‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Flunks Answer & Loses $40K (VIDEO)
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Pat Sajak provided comforting words on Tuesday’s (March 20) Wheel of Fortune after a contestant fell just one word short of solving the final puzzle and bagging an extra $40,000.
In fact, she did all the hard work by amazingly guessing the first three words correctly, but completely flunked on the final word, which seemed the easiest of the lot to guess.
The contestant in question was LaQuisha Persak, a married mother of one from Tallahassee, Florida. She faced off against Zevon Atkinson from Bloomington, Indiana, and Danielle Krueger from Omaha, Nebraska. Fun fact: Krueger’s mom competed on the show 20 years ago.
Persak got off to a solid start, and by the end of the Express Round, she’d won $19,589 cash and a cruise aboard the Disney Wish to the Bahamas worth $11,889.
Krueger fought back towards the end of the episode, putting the pressure on Persak. But it wasn’t enough. Ultimately, Persak won the episode with $23,589, while Krueger finished in second with a respectable $21,600. Atkinson trailed with $2,000.
In the Bonus Round, Persak selected the dreaded “Phrase” category and the additional letters “M, G, W, and A.” This left her with a four-word puzzle that read: “_ / _ A _ E / _ _ _ R / _ A _ _.”
Impressively, Persak figured out the first three words, answering, “I Have Your…” But she struggled to work out the last word, incorrectly guessing “Card” and “Case.”
Eventually, the timer ran out, and Vanna White revealed the correct answer as “I Have Your Back.”
“Oh my gosh,” Persak said. “And I love to say that phrase!”
Sajak looked genuinely disappointed that Persak came so close but failed to figure it out in time, telling her he felt “sorry” for her.
“You did everything you could. You had the right idea, and you did everything you could,” he told her. “You were trying other words. The 10 seconds just flies by. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”
The long-time host then opened the prize envelope to reveal Persak lost out on an extra $40,000. “It was a nice effort, it really was,” he added.
Still, Persak walked away with over $23,000 and a cruise to the Bahamas, so all in all, not a bad night’s work.
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