‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Call Show ‘Brutal’ After Air Force Veteran Loses $54,000
It’s Veterans week on Wheel of Fortune, and the contestants were met with a brutal fate as they continuously landed on Bankrupts. One contestant lost out on taking home $54,000 in the Bonus Round.
Hope Kurtz, from Palm City, Florida, played against Mary McGee, from Plainfield, Illinois, and Kevin Dunn, from Dixon, California, on February 17. Kurtz is an Air Force veteran who now works as an X-ray, mammography, and ultrasound technologist.
Dunn, an Army veteran who joined because one of his high school friends did, solved the first toss-up. Kurtz solved the second one, putting her in the lead.
After only having two letters left in the puzzle, Kurtz landed on Bankrupt. Dunn then immediately landed on another one. McGee, a Navy veteran, tried to solve the first puzzle, with “Grateful Gazelles & Giant Giraffes,” but she was wrong. Kurtz solved “Graceful Gazelles and Giant Giraffes” for $3,000.
After landing on $10,000 on the Mystery Wedge, Dunn landed on Bankrupt, losing the wedge. Two spins later, McGee landed on Bankrupt. When it was Kurtz’s turn, she immediately landed on the dreaded wedge. Dunn eventually solved the next puzzle — “Worn Clothes Straight Out of the Hamper” — for $1,000, giving him $2,000. Kurtz solved “Rest and Relaxation” for a trip to Curacao, giving her a total of $14,211.
“No more Bankrupts”! host Ryan Seacrest said.
Dunn solved two of the three Triple Toss-ups, putting $4,000 more in his bank. McGee solved the last one — “People Who Never Stop Talking” — for $2,000.
“Just say Ryan next time,” Seacrest chimed in.
McGee got $4,950, for a total of $6,950, when she solved the final puzzle — “Sold Our Crowd.” Dunn went home with $6,000. Kurtz was the night’s big winner with $14,211.
She chose “Phrase” for her Bonus Round category. Kurtz brought her husband, R.B., whom she has known for 13 years, with her. They recently got married.
After being given “R, S, T, L, N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune, Kurtz chose “C, D, H, and O” to round out her puzzle. Her puzzle then looked like “_ _C_ _N_ _ND CHOOS_N_.”
As the clock counted down, Kurtz guessed “Making and Choosing,” “Watching and Choosing,” and “Acting and Choosing.”
“You were so close!” Seacrest said. The puzzle was “Picking and Choosing.”
She lost out on taking home an additional $40,000, which would have given her a total of $54,211.
Reddit fans took to the platform to say how rough it was. “This was a rough episode to watch,” one said.
“Rough watch, capped by the person not solving an easy puzzle in the Bonus Round. Shocking. I was yelling so much in the Bonus Round. Wow wow wow,” another commented.
“Yikes,” added a third.
“What else could that last puzzle have been?! I have never heard any word other than picking when ‘and choosing’ follows,” one fan said of the Bonus Round.
“Geez. That was painful all around,” another wrote.
“That was a hard one to watch,” one last fan said.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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