‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans React After Trash Collector’s Heartbreaking $58,000 Loss
A Wheel of Fortune contestant, who likes to find treasure in other people’s trash, lost out on taking home $58,000 during the Bonus Round.
Maureen O’Hara, from Naperville, Illinois, played against Saloni Khushal, from Fort Worth, Texas, and Jack Kehn, from Santa Cruz, California, on January 1, the first game of 2026. O’Hara revealed that she drives around her neighborhood the night before trash pickup and collects the “pretty” things other people put out.
O’Hara solved one toss-up while Khushal, a competitive singer in a karaoke league, solved the second one. Khushal took the lead when she solved “Swiftly Swimming Swans” for $4,600.
However, O’Hara quickly moved to first place with $8,000 when she solved “Snowman in the Front Yard.” Kehn, a competitive man, went from $0 to the lead when he solved the Prize Puzzle round with only four letters left. He won a trip to Tokyo and put $11,899 in his bank.
O’Hara took back the lead when she solved all three Triple Toss-Ups, putting $10,000 in her bank, which gave her $18,000. Kehn made it a close game when he solved the last puzzle — “We’re Almost There” — For $4,800, giving him $16,699.
O’Hara came out with the win and advanced to the Bonus Round. Khushal ended the game with $4,600.
O’Hara chose “Living Thing” as her Bonus Round category. She was given “R,S,T,L,N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune. The game show contestant chose “D,C,G, and A” to round out her puzzle.
The puzzle then looked like “A _ _LD _R_NC_.” As the clock counted down, O’Hara guessed “A Wild Wrench,” and “A Wild Trench.”
She couldn’t quite figure out “A Wild Bronco.” $40,000 was in the envelope, which would have given her a total of $58,000. O’Hara couldn’t collect the money, but most likely got to keep the envelope with the amount written on it.
Were you able to solve the puzzle? Let us know in the comments below.
“Yeah. I didn’t have this one either,” a YouTube user said.
“Not a good start to the new year,” another commented.
“‘A Bald Prince’ was as close as I got on this one lol,” added a third.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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