‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blast Show as Contestant Loses $80,000 on ‘Ridiculous’ Puzzle
Wheel of Fortune fans were confused over the Bonus Round puzzle that some considered “ridiculous” and too obscure. The game show contestant didn’t know it either and lost $80,000.
Allie Heard, from Newburgh, New York, solved the first toss-up on March 2. She works for a wedding entertainment company and helps brides and grooms with their song selection.
Heard played against Farah Magsayo, from Elkridge, Maryland, and Ben Hamburger, from Los Angeles, California. Hamburger, who is a psychologist, solved the second toss-up. His friends wanted him to call his practice “Hamburger Helper,” but he thought it was too cute.
Magsayo, an English language development teacher who’s studying Spanish, solved the “Before & After” puzzle with only a few letters left. She solved “Perfect Stranger Things” for $1,000.
Heard solved the next puzzle — “A Case of the Zoomies” — with only two letters left, after her opponents guessed the wrong letters. This gave her the lead with $2,700.
Magsayo solved most of the Prize Puzzle until she landed on Bankrupt. Hamburger then swooped in and solved “Amazing Sightseeing Spots” for a trip to Tokyo. He took the lead with $15,372.
Hamburger solved all three Triple Toss-ups quickly. This gave him an additional $10,000. Magsayo solved the final puzzle — “Pet Chihuahua” — when there were only vowels left. This gave her a final total of $2,900.
Heard went home with $2,700. Hamburger won with $25,372. He chose “Event” for his Bonus Round category.
Hamburger brought his dad, Paul, and his wife, Diana, with him, who wanted to go on a trip to Asia. Ben and Diana are celebrating 10 year of marriage and plan to take the trip for their anniversary.
“R,S,T,L,N, and E” was put on the board by Wheel of Fortune. Hamburger picked “B,G,H, and O” for the rest of his puzzle.
It looked like “B_ _ _ _ _R_ _L_ _B _ _E.” He didn’t guess anything as the clock wound down. The puzzle was “Backyard Clambake.”
“How were you going to get there? You needed more letters,” host Ryan Seacrest said.
There was $55,000 in the envelope, which would have given the doctor a total of $80,372. Reddit fans were so confused about the Bonus puzzle.
“What the f**k are they doing with backyard clambake? come onnnn,” one fan asked.
“Yeah, that was ridiculous. But it’s funny: I always hate when the contestant picks C D M A (it’s becoming the new R S T L N E), but if he actually had picked those letters, he might have solved the puzzle!” another replied.
“I don’t even know what a clambake is. Never heard of that until today,” a fan said.
“What is a clambake, and who is doing it in their backyard?” a fan wanted to know.
Other fans said it is a known thing in New England. A clambake is a traditional coastal cooking method where seafood is steamed over seaweed in a fire pit or large pot with other sides.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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