'Wheel of Fortune' contestant makes comeback after a slump — solves a tricky puzzle to win car

Several "Wheel of Fortune" contestants have let fans down when they did well throughout the episode, only to lose out in the bonus round. But some of the most memorable players are the ones with spectacular comebacks. A contestant named Jeff Richardson pulled that off when he lost his rhythm halfway through the initial rounds, but bounced back and reached the finale. In the end, he cracked a tricky puzzle and guessed the answer, "Out Of Bounds," with a few letters on the board, to win a Ford Explorer.

Richardson started the game with a bang as he solved the first few puzzles quickly. Going into the mystery round, he had already racked up $8,450, while his fellow contestants struggled to get off the mark.

However, his rival, Stalter, briefly overtook Richardson after she solved the prize puzzle in the Mystery Round. But, he mounted a comeback in the final rounds to emerge as the big winner of the night with a total of $16,650 in cash prizes. Advancing to the Bonus Round, he chose the category, "Phrase" for his final puzzle.

Alongside the show's host, Ryan Seacrest at the wheel, Richardson was joined by his niece, Elizabeth, on the stage for support. After spinning the wheel and picking out her Golden Envelope, he faced a short three-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, he chose "G, M, D, and O" as his additional letters. With this, the final puzzle read, “O_ T O_ _O_NDS.”

As Seacrest kicked off the ten-second timer, it seemed like Richardson had the answer in the bag. With only a few seconds in, he guessed the correct answer, "Out of Bounds," to win the round. "I heard you let out air, which was a sigh of relief because I think you knew it. I got good news for you, pal," Seacrest said before revealing that Richardson had won the brand new Ford Explorer Active.

In the end, Richardshon stunningly took home $61,855 worth of prizes. While Richardson was happy to bag the big win, fans had a lot more to celebrate as it was the second 'car win' on the show in the same week. "2 car wins in the same week?! Way to go, Jeff!" @GeorgeMcMichaelson wrote in the comments on YouTube.

"If the game starts with bad news only to end with good news, then it’s worth watching. From no one getting the first Toss-Up and the first spin being Bankrupt to everyone winning something and the Bonus Round being won, I think this made for a fabulous evening!" added another fan, @germanname1990. While Richardson cut through the confusion, in another episode, a loving couple lost $70,000 on a tricky puzzle.

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