‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blast Show for ‘Worst Puzzle Ever’ After Cancer Survivor Loses Car
Even the contestant was confused. Wheel of Fortune fans bashed the Bonus Round puzzle after a contestant lost a car.
David Shepard, from Atlanta, Georgia, played against Paula Rowland, from Bay Shore, New York, and Cayden Gonzales, from Deshler, Nebraska, on Thursday, September 17. Shepard, an oncologist and cancer survivor, and Gonzales, who plays the violin, guitar, piano, and pipe organ, each solved two Fortune Frenzies, earning $2,000.
The first puzzle had all three contestants solving letters, but Shepard solved “Dessert Before Dinner,” banking $12,001. He also won a trip to Chicago, Illinois.
Gonzales solved the Crossword Puzzle in the category “____ Card” — “Face, Birthday, Wild, Credit.” He got $1,000 for that solve since most of the letters were solved by the time he solved it.
He also solved the Prize Puzzle — “Cultural Treasures” — for a trip to the Philippines. This gave him the lead with $17,948.
Rowland, who has a sandwich named after her, solved all three Triple Toss-ups, giving her $10,000. Shepard solved the final puzzle — “Plank It Till You Make It.” This put him back in the lead with $19,751.
Rowland ended with $10,000. Gonzalez took home $17,948. Shepard chose “What Are You Doing?” for his Bonus Round category.
Wheel of Fortune gave the game show contestant “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Shepard chose “G,P,C, and I.”
The puzzle then looked like “I_E_TING.” He didn’t solve anything, but the puzzle was “Ideating.” Sherpard had the Audi inside of his envelope. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ideating means “to form an idea or conception of.”
Fans reacted to the puzzle on Reddit. “Wtf is Ideating?” one asked.
“Beat me to it. One of the worst puzzles ever. Is that even a real word?” another replied.
“The. Worst. Answer. Ever.” a third added.
“Who the f$#@ has ever used that word in the USA???” one fan wondered.
“That was absolute nonsense,” a fan commented.
“They obviously wanted to save money today with a final puzzle like that!!” a Reddit user said.
“They should be sued. They screwed him out of a $50K Audi,” one last fan commented.
Have you ever heard that phrase? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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