‘Wheel Of Fortune’: Ryan Seacrest Reacts After Stunning Fast $78,000 Win

Brittany Sims April 28, 2026, 11:19 am

How’d he do that so fast? A Wheel of Fortune contestant was left in shock after he won $78,000 on the Bonus Round puzzle. Host Ryan Seacrest wondered how he solved it so fast.

Drew Rummel, from Sarver, Pennsylvania, returned for his third game on April 27. As part of the Spring Forward championship tournament, he has won two games and accumulated $89,058 so far.

On Monday, the motorcycle rider played against Veronica Sanchez, from Lake Station, Indiana, and Brad Baca, from Atlanta, Texas. Rummel solved the first toss-up while Baca, high school assistant principal and former football coach, solved the second one.

Baca took it to one letter left to solve the “Before & After” puzzle — “Spring Is In The Air Conditioning.” He took a big lead with $12,900.

Rummel solved “Gondola Ride Through Venice” and put $13,600 in his bank, taking the lead. Sanchez, who enjoys playing Bingo, solved most of the prize puzzle. However, she landed on Bankrupt, and the turn moved to Baca. He solved “Hogging The Armrest” and won a trip to New Zealand. This gave him the lead with $23,999.

All three game show contestants solved a Triple Toss-up each, putting $2,000 more in their banks. Baca solidified his lead when he solved “Here You Come Again.” This gave him a total of $33,999.

Sanchez took home $2,000. Rummel had $15,600. This made his three-day total $104,658.

Baca advanced to the Bonus Round, where he chose “Thing.” He was given “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Baca chose “C,D,M, and A” to round out the puzzle.

It then looked like “_R_ _EN _PACT.” Before the clock could count down, Baca solved “Proven Fact.”

The envelope had $45,000 in it, which gave him a total of $78,999. He will be back on Tuesday for his second game.