it. That was a tough puzzle with a top word thanks to the dreaded double V's," explained another fan, @jacobwilson6192.
More on Market Realist
'Wheel of Fortune' player reveals how Ryan Seacrest truly is when cameras are off: "He makes you..."