‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans React After Teacher Loses $50,000 on Another ‘Outrageous’ Puzzle

A high school English teacher was the eighth person in a row to lose the bonus round on Wheel of Fortune, sparking viewers to complain about the show’s final puzzles being “outrageous.” The educator’s appearance on the show happened only a few days after she won a prestigious award.

Vicki Rowe, from Pflugerville, Texas, played against Chris Moore, an outdoor/pet guy who loves the beach, from Lehigh Acres, Florida, and Mel Abrams, a Crimson Tide fan and orca enthusiast, from Marietta, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 7. Rowe has been an English and academic decathlon teacher at Taylor High School for 43 years.

After she solved the first two toss-ups, Rowe told host Ryan Seacrest that he is “as cute as a button.” The crowd laughed and Seacrest stared into the camera speechless.

When he recovered, he said, “Buttons are attractive. You’re very sweet. Thank you.”

Rowe solved the next two puzzles and her total was $15,550 by the second one. Abrams solved the third puzzle, putting her in second with $7,450. Moore got on the board when he solved the prize puzzle and won a rail trip worth $8,199, giving him $10,499 in total.

Moore solved two of the three Triple Toss-Ups and Rowe solved one, making Moore only $2,000 under Rowe. Abrams solved the final puzzle —”Working on my screenplay”— for an additional $8,500. This gave her a final total of $15,950. Moore ended with $14,949. Rowe was the night’s big winner with $17,500 and a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

She chose “What are you doing?” for her Bonus Round puzzle. Rowe brought her nieces and nephews with her to cheer her on.

After Wheel of Fortune gave her “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” the contestant chose “C,K,P, and I.” Her puzzle then looked like “_ _ _ _IN_  _R_ _N_.” As the time counted down, she guessed, “Playing hooky,” and “Doing my best my best to win a lot of money.” She couldn’t guess “Buzzing around,” and lost out on an additional $50,000.

“Whoa!” she said after seeing the reveal.

“Not acceptable,” one YouTube fan said.

“If we go a full two weeks with no bonus round winners, I’ll stop watching WOF until someone does win the bonus round. Like, eight in a row? This is simply outrageous!” said another.

“These puzzles are getting impossible,” added a third.

“Another near-impossible puzzle. Who says that, ‘hmm … I’m buzzing around.’ You might get punched in the face for saying something so dumb,” another wrote.

“Who says buzzing around as something they are doing?” asked one fan.

Despite her loss on the game show, Rowe won $25,000 and The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards in Austin, Texas, on May 4, according to KVUE. The award recognizes teachers with more than 20 years of experience. She also took home a $25,000 grant for her school for her 40-plus years in education.

 

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Rowe had a watch party for her episode, where some of her students asked for her autograph.

After the episode, she talked to social correspondent Maggie Sajak, who told her that she was “as cute as a button.” “You were such a joy to have here today,” she said.

“Oh, thank you. I love life and I think the joy just comes out of me,” Rowe responded. She also said that she always smiles at her students, who tell her it makes their day. “Sometimes I think it’s the only smile they get.”

 

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Rowe said that being on Wheel meant everything to her because the game show has been watched by her entire family. “There’s kind of a family love that exists with Wheel of Fortune that you don’t see in a lot of other shows.”

“We need that love in the world,” she said.

Rowe ended by saying that she has family that lives in South Carolina, so she is going to make her trip a family reunion. When she sees the sign that says “Home of Vanna White,” she will tell everyone she met her and got a hug from her.