‘Wheel of Fortune’: Magician Loses Car After Stealing Ryan Seacrest’s Watch

A Wheel of Fortune contestant stole host Ryan Seacrest‘s watch during the Bonus Round. The contestant is an amateur magician who usually deals with cards. This trick wasn’t enough for him to win, and he lost out on taking home a car.

Curt Ostrow, from Deptford, New Jersey, played against Melissa Jean, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Dalia Ramirez, from Claremont, California, on November 17. Ostrow has done card tricks for 50 years and is always asked to bring his cards to parties.

Ostrow solved the first two toss-ups, giving him $3,000. Jean, a cupcake and R&B fan, solved the first puzzle in “Song Lyrics,” which was “Teach Your Children Well.” This gave her the lead with $4,100.

The next puzzle was a Crossword in the category “Sheet.” Jean solved “Time, Fitted, Bed, Cookie” for $5,100. Ostrow solved the Prize Puzzle — “Famous Hospitality” — and won a trip to Antigua. This put him in the lead with $14,916.

Jean solved two of the three triple toss-ups. The time ran out before the third one could be solved.

Ramirez, a woman who likes making costumes, finally got on the board when she solved the final puzzle — “The Four Seasons.” This gave her a total of $6,200.

Jean went home with $9,100. Ostrow was the big winner with $14,916. He advanced to the Bonus Round, where he chose “Fun & Games” for his category.

After Ryan Seacrest told the crowd how much money the magician made, he looked at his empty wrist. “Where’s my watch?” the host asked.

“Oop,” Ostrow replied, pulling it out of his pocket. Seacrest snatched the watch out of the game show contestant’s hand and put it back on his wrist.

Ostrow brought his wife of 44 years, Marianne, with him. After Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” he picked “G,C,H, and A.”

His puzzle then looked like “_E_AL_NG  A  _N_C_CLE.” As the timer counted down, he guessed “Dealing a….” but couldn’t quite guess it.

“Pedaling a Unicycle” was the puzzle, and Ostrow lost out on taking home a Toyota. He and the audience groaned.

Ryan Seacrest then gave the man his watch and said, “You can have this. It’s a Wheel of Fortune watch. Enjoy.”