‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Bash Show’s Prizes as Contestant Loses $73,000
Wheel of Fortune fans blasted the game show over something which they said didn’t make sense. This came after a contestant lost out on taking home $73,000.
Amber Cleaver, from Hyattsville, Maryland, solved the first toss-up. She is a civil defense attorney in federal and state courts. Cleaver also has a son who is competing in the U.S. Junior Olympics gymnastics team.
During Hawaii Week, Cleaver played against John Casey, from Waterford, Michigan, and Erin Temple, from Huntington Beach, California, on March 24. Temple, who is a wax salon owner, solved the second toss-up.
After numerous Bankrupts, Lose a Turns, and wrong letters, guessing, Casey, a man who is known as the president of positivity, picked up the one-million-dollar wedge. He guessed a “W,” and then solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “A Long Way From Home Fries” — for $1,000.
He also solved “Manta Rays and Mahi-Mahi” for $5,700. During the next round, Casey decided to ride the Express Train, which gave him $1,000 per consonant he guessed, but if he guessed one that wasn’t up there, it was a total Bankrupt.
The man who founded Operation Potato Power at his granddaughter’s school solved “The Changing of The Leaves,” giving him $15,200. Since it was the prize puzzle, Casey won a trip to New England, Quebec, and Montreal, Canada. This gave him a total of $33,200.
Cleaver solved all three Triple Toss-ups, giving her an extra $10,000. She also solved the final puzzle — “Combination to a Safe.” Cleaver took home a total of $17,000.
Temple went home with $2,000. Casey was the night’s winner with $33,200. He advanced to the Bonus Round, where he chose “Thing” for his category.
Casey brought his wife with him. He had the chance to win $1 million, as he still had the wedge.
Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Casey chose “H,F,C, and O” to round out his puzzle.
It then looked like “_ _ER_ OF THE _O_.” As the clock counted down, Casey guessed “A Herd of the Fox,” “A Herd of…,” “A Word of the…” But he couldn’t guess “A Perk of the Job.”
Since there was $40,000 in the envelope, Casey would have won $73,200. Although fans were sad to see Casey lose, they bashed the game show for something else.
Each week, Wheel of Fortune has a theme. From March 23 to March 27, the theme is Hawaii Week. The host dress up in themed outfits, and usually puzzles and prizes match it. The Hawaii trip was a wedge on the board, but it wasn’t an option to win during the prize puzzle.
Fans reacted to the prize on Reddit. “A trip to New England for Hawaiian week…” one said.
“Panama yesterday. I don’t get it,” replied another.
“A Quebec trip – by train? I thought they’d be handing out Hawaiian trips,” a third added.
“Where is the Hawaii in Hawaii Week? Is it the palm fronds on the wall? Ryan’s shirt? SMH,” another said.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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