‘Wheel of Fortune’ Returning Champion Wins $134,000 – See Ryan Seacrest’s Reaction

Brittany Sims April 21, 2026, 11:19 am

Another first for the host! Ryan Seacrest shared that this was the first clean sweep game of Wheel of Fortune he has ever experienced as a host. In September, Seacrest had his first $1 million dollar winner. Find out what his other first was.

Chad Cabanilla, from Nicolett, Minnesota, is the first two-day champion in the Spring Forward Champions Tournament. He returned for his third game on April 20 with a two-day total of $89,710.

On Monday, the flight attendant played against Dan Nottling, from North Prairie, Wisconsin, and Lori Chiavetta, from Clifton, New Jersey. Cabanilla solved both toss-ups for $3,000.

The returning champion picked up the Wild Card and a trip to Washington, D.C. when he solved “Twists, Turns, & Turbochargers.” This gave him a total of $20,200.

Cabanilla lost the Wild Card in the next round when he picked up the Mystery Wedge, and there was “Bankrupt” on the other side. However, the turn moved back to him, and he solved “Speed Up! Slow Down!” for $21,200.

Nottling, a firefighter, tried to ride the Express Wedge after winning $1,500, but guessed a “D,” which wasn’t in the puzzle, and went Bankrupt. Chiavetta, a woman who had been married for 35 years, guessed a letter, which also wasn’t in the puzzle.

Cabanilla then solved “Lush Greenery” and won a trip to Vietnam. This gave him a total of $29,832.

He solved all three Triple Toss-ups, giving him $10,000 more. After Nottling and Chiavetta couldn’t solve the final puzzle, Cabanilla solved “From Coast To Coast.” This gave him a final total of $44,932.

Neither Nottling nor Chiavetta won any money, so they were given $1,000 by Wheel of Fortune. Cabanilla chose “Living Thing” for the Bonus Round.

Once again, Cabanilla brought his husband and best friend. After being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” he rounded out his puzzle with “B,D,F, and I.”

Filled in, the puzzle looked like “_ _ _ _ _ IN FLI_ _T.” The puzzle was “A Hawk In Flight.” Cabanilla could only guess “A Fish” or “A Bird In Flight.”

The envelope had $75,000 in it, which would have given the game show contestant $119,932. He had a three-day total of $134,642. He will return on Tuesday for his fourth game.

At the end of the show, Ryan Seacrest told Vanna White that it was the first clean sweep since he has been hosting.