‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Fans React After ‘Wildly Nervous’ Contestant Makes Them Yell at TV
Oh no! A Wheel of Fortune contestant made a costly mistake that had fans ripping their hair out. His opponent made it to the Bonus Round but failed to take home a car.
Dereck Johnson, from Central Islip, New York, solved the first toss-up on March 26. He was inaugurated into the Pride Basketball Hall of Fame. If he wins the game, he wants to order everything off a restaurant’s menu.
He played against Kristy Cain, from Citrus Springs, Florida, and Ken Maddin, from Aurora, Indiana. Cain, a salon owner and stylist with four daughters, solved the second toss-up.
Cain also solved the first puzzle — “Another Brilliant Idea” — which gave her $4,350. Johnson then solved “Slow Down, This Isn’t The Mainland” for $7,500.
There were still a lot of letters left to guess when Johnson solved “Stunning Turn of Events.” Since it was the prize puzzle, he won a trip to Tuscany, Italy. This gave him a total of $17,167.
Johnson solved all three Triple Toss-ups, putting $10,000 more in his bank. On the last puzzle, Maddin, a man who said he cries more as he gets older, tried to spin the wheel after it was already set. Then, every letter he guessed wasn’t on the board.
Maddin finally solved “Vocabulary Words” and received $1,000 from WOF. But, he didn’t guess a letter beforehand to give him extra money. Cain went home with $6,350. Johnon was the winner with $27, 167.
Johnson advanced to the Bonus Round, where he chose “Phrase.” He brought his husband, aunt, and work mom with him.
After being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” Johnson chose “H,G,C, and O.” His puzzle then looked like “_O_ _ _ _ TH_T ON _ _R_OSE.”
The game show contestant did not guess anything as the clock counted down. “You had a lot to fill in there,” host Ryan Seacrest said.
The puzzle revealed itself to be “You Did That On Purpose.”
“That was tough,” Johnson said.
“That was tough. I agree with you,” Seacrest replied. The Toyota was inside the envelope.
Reddit users reacted to Maddin’s game. “Ken was wildly nervous the entire game and cost himself money at the end there,” one fan said, referring to him not guessing a letter before solving the final puzzle.
“I yelled at my TV,” another replied.
“So sad to watch! I died when he tried to spin after time had been called,” a third added.
“Ken absolutely sent me when he tried to spin the wheel after the final spin,” another said.
“Poor Ken was a deer in headlights tonight,” one last fan wrote.
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