‘Wheel of Fortune’: Contestant Loses $40,000 & Trip on Super Hard Puzzle
An orange what? A Wheel of Fortune contestant was stumped on the Bonus Round puzzle, which fans deemed super hard.
Eleni Kapetanakis, from Austin, Texas, played against Russ Paoletti, from Park Ridge, Illinois, and Nikki Ashley, from New York City, New York, on Wednesday, March 19.
Kapetanakis solved the first tossup of the game, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” after Ashley, a travel blogger and spicy margarita lover, guessed “Form your the adventure.” Kapentanakis, a big foodie and certified sensory analyst, added $1,000 to her bank.
However, Ashley redeemed herself for the second tossup worth $2,000, guessing “Fashion Photographer.”
During the Collete Trip Round, Ashley had the lead of the board, with the puzzle almost solved. It looked like “C _ _ _ I _ _ / T H I N G S
H _ _ _ / H _ _ _ _ N _.” However, she landed on “Lose a Turn.” Kapetanakis swooped in and solved “Crazier things have happened.” She won $14,998 cash, and a trip to Costa Rica.
In the Mystery Crossword round, the first word was blank while the second word read, “Bar.” Kapetanakis guessed two letters. When she guessed a wrong one, the turn moved to Paoletti. He landed on “Bankrupt,” ending his turn. The turn eventually came back to him, and he guessed “Pool” and “Protein.” He gained $1,350. Kapetanakis and Ashley earned $2,000, but Ashley also obtained a Wild Card.
Ashley solved the Prize Puzzle/Express Round, which was “Shamrocks and Clovers.” She won $1,950 and a trip to Ireland, worth $11,898, putting her in the lead.
During the Triple Toss Up Round, Kapetanakis solved two of them, earning $4,000. Ashley solved one for $2,000.
On the final puzzle, Kapetanakis made a comeback, solving “Showcasing My Skills” for for $5,100. This put her at $17,100, and moved her to the Bonus Round. Ashley was a close second with $14,148, and a trip to Ireland. Paoletti remained at $1,350.
Kapetanakis chose “Place” for the category. She brought her husband, Alexi, whom she married in 2023, with her to cheer her on. In this episode, the envelopes on the wheel contained cash and a trip.
After Wheel gave her “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” she chose, “P,C,M, and A.” Kapetanakis only got one letter and the puzzle looked like “_RAN_E _R_ _E.”
As the timer counted down, the game show contestant didn’t say anything as she was at a loss for words.
“I wish you had another letter at the beginning,” host Ryan Seacrest said. The puzzle was revealed to be “Orange Grove.” She lost $40,000, and a trip to the Plains of Africa.
Fans chimed in and said that the first word was easy, but the second wasn’t.
“The first word was easy, but not the second,” a YouTube user wrote.
“I knew the first word was orange. But that was it. I hardly know any places with orange in its name other than The Blorange,” said another.
“Tough,” added a third.
“Failed,” said another.
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J
Yeah, I thought the first word was "France."
9
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G
I'm 70 now... but i lived my first 26 years in Orlando. Orange County! I guessed France was the first word, and got stuck .
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G
I guess because I live in Florida this puzzle was super easy for me. I said Orange Grove as soon as I saw the puzzle
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O
me too! within 10 seconds of seeing it.
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O
Loved Eleni’s energy, she did really well
3
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G
Well I'm from Kentucky we don't have groves we got hollars and hills and caves. So I could not think to say Grove . So sorta if you life close to groves you probably said it fast but like me if you live hundreds a miles from a Grove than good luck my friends
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O
This is so easy
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D
I knew it the second I looked at it.
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R
Got it in 5 secs!
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P
It was easy peasy. I had it solved in 3 seconds.. Like others said first word was easy. Where do oranges come from?
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P
France and then it's enough time to recover from that.
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R
Didn't think it was all that hard.... 🤷
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G
At first, I said “Orange Grave”, but quickly changed it to “Orange Grove”.
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