‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player Reveals ‘Wild’ Double Life & ‘Squeezes’ Ryan Seacrest After $74,000 Win

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Ryan Seacrest celebrated with one lucky Wheel of Fortune player on Monday’s episode after an impressive Bonus Round puzzle solve and a massive $74,000 win that resulted in telling the player to “squeeze me.” The contestant duly obliged, hugging it out with Ryan not once but twice.

The contestant in question was Charles Tapacio, an email marketer from Hoffman Estates, Illinois, who shared a ‘wild’ secret with Seacrest at the start of the show. Tapacio revealed he has an alter ego, DJ Wildcat, who comes alive on the weekends.

“During the week, I’m in email marketing as Charles; on the weekend, I’m DJ Wildcat… Wiki Wiki Wildcat,” he said. “I DJ at weddings, birthday parties, gyms… Wheel of Fortune afterparties.”

While he’s used to spinning the decks, Tapacio had his opponents spinning on Monday’s episode as he faced off against Daneka Howard from Dallas, Texas, and Jeremy Foreshew from Los Angeles, California.

 

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Tapacio came out of the gates hot, nailing both the Round 1 and Mystery Round puzzles to give him a strong early lead with $11,200. His success continued in the Express Round, where he increased his winnings to $25,650 and won a ski trip to The Green Mountains of Vermont.

Things slowed down after that as Howard and Foreshew shut Tapacio out of the Triple Toss Up round, answering all three puzzles between them. Foreshew also landed the final Speed Up puzzle, but Tapacio spotted a pair of Fs on the board to boost up his total.

In the end, Tapacio won the episode with a huge $34,650 and advanced to the Bonus Round, where he selected the “What Are You Doing?” category, along with the additional letters “C, P, M, and A.”

This left him with a three-word puzzle that read: “_ R _ T _ N _ / A / M E M _.”

As soon as the ten-second timer started, Tapacio was right in there with the correct answer, stating, “Writing A Memo.”

“Congratulations, you got it!” Seacrest said before opening the prize envelope to reveal Tapacio added an extra $40,000 to his winnings, giving him a grand total of $74,650, plus the trip to Vermont.

When Tapacio looked awkward about going in for a hug, the American Idol host told him, “You can squeeze me!” The pair then embraced as Tapacio’s friend joined them on stage to celebrate the big win.

“Are you surprised at yourself that you got that?” Seacrest asked.

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“I’m shocked,” Tapacio answered.

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Fans loved Tapacio’s gameplay and personality and took to social media to share their reactions, with one Instagram commenter writing, “I can’t believe how great of a contestant he was!! He played incredibly well.”

“Love this! We all need a weekend alter ego like Charles!” said another.

“He was awesome!! Good player,” another added.

Another wrote, “Amazing @djwildcat!! I knew you were a one in a million DJ but this too!!! Congratulations to a genuinely good human.”

Tapacio also posted about the experience on his own Instagram Story, writing, “Thank you @wheeloffortune for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime!”