‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Takes Home $13,000 After Last-Second Win
That was a close one! A Wheel of Fortune contestant won at the last second and got to advance to the Bonus Round. There, he couldn’t solve the puzzle, but took home over $13,000.
Karen Stevenson, from Joliet, Illinois, returned on April 8 after winning $33,934 the night before. She solved the first toss-up on Wednesday.
The returning champion played against Gabriella Araneta, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and Jim Spallina, from Chicago, Illinois, on April 9. Spallina, a sports fan of every team except the Cubs, solved the second toss-up.
Aranetta, a speech-language pathologist, solved most of the next puzzle. She guessed “Redwoods, Rikers, Ranges,” but was wrong. The turn moved to Spallina, who solved “Redwoods, Rivers, Ranges” for $1,000, giving him $2,000. He also obtained the One Million Dollar Wedge during the round.
Aranetta finally got on the board when she solved “A Big Fish In A Small Pond.” This gave her $1,000. Stevenson also gained the Wild Card that round. Aranetta also solved “Win a Dance Battle” for a trip to the Dominican Republic. She had a total of $11,560.
Spallina solved two of the three Triple Toss-ups. He thought he had the third one, but guessed the wrong last word. Aranetta swooped in and solved “Swimming Hole” instead of “Swimming Pool” and gave herself $2,000 more.
Spallina solved the final puzzle — “Licking Your Face” — for $6,800. This put him in the lead at $13,800.
Aranette ended with $13,560. Stevenson went home with $1,000 and a two-day total of $34,934.
Spallina advanced to the Bonus Round, where he chose “Place.” He brought his friend, Megan, with him.
“R,S,T,L,N, and E” were given to him by Wheel of Fortune. Spallina chose “D,M,H, and A.”
The puzzle looked like “S_A_ _ _ _S H_ _SE.” The game show contestant guessed “Something House” as the clock ticked down. He couldn’t figure out “Spacious House.”
A price of $40,000 was in the envelope, which would have given Spallina a total of $53,800. He will return on Thursday for a second chance. However, the champion was happy that the One Million Dollars wasn’t in the envelope.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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