‘Wheel of Fortune’: ‘American Idol’ Reject Loses $74,000 After Ryan Seacrest Blames Judges
A Wheel of Fortune contestant was “so close” to winning the Bonus Round puzzle, which would have given him $74,000 in total and a trip. But he couldn’t figure out the first word of the puzzle.
Shayne Cowell, from Reno, Nevada, auditioned for American Idol in 2006, which is also hosted by Ryan Seacrest. He, however, did not win, and mostly sings in the shower and at karaoke these days. He is also a big gamer and owns more than 10,000 video games.
“I blame the judges for everything,” Seacrest said jokingly about the contestant missing out on his ‘Idol; chance.
Cowell played against Brian Stokes, Jr., from Baltimore, Maryland, and Erin Clarke, from Escondido, California, on January 15. He solved the first toss-up for $1,000. Stokes, an Orioles and Ravens fan, solved the second one for $2,000.
Clarke, a fitness trainer and coach, solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “Third Times a Charm Bracelet” — for $1,600. This put all of the contestants on the board and gave them an even shot of making it to the Bonus Round.
Clarke took the lead when she solved the “Pet Peeve” puzzle — “Rushing to Get Into the Elevator Before People Get Off.” This gave her $17,298 because she landed on the trip wedge on the wheel, adding the value of a Utah trip to her prize pot.
Cowell solved “You’ll Be Spellbound” in the Prize Puzzle. He won a trip to multiple countries in Europe, which gave him a total of $13,748.
Cowell jumped into the lead when he solved all three Triple Toss-Ups, making his total $23,748. He also solved the final puzzle — “Dribbles, Shoots, Scores!” — making his final total $29,148.
Clarke ended with $17,298. Stokes went home with $2,000.
Cowell advanced to the Bonus Round and chose “Phrase” for his category. The game show contestant brought his husband, Robert, with him.
He was given “R,S,T,L,N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune. Cowell chose “H,G,P, and I” to round out his puzzle. It then looked like “_ _ _ _ _ _LIGHT.”
As the clock counted down, Cowell guessed “Pick a Flight,” “Take a Flight,” “Fly a Flight,” “Go For A Flight,” “Catch a Flight,” but he couldn’t quite figure out the first word, which was “Book a Flight.”
He lost out on taking home an additional $45,000 and a trip to Finland, since it was Collette week and each envelope had a trip attached to it as well. This would have given him a total of $74,148.
“He almost had it. That was so close,” a YouTube user said.
“So close,” said another.
“He missed book a flight? That was so easy with the O’s that could have helped,” a third added.
“No cigar for Shayne,” another wrote.
“Shayne failed $37,068. So Close!” one last fan said.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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