‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Loses $81,000 After He Couldn’t ‘Focus’ On Bonus Puzzle

A Wheel of Fortune contestant lost $81,00 during the Bonus Round puzzle when he couldn’t “focus” on it. The contestant is a Houston transplant who takes other transplants to their first rodeo.

Zack Miller, from Houston, Texas, played against Kesha Corbin, from Temperanceville, Virginia, and Mary Tolmer, from Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday, November 20. Miller also makes his own ice cream, and his favorite flavor is margarita.

He played a good game until the last round. Miller solved the first toss-up — “Staying the Course.” Tolmer, a woman who designed her own home, solved the second one — “A Work in Progress.”

Although Tolmer guessed most of the letters in the first puzzle, Miller solved “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” for the lead of $2,400.  He also solved the Mystery Puzzle — “Tuning Fork In The Road” — for $11,000.

Miller took even more of a lead when he solved the Prize Puzzle — “Tranquil Desert Oasis” — and won a trip to Morocco, giving him $22,740.

Tolmer solved one of the Triple Toss Ups. Corbin, a woman who likes going to festivals with her kids, buzzed in on the last one, but didn’t say the phrase correctly, so the last two went to Miller.

Tolmer solved the final puzzle — “Whatever Will Be Will Be”— for $6,000. She went home with a total of $10,000.

Corbin didn’t win any money, so Wheel of Fortune gave her $1,000. Miller was the night’s big winner with $26,740.

Miller brought his mom, Ellen, and his boyfriend, Stephen, with him to cheer him on. He watches Wheel at home with his mom, and said she probably solved more puzzles than him during the game.

Wheel of Fortune provided the game show contestant with “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Miller then chose “M,C,P, and A” to round out his puzzle. It then looked like “_ _ _   _A_E  T_  _ _C_S.”

As the timer counted down, he guessed “Big Game to Focus,” “Big Wave to Focus,” “Something Focus.”

“You were on a track that was right,” host Ryan Seacrest said. The puzzle was revealed to be “You Have to Focus.” He lost out on taking home an additional $55,000, which would have given him $81,740.

“A big number, but it was a great night,” Seacrest said.