'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on $100,000 because of phrase few had heard of
Dec. 23 2025, Updated 2:29 a.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" contestants are often tricked by never-before-heard puzzles during the Bonus Round, much to the frustration of the fans. The same thing happened with a contestant named Cameron, who was vying for the ultimate $100,000 grand prize. He successfully aced the earlier rounds on the game show but lost to an unfamiliar puzzle. Fans called it heartbreaking and expressed their disdain for the "Phrase" category.
Cameron was fired up from the first round, as he won the Toss-Up Windchill factor puzzle and collected $1,000 cash prize. During the Prize Puzzle Round, Cameron solved the puzzle, winning a trip to Walt Disney World Resort worth $9,478, bringing his total to $10,478. He dominated other rounds too and entered the Bonus Round with a total of $14,478.
Cameron has already won a significant amount of money. During the bonus round, he spun the wheel, aiming for big money, potentially $100,000. "We got $100,000 on there. That would be big," Seacrest said. Cameron chose the "Phrase" category and had the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E revealed on the puzzle board. Cameron then chose C, H, P, and A as additional letters.
The board then displayed "_, _, _, E, _, E, T, H, E, L, _, _, _, _, _, N." It seemed like a difficult puzzle to guess, and sure enough, Cameron was left pondering while the ten-second buzzer ticked off. He struggled with the puzzle, trying to solve it by saying "Have me the lesson" or "Have you teach the lesson," but the final answer was "Give me the lowdown". Cameron was highly disappointed to lose $100,000. Seacrest consoled him with a hug, "Cameron. Love the job tonight. That was great. You're a lot of fun," the host said, trying to cheer him up.
Despite not solving the bonus round, Cameron still won $14,478 and a trip to Disney. Fans shared in the disappointment, "I have never heard of this one before! NOOOOOOOOOO!!! ANOTHER LOSS!!! $100,000!!! We can’t have another $100,000 loss tomorrow, and then we will have 2 consecutive $100k losses!!" @AK-oo5cj commented. "This is another reason why I don’t like the Phrase category in the Bonus Round," @theweysermanisback5205 lamented. "That was very terrible of $100,000 are extremely loss doing holidays in 3 days," @CosmosOfficial2000 chimed in. "That was very extremely heartbreaking loss for a hundred thousand dollars are sadness and not happy about Christmas in 2025," @ConeboyYT1990 added.
Watch the unfortunate moment here.
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