'Wheel of Fortune' contestant stuns Ryan Seacrest with her choice of letters to win $55,000

The contestant, Abi McLaughlin, entertained the viewers throughout the night with her gameplay.

PUBLISHED OCT 31, 2025

Screenshot showing Abi McLaughlin atttempting her Bonus Round puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" contestants are known to do well throughout the game before crashing out in the bonus round. But one player pulled off a rare feat by winning $55,000 in the Bonus Round. Abi McLaughlin fought her way to the finale after hitting a bump in the initial rounds of the game. In the end, she made up for it by picking the perfect letters for her final puzzle, to solve it within seconds. She left the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, stunned with her puzzle-solving skills and took home over $80,000.

Screenshot showing the winning moment (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

McLaughlin started off well as she cracked the first two Toss Up puzzles, back-to-back, to take the early lead. However, McLaughin made her first error while attempting the puzzle in the "Song Lyrics" category, where she accidentally said, "I'd like to buy an owl" instead of a "vowel". Seacrest took the error and ran with it, joking about it throughout the rounds.

I'd like to buy an owl
byu/Blerrycat1 inWheelOfFortune

While Schwenkbeck tried to claw back at McLaughlin's lead, she got her winning momentum back in the Express Round, where she cracked the puzzle to win a trip to Southern Italy, worth $12,110, according to TV Insider. Going into the Triple Toss Up round, both McLaughlin and Schwenkbeck solved a puzzle each. In the end, McLaughlin emerged as the big winner of the night, taking home $25,660 in cash.

Screenshot showing McLaughlin at the wheel alongside Seacrest (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

Advancing to the Bonus Round, she chose the category "Phrase" for her final puzzle and joined Seacrest at the wheel. She brought along her husband, Colin, who cheered her on as she spun the wheel and picked out her Golden Envelope. McLaughlin was then faced with a long four-word puzzle which looked tough to solve after the show gave her the standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E." She then chose, “B, C, M, and A,” as her additional letters, which turned out to be great as the puzzle read, “_ _ _ M A _ E M E B L _ S _.”

Screenshot showing the Bonus Round puzzle (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

As soon as Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it was clear that McLaughlin wasn't going to make another blunder. Within two seconds, she yelled out the correct answer, "Made Me Blush," leaving the host stunned. "You got it. Just like that," Seacrest said before revealing that she had won an additional $55,000. "Well, you called the right letters. You got it fast," he added before announcing her total of $80,660.