‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Scream as Ryan Seacrest Calls Out Contestant Who Loses $57,000

Wheel of Fortune fans were screaming at their TV after a contestant was called out for not getting more money. He solved the puzzle, but host Ryan Seacrest wanted him to try to win money. The contestant went on to lose $57,000.

Heidi Edwards, from Virginia Beach, Virginia, returned on April 15 with a one-day total of $26,390 in cash and prizes, as part of the Spring Forward champions tournament. The champion from the night before gets to return. They can continue playing as long as they keep winning.

She solved the first toss-up on Wednesday. The returning champion played against Terry Smith, from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, and Heather Viana, from Rockland, Massachusetts.

Smith, a man who is into baking and makes over 120 cookies during the holiday season, solved the second toss-up. He solved most of the letters in the first puzzle until he landed on Bankrupt. The turn then moved to Viana, a bookkeeper who loves taking naps, who guessed an “H” and then solved “Everybody’s Got A Hungry Heart” for $1,800.

After only guessing one letter when the turn moved to him, Smith solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “All In a Day’s Work of Art.” This gave him $3,100.

Edwards won a trip to Nova Scotia when she solved “Waterfront Restaurants.” She took the lead with $8,000.

Viana solved the first Triple Toss-up. Smith solved the next two, giving him $4,000 more. He was only $900 away from tying Edwards.

During the final puzzle, Viana guessed “Hitting a Grand Ball,” but she was wrong. Once Edwards guessed two “Gs,” she didn’t solve the puzzle. However, when the turn moved to Smith, he said, “I’d like to solve it.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to call a letter first?” Ryan Seacrest asked. The vowel would have been worth $1,700, and with his fight for first place, he needed all the extra money.

“Nah. I’ll just solve it,” Smith said. He solved “Hitting a Grand Slam” for $5,100. This gave him a final total of $12,200 and advanced him to the Bonus Round.

Reddit fans reacted to Smith not getting more money. “‘Do you want some extra money?’ ‘No thanks. I’ll just solve.’ ETA: At least Ryan tried….” one fan said.

“Yeah, I didn’t understand that. If he’s ready to solve, he must know what letters are in it. Bye bye $1,700,” a fan replied.

“More like bye-bye 3400. There were two n’s left,” another replied.

“I am watching it by myself and screaming at the TV. Why???,” a fan said.

“My jaw dropped when Ryan asked, and he opted out of the extra money,” another wrote.

“Still mind-blowing that happened. I would love to know his reasoning. Did he just freeze? Did he not know the letters? He had to know the letters since he knew the answer. Even if he didn’t call N, he could have called something else to get more money. I must admit that I wasn’t rooting for him in the bonus round. Didn’t think he should be rewarded for this poor play,” a fan commented.

“‘No, I’ll just solve.’ I threw my shoe at the TV and yelled a string of words that would make a sailor blush,” one last fan said.

Viana left with $3,800. Edwards went home with $8,000. This gave her a two-day total of $34,390.

Smith chose “Place” for the Bonus Round. He brought his daughter and her friend with him.

Wheel of Fortune gave the game show contestant “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Smith chose “H,D,W, and O.”

The puzzle then looked like “_E_ _H   _ _ _ N_.” He did not try to guess anything and just stared at the board.

“Where do you even begin to talk it out?” Seacrest asked. The puzzle was revealed to be “Beach Cabana.”

Inside the envelope was $45,000, which would have given him $57,200. Smith will return on Thursday for his second game.