'Wheel of Fortune' player's great choice of letters helps her win $40,000 in bonus round
"Wheel of Fortune" contestants getting through tricky puzzles in the bonus round is a rare feat. That's why fans were elated when a player scored a stunning $40,000 win on Christmas Eve, with the right choice of letters. The player, Erica Sciuto, who performed like a champ throughout the night, made it to the Bonus Round with over $26,000 in cash. She then went on to pick exactly the letters she needed to crack the final puzzle to go home with over $66,000 on the host, Ryan Seacrest's birthday.
Sciuto was off to a flying start by scoring the very first puzzle of the night. She kept on solving puzzles from left to right, and going into the Mystery Round, she solved the puzzle, "Broadway Classics," to amass $6,650. She didn't slow down in the Express Round either, and she cracked the prize puzzle, "A Polynesian Paradise," to win a trip to the Rumours Luxury Villas & Spa in the Cook Islands, worth $10,740, as per Andy Nguyen's blog. Erica then got two out of the three puzzles in the Triple Toss Up round to further stretch her lead, and scored a $4,800 puzzle in the Speed Up round to emerge as the big winner of the night with $26,190 in cash.
Going into the Bonus Round, Sciuto chose the category "Phrase" for her final puzzle. "You had some great solves tonight. Let's get another one," the host said as she spun the wheel. After picking out her Golden Envelope, the player faced a short, three-word puzzle on the board.
With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, Sciuto chose the additional letters, "C, M, P," and "O" to get more clues. After her letters were added, the puzzle read, "O _ T O _ P O C _ E T." With only three letters missing, it was clear that Sciuto had the win in the bag. "Well, before you celebrate. It's a phrase. 10 seconds," Seacrest said before starting the timer. The player didn't need the ten seconds as she yelled out the correct answer, "Out Of Pocket," in just a couple of seconds. "You picked some good letters," the host said before revealing she had won an additional $40,000.
Sciuto was then joined by her boyfriend and her friend on the stage to celebrate the win. Seacrest gave her a big hug before her total of $66,190 showed up on the screen. "Have a good holiday," the birthday boy said in the end. Fans at home were delighted by the big win as well. "Way to go, Erica! Merry Christmas, Wheel Watchers!" wrote a fan @jamesmcilwee8939 in the comments of the show's YouTube clip.
"Great solve, Erica! And also happy birthday to Ryan Seacrest, may your birthday be filled with happiness," added @StarrtasiaJackson-jj4ou.
You can watch the full action in the video here.
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