‘Wheel of Fortune’: Military Vet’s Dream Is Crushed After $55,000 Loss

A Wheel of Fortune military veteran’s dream was crushed after she lost in the Bonus Round after waiting since she was a kid to get on the show. Courtney White, from San Diego, played against two friends who are active military members for Bragging Rights Week. Despite getting to the Bonus Round, White, a former Marine, lost out on a lot of money after trash-talking her opponents.

White, Tess Lee, a Marine Corps veteran, and Joe Vargas, an active duty Navy chief, all competed on the episode that retired on Wednesday, August 27, as part of the summer reruns. It had originally been broadcast on May 14.

During the interviews, White shared that she rushed home from middle school with her best friend, Jessica, to watch Wheel of Fortune every night. She had the dream of being on the show since seventh grade. White picked out her Bonus Round letters when she was a child in hopes she would get to play.

She ended with $15,200 before advancing to the Bonus Round. Lee won $10,500 and a trip to Mexico. Vargas went home with $8,000.

During the Bonus Round, host Ryan Seacrest acknowledged that this was a lifelong dream for White. “She’s been dreaming of this day since back in Okeeheelee Middle School in West Palm Beach, Florida,” he said.

After spinning the wheel and walking to the center, Seacrest said that White had the letters picked out since seventh grade, which were “C,D,H, and A.” On top of “R,S,T,L,N, and E” being given to her, her puzzle in “Place” looked like “_A_-_AC_ED  CA_E.”

“Been waiting a lifetime to say those,” the host acknowledged.

As the ten-second timer counted down, White tried to guess the puzzle. She only said “Map,” but didn’t get any further. It was “JAM-PACKED CAFE.”

“Those letters were good choices, but maybe you need the J in there to get it,” Seacrest said. She lost out on an additional $40,000.

“Courtney had good letter choices. I got jam-packed as well,” a YouTube user commented.

“I guessed cafe, but that was a tough solve,” said another.

“That was hard to answer in such a short amount of time,” a fa wrote. 

“That was really tough,” said one last fan.

Wheel of Fortune, Season 43, starting September 8, check local listings