‘Wheel of Fortune’: Skier Loses Car as She Fumbles ‘Evil’ Puzzle
A skier lost out on taking home a car on Wheel of Fortune after she fumbled a puzzle fans called “evil.” The contestant was only two letters away from solving the puzzle.
Jess Graham, from Brockton, Massachusetts, played against Rocky Brown, from Chicago, Illinois, and Duane Chapman, from Lubbock, Texas, on January 26. Graham comes from a family of skiers who have been doing it for years. She is also a wife and mother of three.
She solved both of the toss-ups, putting $3,000 in her bank. Brown, who is training to be on Survivor, guessed most of the letters in the first puzzle. However, when he guessed “M,” it wasn’t in there, and the turn moved to Chapman, a basketball lover, who solved “High School Yearbook Photo” for $1,000.
Graham solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “Sparkling Water Taxi” — for $10,050. She landed on the “Year of Fun” wedge worth $4,500. She solved the prize puzzle — “Happy Smiling Faces” — and won a trip to Finland, making her total $22,544.
Graham solved two of the three “Song Lyrics” triple toss-ups, putting $4,000 in her bank. Brown solved the other, giving him $2,000 more.
Chapman solved the final puzzle —”Thermal Underwear” — putting $7,600 in his bank. This gave him a final total of $8,600.
Brown went home with $2,000. Graham was the night’s big winner with $26,544.
She chose “Phrase” for her Bonus Round category. Graham brought her husband, Andy, with her to cheer her on.
After being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune, the game show contestant chose “C,G,H, and O” to round out her puzzle. It then looked like “THE_ GOT O_T_O_E_.”
As the timer counted down, Graham guessed “They Got Outvoted,” “They Got Outmoved,” and “They Got Outdoved.” The correct answer was “They Got Outfoxed.”
“A tricky one at the end there,” host Ryan Seacrest said. He revealed the envelope to have the Ford in it.
Fans reacted to the puzzle in the YouTube comments. “That’s sort of an unfair puzzle. It’s like picking Ivy in Hangman,” one said.
“Now that puzzle was evil,” another wrote.
“What kind of phrase was that?” a third asked.
“What in the 1847 phrases are these?! They got outfoxed?! What’s next? They got outdiscombobulated? They got outbamboozled?” another wondered.
“I’ve never heard of that phrase before. The X tricked us again!” one last fan said.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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