‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans React to Contestant’s Buzzer Disaster Before $63,000 Loss

What was she thinking? Wheel of Fortune fans reacted to a contestant’s buzzer disaster on an episode that ended with a tough $63,000 loss.

Lynette Farmer, from Barrington, Illinois, returned for her second game on April 29, having already won a total of $60,873 as part of the Spring Forward Champions Tournament.

On Wednesday, she played against Ryan Johnston, from Bancroft, Michigan, and Audrey Ross, from Pensacola, Florida. Ross, a casino lover, tried to solve both toss-ups, but said the wrong words both times. This allowed Johnston, a music lover who has never been to a concert, to buzz in and solve them both.

During the “Before & After” puzzle, Ross solved everything but three letters. She started off by buying vowels until there were no more left. Ross then landed on Bankrupt, so she didn’t get to solve it. “I know what it is,” Ross said before the turn moved to Farmer.

With only one letter left, Farmer solved “Don’t Add Fuel to the Fire-Breathing Dragon.” This gave her $1,200.

Ross then started off the next round with a Bankrupt. Farmer solved most of it, but landed on “Lose a Turn.” After guessing one letter, Johnston guessed “Baked Apples With Brown Sugar.” He had $4,500.

During the Prize Puzzle, Ross did the same thing. She guessed two letters before buying up all of the vowels. The game show contestant then landed on “Lose a Turn.”

Farmer then solved all but one word. With only three letters left, she guessed an “M,” which wasn’t in the puzzle. Then, Johnston solved “You Will Not Be Disappointed” after guessing one letter. He won a trip to Tokyo, giving him $18,872.

When the first Triple Toss-up showed one letter, Ross buzzed in. Host Ryan Seacrest encouraged her to answer, but she said, “I didn’t even know I hit it.” Farmer went on to solve it and another. Johnston solved the third.

Johnston solved the final puzzle — “I’m On A Budget.” This made his final total $23,872.

Ross didn’t win any money, so Wheel of Fortune gave her $1,000. Farmer won $5,200. This made her two-day total $66,073.

Johnston chose “Person” for his Bonus Round category. He brought his mom and stepdad with him.

After Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” Johnston picked “M,D,H, and O.” The puzzle then looked like “_O_TH_ _L   _ _ _.”

He didn’t guess anything as the clock counted down. “I don’t know where you’d start, really,” Seacrest said. The puzzle was “Youthful Guy.”

$40,000 was in the envelope, which would have given him $63,872. Johnston will return on Thursday for his second game.

Fans couldn’t help but comment on Ross’ gameplay. “Audrey buzzing on the first of the Triple Toss Ups had me laughing,” a Reddit user said.

“And staring at her buzzer like, ‘Where did this thing come from?'” a fan replied.

“Watching Audrey is like… I don’t want to watch, but I can’t look away lol,” a third said.

“I’m dead. Audrey is making me laugh,” a fan commented.

“Audrey was a combination of horrible luck and horrible player,” one Reddit user said.

“I felt bad for Audrey, wanted her to get more than the minimum 1,000,” one last fan wrote.