‘Wheel of Fortune’: Heartbreak for Nurse After Ryan Seacrest’s Million Dollar Tease

A Wheel of Fortune player saw the million dollar prize tantalizing close after earning the wedge on the game show. Sadly, the contestant, who’s a nurse, missed out on there megabucks prize and suffered the heartbreak of a bonus round loss too.

On June 27, Jesse Larson, from Paducah, Kentucky, played against Steve Wiley, from San Diego, California, and Brittney Word, from Snellville, Georgia. Their episode originally aired on October 18, 2024.

Larson, a nurse, was set up on a blind date with a firefighter by a patient who was in her care. She and Adam have been married for 11 years and share two children together.

The game didn’t start out too well for Larson as Wiley, a Phish fan, solved the first two tossups and the first puzzle. He remained in the lead when he solved the “Chart” crossword puzzle, which was “Pie,” “Organizational,” and “Flow.” This gave him $7,200.

Larson finally got on the board after getting a Wild Card and the One Million Dollar wedge during the Prize Puzzle. She solved “Taking the Perfect Pic” and won a trip to Panama. This gave her $11,100 and the lead.

All three contestants earned $2,000 when they solved one of the Triple Toss Ups each. Wiley took the lead on the next puzzle when he solved “Batch of Cookies” with $16,150. Larson solved the final puzzle, “Purple Petunias,” which gave her $16,400. She was only $250 ahead of Wiley. Word, a wife with two kids, left with $2,000.

For the Bonus Round, Larson chose “Phrase.” “This is very exciting. We’re going for the one million dollars on Wheel,” host Ryan Seacrest said.

“This is very exciting. My heart is pounding,” he said. Seacrest explained that the $100,000 card was replaced with the $1 million card. Ryan Seacrest gave a big sigh as the wheel spun. It landed on the two stars between “Game” and “Spin.”

After getting “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” Larsen chose “H, M,C, O, and B,” due to the wild card. Her puzzle then looked like “_HE_ _  O_  THE C_R_E.”

The time counted down, and Larson didn’t say anything. She shook her head as the time ran out. “You needed more,” Seacrest said.

“Ahead of the Curve” was the puzzle. Luckily, Larson had $40,000 in her envelope. The $1 million envelope was the “S” in “America’s.”

Wheel of Fortune will return in September with all-new episodes. A premiere date has not yet been announced.

Wheel of Fortune, Season 43, Fall 2025, check local listings