'Wheel of Fortune' contestant freaks out and jumps around after winning $50,000 in bonus round
The bonus round on "Wheel of Fortune" has been getting a lot of attention recently as players lost out after reaching the stage for 19 straight games. While fans celebrated when the losing streak ended in the 20th game, the host Ryan Seacrest once celebrated a bonus round win for different reasons. A player named Samantha Hick got a little too excited after winning nearly $80,000, in the show's first bonus round win of the 42nd season, which was also a first after Ryan Seacrest took over from Pat Sajak. He also had a tough time controlling the situation as Hicks freaked out while celebrating on the stage.
In the episode, Hicks had a flying start after solving the very first Toss Up puzzle to take the lead. However, she quickly slipped to the second spot. She then made a comeback in the Express Round and the Crossword puzzle to get the lead and win an exotic trip to Portugal. In the end, Hicks emerged as the big winner of the night with $17,348 in cash and advanced to the Bonus Round.
She picked the popular category, "Food $ Drink" for the final puzzle, and was joined by her long-time friend Makita on the stage, who cheered her on as she spun the wheel. With a chance of winning an additional $100,000 or a brand new car, she picked out her Golden Envelope and was faced with a three-word puzzle. With the show's standard letter's "R, S, T, L, N, E," filled in, Hicks chose, "E, H, J, O, and C," as her additional letters. With everything on the board, the puzzle read, "LO_ - F_T _OG_RT."
As Seacrest wished her good luck, it seemed like Hicks had it all covered. As soon as the ten-second timer kicked off, she didn't waste a second to guess the answer, "LOW FAT YOGURT". As co-host Vanna White revealed that she was correct, Hicks went berserk saying, "Ryan! I am freaking out!"
To add to her delight, Seacrest went on to reveal that she had won an additional $50,000 from her envelope, which took her total to $77,348. However, Seacrest had a tough time getting Hicks to look at the total as she was busy celebrating with her friend and freaking out some more.
Even the viewers loved the first big win of the new era as they flocked to the comments on YouTube. "Hooray! The first of hopefully MANY bonus round wins of the Ryan Seacrest era of Wheel. Congratulations, Samantha! And a nice $50K win to start," @JonesDylan874 wrote. Seacrest isn't a stranger to over-the-top celebrations as he has also taken to the floor quite a few times to show off his moves.
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