‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Wins Jaw-Dropping $158,000 on Special Bonus Round

A Wheel of Fortune contestant won a jaw-dropping $158,000 after a special bonus round puzzle allowed him to rack up more cash. The top three contestants from the week came back on Friday, November 28, to compete again and try to win more money in the DraftKings Casino Multiplier Tournament, where contestants had the chance to win up to $500,000.

The players who returned were Tanequa Ward, from Laveen, Arizona. She won $20,105, after not solving the Bonus Round puzzle, Toni Perrotta, from Sherman Oaks, California, won $70,572 in cash and prizes. Chorsie Calbert IV, from Whitehall, Ohio, was the third player. He lost out on taking home a car, but $20,800 in total.

Ward and Calbert both solved one Toss Up each. Perrotta, a self-professed karaoke queen, got on the board when she solved “Money, That’s What I Want.” Ward, a big Arizona sports fan, tried to solve it, but guessed “Honey” instead of “Money.”

Perrotta solved “Hockey & Fish Stick” for $8,150. Calbert took the lead when he won a trip to Thailand after solving “Palaces & Temples.” This gave him $11,819.

Calbert solved one of the Triple Toss-Ups while Ward solved the other two. Calbert solved the final puzzle — “Great Champion” — and advanced to the Bonus Round.

He got emotional, and host Ryan Seacrest came over to console him. “Great job, buddy. How are you feeling?” he asked. Calbert could barely answer him as his bank totaled $17,619.

Ward took home $5,000, giving her a grand total of $25,105. Perrotta walked away with $8,150, giving her $78,722 for the whole week.

Calbert chose “What Are You Doing?” for his Bonus Round category.

In the Bonus Round, all of the envelopes with cash amounts were replaced with 2x, 3x, and 4x envelopes, which meant the game show contestant played for $250,000.

The way this Bonus Round worked was that Calbert had to try and solve five rapid-fire toss-up puzzles in the same category in 45 seconds. Each one was worth $10,000. He had to buzz in and solve it. If he was right, the money was added to his bank. If he was wrong, he moved on, but continued solving.

In five seconds, Calbert solved “Scribbling Something Down” for the first one. He earned $20,000 when he solved “Jumping on the Bandwagon.”

Calbert solved the third one — “Improving My Flexibility” — for $30,000. “Weighing All of My Options” was the fourth puzzle he solved.

When it came time for the fifth puzzle, Calbert only had five seconds left. He didn’t solve it in time, but won $40,000. The puzzle was “Making Homemade Pizza.”

His envelope had 3x in it, so he walked away with $120,000. This gave him a daily total of $137,619. For the whole week, he won $158,419.