‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player Caught in a Ham-tastrophe That Cost Her $40,000

Brittany Sims February 12, 2025, 2:02 pm

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Contestant Yumemi Turk had to keep calm and carry ham on Tuesday, February 11’s episode of Wheel of Fortune. The Japanese food lover, whose family owns an okonomiyaki restaurant, was just a few hot dogs short of a picnic when it came time for the final puzzle.

The Torrance, California native played against Chris Wiley from Meridianville, Alabama, and Denise Zinzi from Oakton, Virginia.

Turk had solved a handful of the puzzles with ease throughout most of the night, including the first puzzle. She even won a $7,500 vacation package, making her have a huge lead at the beginning of the game. After the second commercial break, Wiley only had $1,000 and Zinzi had yet to get on the board, but Turk was hamming it up with over $19,000.

Throughout the game, Turk had a lot of luck as she nearly missed “Lose a Turn” and “Bankrupt” on multiple turns. She had won a trip to Boston, Massachusetts. After solving every puzzle on the game show except for one toss-up and the final puzzle, Turk wound up with $35,950. Her two opponents had the same amount as the last round.

By the end of the game, Wiley ended with $15, 600, Zinzi did not get any money, but host Ryan Seacrest told her that she would get $1,000. She would have had a bit of money, but Seacrest told her she was wrong after she mispronounced the word “resignation.”

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Turk won the game with the game with $37,950, earning her a spot in the Bonus Round. She had the choice to pick between “Thing,” “What Are You Doing?” or “Food and Drink” and she chose the latter. And this is where her luck ran out.

Before spinning the wheel, Turk introduced her mom and her college sweetheart, who had come to watch her play. Turk landed on the “S” in “America’s” and Seacrest picked the envelope before they walked over to the puzzle. Wheel gives contestants the letters, “R,S,T, L,N, and E” to begin with. Turk unfortunately only had “E” on the board.

She chose four more letters, which included “D, M, B, and O.” Turk got a few of the letters, resulting in her puzzle looking like B_ _ED _ _ M.

After Seacrest told her she had 10 seconds to work out the puzzle, Turk kept harping on the last word. “Something rum, something gum,” she said, but, they were both wrong. The clue was revealed to be “BAKED HAM,” and Turk laughed after being way off. Seacrest revealed that she lost out on an additional $40,000.

Turk’s loss was posted to YouTube and made fans reacted saying that they couldn’t solve the puzzle either.

“This was hardy. VERY Hard,” wrote one user.

“I guessed baked yam,” said another.