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'Wheel of Fortune' player fails to recognize a New Year hint and leaves fans disappointed with the lowest win

"This year is the Year of the Horse, so "Bronco" was included in the puzzle. However, Maureen succumbed to the consonant and the vowels, a fan reacted.

BY MARY ANTHONY

PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO

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

"Wheel of Fortune" New Year's first day ended with some disappointing winnings, and fans were left complaining about the dismal performance. Contestant Maureen had a good hold of the game during the start, but she failed to win the Bonus Round and walked away with the lowest cash prize.

Ryan Seacrest and contestant Maureen on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Maureen gets the Second Toss-Up puzzle for $2,000 by correctly identifying "Friendly Folks". During the Mystery Round, Moren quickly earned $4,000 by identifying four 'N's. She then solved "Snowman in the front yard", leading with $8,000. Maureen rightly solved all the Triple Toss-Up (Human or Animal) puzzles - $2,000 each, and won $10,000 for all three. She guessed the first one, "Queen V", the second one, "Mother hen", and the third one, "Silver Fox", bringing her total to $18,000. Maureen then successfully entered the Bonus Round.

Maureen chose the "Living Thing" category, a rare one to snag the bonus prize. She was given the letters R, S, D, L, N, E, and she added D, G, C, A. The puzzle board now evokes mixed reactions from Maureen; she looks partly confused and also confident. With A, _, _, L, D, _, R, N, C, _, on display, the timer pushes Maureen to think fast. "A wild wrench.

A wild...A wild...Oh," she fumbled, but was unable to, despite being very close to the solution. Vanna White then revealed the answer as "A Wild Bronco".

Maureen looked completely devastated as she lost $40,000 cash prize. "It could have been a wild wrench. But it was a wild bronco. Don't be frustrated," the host Ryan Seacrest reacted. Maureen ended up walking away with her $18,000 winnings. Fans lost it as they thought it was an easy puzzle to solve, "That is not a good way to start the year of 2026 if we don’t get a bonus round win or let alone break the losing streak tomorrow it will be a skunked. Somebody’s gonna have to break the streak tomorrow," @StarrtasiaJackson-jj4ou complained.

"This year is the Year of the Horse, so "Bronco" was included in the puzzle. However, Maureen succumbed to the consonant "W" and the vowels "I" and "O." It was a wild puzzle. In other words, DCGA's choice was nothing. Incidentally, although he lost the battle, Jack's win of a trip to Tokyo was a highlight of New Year's Day," @sy-kd6km pointed out a key New Year hint. "Not a good bonus win to start 2026. We need a winner tomorrow or it's gonna be skunked. Don't give up!" @myles-spikewebby8519 chimed in.

You can watch the miserable moment here.