‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Wins $79,000 With Stunning Puzzle Solve That Rocked Ryan Seacrest

A Wheel of Fortune contestant stunned viewers and host Ryan Seacrest on Thursday’s (October 30) “Halloween Week” episode with a highly unlikely puzzle solve in the Bonus Round.

The contestant in question was beach-loving Ashika Bhan from Salem, Oregon, who was up against mohawk-sporting Steff Du Bois from Chicago, Illinois, and horror apparel company worker Kimmy Blankenburg from Rochester, New York.

Bhan got off to a hot start, solving the $1K Toss-Up and $2K Toss-Up puzzles. Despite landing on a Bankrupt twice in Round 1, the Oregon native was able to capitalize on her opponents’ mistakes and solved the “Same Letter” puzzle for $5,700.

Du Bois got on the board in the Mystery Round, but Bhan fired back in the Express Round, solving a “Things” puzzle to win a Road Scholar tour of Romania, including a visit to Dracula’s Castle, worth $10,700.

While Du Bois answered two more puzzles correctly in the Triple Toss-Up, he couldn’t do enough to stop Bhan’s momentum. After nailing the final Triple Toss-Up and the Speed-Up puzzle, Bhan won the episode with $29,400 cash, plus a trip to Romania.

Heading into the Bonus Round, Bhan selected the “Phrase” category, along with the letters “P, G, C, and A.” Unfortunately, only one of those letters appeared on the board, giving her a tricky two-word puzzle that read: “_ _ G _ L _ / _ N L _ _ E L _.”

It seemed to be an impossible puzzle, but as Seacrest told her to “take a look at it and talk it out,” Bhan’s jaw dropped as it appeared she worked it out before the timer even began. “I know it,” she whispered.

“She says she knows it,” Seacrest said. “Let me just finish this part where I gotta say you got ten seconds and good luck.”

As the timer began, Bhan excitedly shouted the correct answer, “Highly Unlikely.”

“She did know it!” added a surprised Seacrest. “How’d you do that?!”

The American Idol host then opened the prize envelope to reveal that Bhan had won an extra $50,000, giving her a grand total of $79,400. “She advertised she knew it, and she did, and it’s a good thing [she] did know it,” he stated as Bhan celebrated with her husband and loved ones.

Fans took to social media to praise Bhan’s impressive puzzle-solving skills, with one YouTube commenter writing, “That was a big toughie. The fact she got it, I’m impressed.”

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“Holy cow, great solve!” said another.

“Wow good job Ashika! That was highly unlikely a good solve,” another added.

Another wrote, “A tough one, but she got it.”

“Great solve. I had NO IDEA,” said one fan.

“Wow excellent solve!! 🙌🏾Congratulations!!” added another.

Did you figure out this Bonus Puzzle? What did you think of Thursday’s episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.