‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Loses Out on $100K After Puzzle Is ‘Miscategorized’
Pat Sajak couldn’t look a contestant in the eye on Wednesday’s (April 10) episode of Wheel of Fortune after a confusing puzzle cost a lovable mother of two $100,000.
The contestant in question was Laura Young from York, Maine, who referred to herself as the “crazy walking lady,” revealing she’s walked over 3,000 miles in the last year. Young walked over the competition on Wednesday’s game, amassing an episode-winning $19,350, plus a trip to the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower in Honolulu, Hawaii.
This took Young to the Bonus Round, where she selected the “Place” category along with the additional letters “C, P, D, and O.” Unfortunately, not one of those letters was on the board.
Young was faced with a tough two-word puzzle that read “_ R _ _ E L / _ _ L _ _ _ _.”
“Oh my goodness,” she said, struggling to come up with a response. “There’s gotta be another vowel in there.”
After the timer ran out, Sajak said, “Ironically, there’s a walkway in there,” revealing the correct answer as “Gravel Walkway.”
“But you had no shot at that,” the long-time host added, offering some comfort to the disappointed contestant.
Things only got worse from there when Sajak opened the prize envelope. He felt so bad that he told Young to face the other way, which she did, turning her back to the camera. He then showed the envelope to the audience, which contained $100,000.
As the audience groaned, Young turned back around and yelled, “No?!”
Sajak handed her the envelope to look for herself, and she audibly gasped.
“Number one, I feel terrible,” Sajak told her. “Number two, no way you were gonna solve that puzzle with the letters you had. Number three, you won $19,350. You did great and were a lot of fun.”
While Young took her loss in good spirits, viewers at home were less forgiving, with many complaining that “Gravel Walkway” does not constitute a “Place.”
“I’ve got beef with whoever makes the final puzzles on #WheelofFortune. I’d consider gravel walkway to be a ‘thing’ and not a place. The answers have been whack this week,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“Gravel walkway is a “place” ??? Since when?” said another.
Another added, “Gravel walkway is NOT a place.”
“Gravel Walkway is a thing…not a place,” wrote one commenter, while another agreed, saying, “A ‘gravel walkway’ is a thing, not a place. Get your s*** together @WheelofFortune.”
This is the second time this week the show has come under fire for a baffling “Place” puzzle. On Monday’s (April 8) episode, a contestant lost out on the Bonus Round for failing to solve “Bumpy Path,” which was categorized as a “Place.”
What do you think? Was this final puzzle too confusing? Let us know in the comments section below.
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