'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses $40,000 after failing to choose the right letters

"Ziti is a delicious pasta, but the vowel and "Z" made me cry," a fan reacted.

UPDATED JAN 13, 2026

Vanna White and contestant Mandy on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" contestants need to stop choosing the same consonants and vowels that make the Bonus Round puzzle difficult to solve. In tonight's episode, a contestant named Mandy successfully reached the final round with a total of $24,048. She then proceeded to choose the redundant combination of C, D, H, and A. She failed to win despite the easy"Food and Drink" riddle. After her dismal performance, fans were left complaining that the answer was a famous Italian-American delicacy that was simple to solve.

Tonight's episode featured an exotic vacation: Colette's "California Dreamin' Tour" valued at $8,498, including visits to Pier 39, Lake Tahoe, and Napa Valley. Mandy kick-started by winning the Mystery Round (Before and After) by solving "Bounding father figure" and earned $2,600. During the Prize Puzzle (Colorful Language), she solved "An Emerald Wonderland" and won an exotic trip to Costa Rica valued at $9,798. The Triple Toss-Up added $4,000 to her cash winnings after she successfully solved "First things first" for $2,000 and "If it's not one thing it's another" for $2,000. During the Final Spin (Thing): Mandy solved "The moral of the story". She emerged as the winner, accumulating $24,048 and the Costa Rica trip.

She was accompanied by her sister Marie and friend Kimberly, who were introduced to host Ryan Seacrest during the bonus round. Seacrest then reveals that this week, in addition to cash prizes, every envelope contains a unique, once-in-a-lifetime trip. Mandy then chose the "Food and Drink" category after giving the wheel a big spin. She received the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. Mandy then selected three more consonants: C, D, and H, and the vowel A. With the additional letters, the puzzle is displayed- _, A, _, E, D, _, _, T, E, and she has 10 seconds to solve it.

Mandy made several guesses, including "baked bath" and "baked city salted salt". She came very close, but was unable to guess the correct answer, "Baked Ziti". With that, Mandy lost $40,000 but walked away with $24,048. Fans were disappointed about the consistent bonus round loss. "Ziti is a delicious pasta, but the vowel and "Z" made me cry," @sy-kd6km lamented. "I think she said baked, and then ziti, but took too long of a pause in between the words. But still, congrats Mandy!" @scottleung9587 reacted.

"The I would have helped Mindy, but baked ziti is definitely my favorite food that I eat during the holidays," @Animegamespublishing pointed out. "Like I Said Before, None Of The Contestants Wants To Keep Picking A Z," @jeffreychen3069 complained. "Baked ziti is very tasty, and I love it," @sammylerman7136 added.