Pat Sajak scolds 'Wheel of Fortune' player after he made one major mistake: "Don't ever do it again"

Pat Sajak bid farewell to "Wheel of Fortune" fans after he was replaced by Ryan Seacrest following a four-decade run as host. But according to some reports it wasn't a smooth transition and Sajak was replaced by producers due to his attitude towards some contestants. While the star's charm and charisma took the show to new heights, fans argue that during the last leg of his tenure, Sajak got a bit grumpy with contestants. This behavior was seen in an episode where Christian Dixie, a fan-favorite contestant, was scolded by Sajak for trying to pick out his Golden Envelope.

Dixie, a Package Handler for FedEx Ground appeared on "Wheel of Fortune" for the first time in 2020. The Fort Wayne native, who was probably one of the most energetic contestants to ever appear on the show, performed well in the initial rounds but failed to get a shot at spinning the wheel in the Bonus Round.

However, the player got a second chance as fans voted him for a return for the show's Fan Favorite Week. Dixie told WANE 15 that he did his best to prepare for his second shot by practicing with the Wordle and versions of the Wheel of Fortune video game. “I was waiting literally three years for this moment,” Dixie told the publication. Upon his return, the Ball State Alum took the show by storm, solving puzzles left and right. The effects of his preparation were visible as he cracked puzzles that had only a handful of letters on the board.

While he won $19,300 in cash in the initial rounds, he also got a cruise to the South Pacific. This time, the fan-favorite player successfully made it to the Bonus Round to make his dream of spinning the wheel come true. However, it seemed like he got a little too excited as he tried to pick out his own Golden Envelope, which led to a clash with the host.

Sajak's hand bumped into the players as both of them went for the card at the same time. As Dixie apologized, Sajak told him that in all fairness, the show previously allowed contestants to pick out their cards. "So he's reverting to that," Sajak said looking at the camera before snapping at the player, saying, "Don't ever do that again." It wasn't clear if Sajak was serious as the audience broke into laughter right after Sajak's comments. 

Nevertheless, Dixie also took the scolding lightly as he went into the bonus round with confidence. He chose the category of “phrase” for the final puzzle and picked out the four letters “H, Y, V, A” in addition to the standard letters, “R, S, T, L, N, and E.”

With all the letters filled in, the Bonus Round puzzle for Dixie read, “_AY    THE_     A     _ _ S_T.” While the four-word puzzle wasn't easy to solve, and would have stumped any other player, the fan-favorite contestant was a pro. Without wasting a second, the player managed to figure out the answer, "PAY THEM A VISIT". To add to his delight, Sajak revealed that Dixie had won a brand new Infinity Sedan. 

The solution took the returning player's total winnings to $64,615. The “Wheel of Fortune” social media accounts also praised Dixie’s puzzle-solving skills by releasing a compilation clips from the episode.