‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Has Heartbreaking Car Loss After Cracking Up Viewers

A Wheel of Fortune contestant wasn’t cracking up when he lost a car in the bonus round, but he made fans laugh throughout the episode. The game show contestant said letters with the phonetic alphabet, which is when you say a word after a letter to make sure the right one was heard.

Rodney Flippen, from Calumet City, Illinois, played against Sharon Skolnik, from Suwanee, Georgia, and Lauren Hernandez, from New Brighton, New Mexico, on Monday, September 29. Flippen said he had been a fan of Ryan Seacrest since he hosted Gladiators 2000, and a fan of Vanna White since he was three years old.

Skolnik, a woman who needs money for her adult children’s weddings,  solved the first Toss Up, and Flippen solved the second. He cheered very loudly for his solve. “We’ve got a long way to go. Don’t run out of celebration yet,” Ryan Seacrest said.

Flippen solved the first puzzle, “If These Walls Could Talk Trash,” and every time he spun the wheel, he said, “Come on! Big money.” He also hyped up his opponents every time they spun the wheel.

On the second puzzle, when Flippen asked for an O, he said, “I’d like to buy a vowel. ‘O’ as in Octopus.” He also yelled out for the Bankrupt wedge to “stay away from him,” and it worked. He also said, “‘H’ as in Hello,” ”F’ as in Flippen,” and “‘N’ as in Nancy.” Flippen solved “Cornucopia of Fresh Produce” for $20,050, after getting three “Cs” on $3,500.

During the Prize Puzzle, Flippen shouted out, “Come on, one million!” but landed on “Bankrupt” instead. Hernandez, a mother of three, finally got on the board when she solved the puzzle “Where, Oh, Where, Is That Grizzly Bear?” and won a trip to Anchorage, Alaska, for a total of $14,589.

Flippen cheered loudly when he got the first Triple Toss Up, but he also cheered really loudly when his opponents got the others. By the final puzzle, Flippen had his teammates saying “S’ as in Sam,” and “T’ as in Tom.” Flippen solved “Great Punch Line” for $27,150. Skolnik left with $3,000. Hernandez’s final total was $16,589.

Flippen shook his opponents’ hands before going to the Bonus Round. During the Bonus Round, he said he needed $7,000 to pay off his bills, so he was happy he won enough to do that. As he spun the wheel with force, Flippen shouted, “$100,000!”

He picked “K,M,B, and O” after being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune. Flippen’s puzzle then looked like “_ _ _ _T_N_  M_   _ _ONE.”

As the clock timed down, Flipped guessed “Waiting My Phone,” “Watching My Phone,” “Visiting My Phone,” among others. The correct puzzle was “Updating My Phone.” He lost out on driving home in the Ford. Fans were heartbroken for him after being such an entertaining contestant on the show.

Reddit users thought Rodney was so funny. “Rodney 😭 This man is cracking me up tonight. That’s it, lmao,” one fan posted.

“F AS IN FLIPPIN,” another fan commented. “O AS IN OCTOPUS,” someone responded.

“I also liked how the other contestants started saying <letter> as in <word> when guessing closer to the end of the show,” a third wrote.

“I taped with him in May. Was my favorite dude to hang out with backstage and had me in tears during his game,” a contestant commented.

“My husband and I both said we thoroughly enjoyed watching him and loved his enthusiasm,” one last fan said.

Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock