‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Sighs & Gets Another Chance After Losing $88,000

Brittany Sims April 8, 2026, 11:12 am

A big loss! A Wheel of Fortune contestant sighed after losing $88,000. Did the returning champion lose another Bonus Round?

Returning champion Raul Lopez, who won $18,109 on April 6, tried to win his second game on Tuesday. The College Station, Texas, resident faced off against Ben Johnson, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Karen Stevenson, from Joliet, Illinois, on April 7.

Johnson, a pastor who enjoys swing dancing with his wife, solved the first toss-up. Lopez, who got no sleep on Monday, solved the second toss-up.

Stevenson, a woman who has a 109-year-old grandma, solved “You Can’t Beat The Price!” for $1,350. She also obtained the Wild Card during the round. Stevenson lost the Wild Card in the next round when she landed on Bankrupt.

Johnson landed on the Mystery wedge, which had $10,000 on the other side. However, he did not win that as Stevenson solved the Crossword puzzle in the category “American ___” — “History, Idol, Buffalo, League.” She landed on the Colorado trip wedge, which gave her $15,600.

After Lopez called a few letters and then repeated one, the turn moved to Stevenson. She automatically solved “See You Later, Alligator.” Stevenson won a trip to Mexico, which gave her a total of $27,134.

All three game show contestants solved one Triple Toss-up each, giving them $2,000 more in their banks. Stevenson solved the final puzzle — “High School Gym Teacher” — for $4,800.

This gave her a final total of $33,934. She advanced to the Bonus Round, where she chose “Person” for the category.

Johnson took home $3,000. Lopez went home with $4,000 and would not be returning, but left with a total of $22,109.

Stevenson brought her sister, Shirley, who cares for her grandmother, with her. Wheel of Fortune gave her “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” and she chose “M,P, D, and A.”

The puzzle looked like “A _ _MAN D_NAM_.” She guessed “A Woman Dynamite,” but couldn’t solve “A Human Dynamo.”

Stevenson sighed when she saw the envelope contained $55,000, which would have given her $88,934. She will be back on Wednesday for her second game.