‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blast Show’s ‘Cheap’ Prizes After Contestant Wins Car
Wheel of Fortune fans were not happy with a contestant’s car win because they thought the vehicle was cheap. This came just after the game show gave away a $70,000 sports car.
Chelsea Calabro, from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, solved both toss-ups on May 26. She has been dancing since she was a child and loves all different types, but says her favorite is Hula.
Calabro played against Jimmil Hawkins, from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Brian Kinslow, from Narberth, Pennsylvania. Hawkins loves auto racing and watching old game shows with his family.
With only two letters left, Kinslow, who runs a sales company, obtained the wild card and solved “Planes, Plateaus, & Prairies.” This gave him $2,900.
Hawkins got on the board and took the lead with $4,000 when he solved “Declaration of Independence.” Calabro won a trip to Barbados when she solved “Keep a Journal.” This put her in the lead with $12,132.
Kinslow solved two of three triple toss-ups while Hawkins solved the third. Calabro solved the final puzzle — “The Middle Ground” — for an additional $8,500. This gave her a total of $20,632.
“Tell me ‘Where on Earth’ the middle ground is???” a Reddit user asked.
“Came here for this comment. What the heck is that?” another replied.
“Yeah. I didn’t care for that,” a third wrote.
Hawkins left with $6,000. Kinslow took home $6,900.
Calabro chose “Living Thing” for her Bonus Round category. She brought her husband, Troy, with her.
Wheel of Fortune gave out the usual “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Calabro rounded out the puzzle with “D,H,C, and A.”
“_ _ _ANA” was what the puzzle looked like after all of the letters were revealed. She thought for a second before guessing “Iguana.”
Calabro was right, and she screamed as host Ryan Seacrest joined in celebration and bobbed up and down as he revealed the envelope.
The contestant won the Ford Maverick XL, worth $29,840. This gave her a combined total of $50,472.
Fans thought the car Calabro won was cheap compared to the normal cash prizes of typically $40,000 and above. “Can we please, PLEASE stop offering cars that are way below the minimum? Pretty please? With sugar on top?” a Reddit user said.
“They went pretty cheap on the vehicle,” another commented.
“Really unfair,” a fan wrote.
“That was an easy puzzle,” another said.
Do you think the car was cheap? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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S
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, as the old proverb goes. People wanting something for nothing.
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J
I think ,I'd be grateful just to be on the
show. Then win ,wow , I realize I'll have to pay taxes. If I don't need a vehicle. I'd give it away and they could pay me for the taxes.
Or better yet. Sell raffle tickets for the vehicle. Hey you got your 15 minutes of fame.on TV.. Thats alot more than
75 % of other people.
Thanks.
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J
Great response!
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B
If something is free stfu if it's not enough yuppies
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R
Nothing is free
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J
Great response!
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J
People should be grateful that they got anything. Such selfishness.
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S
Always hated the cars as prizes. Almost always less than minimum cash. After paying fees and sales taxes, the car has to be at least $60k to make it worthwhile.
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J
Don't be selfish
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H
Considering the amount of dough the show rakes in, they’re cheapskates with the money.
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J
Who in their right mind wants a plain jane kia soul ??
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P
If the cash minimum is 40K, a $30,000 car is a low-ball prize, and a low-ball car. According to all auto sales data, the average price of a new car in 2026 is well over $40,000.00.
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P
Yes, I think the car was too cheap of a prize. Why would anyone want that instead of the minium $40,000 cash prize$ And I would like to know what happened to the added bonus of $5000 when a car is won to pay registration fees, etc. that come with owning a new car. Years ago when they started adding cars as a bonus prize they said a contestant winning a car would get an extra $5000, but you don't hear about that anymore, and $5000 is not added to their total when they announce how much the contestant won. Even an added $5000 in this case would be less than $40,000.
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J
Don't be selfish
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