‘Wheel of Fortune’: Teacher Shrieks Wildly After $91,000 Win & Stuns Ryan Seacrest

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A Wheel of Fortune contestant acted on impulse and screamed in Ryan Seacrest‘s ear after winning big. Genna Root, a middle school teacher from Fresno, California, who also takes up high-intensity interval training, quickly solved the Bonus Round puzzle on Friday, February 21.

Root won $14,456 and was going for a trip to Antarctica and more money in the Bonus Round. She versed Roberta Brown, a senior who loves dancing, traveling, and performing in musical theater, and Derek Spartz, who is obsessed with cars and took up car spotting, which is like paparazzi for cars. He posts photos online for others to see.

During the Bonus Round, Root introduced her mom, Sharon, and her best friend, Suzanne, who sat in the audience and watched her win the game show.

She chose the category “What are you doing?” and was given “R,S,T,L,N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune. The middle school teacher selected “D,C,P, and O” for her remaining letters.

After the letters that she guessed appeared on the board, the puzzle looked like: “_CT_N_  ON  _ _PULSE.” Before Seacrest could tell her that she had 10 seconds, Root shouted out “Acting on impulse,” which was correct. When the host told her “yes!,” she screamed in his ear and hugged him tightly, causing a smile to appear on Seacrest’s face.

Root screamed even louder when Seacrest revealed that she won $40,000, bringing her total to a stunning $91,096.

Seacrest joined in on the celebration, with Root, her mom, and best friend, jumping up and down on the stage. Seacrest kicked a leg out and threw his arm out, but quickly had to stop after grabbing his knee. “Ow!” he said, cradling his leg. He seemed to recover fast and told Root that she also won the trip to Antarctica. “Oh my gosh! I did?” she shrieked again. Root hugged Seacrest and then fanned herself.

“This show is fun,” Seacrest said before the episode ended.

After the clip was posted to YouTube, WOF fans commented on the celebration and noticed a difference in the Bonus Rounds from back when Pat Sajak was on the show.

“I love the jumping lol,” one fan wrote.

“Everyone jumping all over Ryan every night when they win, and he’s loving it. I don’t quite remember that happening so much w/Pat. Anyhow, congrats on the win!!!!” said another.

To that, a fan replied, “Pat would probably have been fine with it in the early years, but as he got older, he and the producers wouldn’t allow it.”

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However, this isn’t the first time that a WOF contestant has gotten up close and personal with Seacrest.

After a local ex-TV news anchor won $89,000 the night before, she squeezed Seacrest tight and screamed in joy. Another contestant who lost despite having Wheel of Fortune nails, side-hugged Seacrest and squeezed him.

During an episode in January, Seacrest was knocked over when contestant Thomas ran to hug him after guessing the puzzle at the last minute. Seacrest lost his footing during the embrace and took a tumble onto the studio floor. “Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Thomas asked, helping the American Idol host back up. Seacrest assured everyone that he was ok.

The American Idol host then humorously backed away from Thomas and ducked behind the prize wheel. “Vanna [White], you’ll have to take over,” Seacrest joked, clutching his stomach.

“To all future contestants, please, if you win, pick me up, throw me over, tackle me, I’m totally fine with it,” he said during the outro.

The day before he fell to the ground, Seacrest was squeezed by a contestant, who won $40,000. Charles correctly guessed the puzzle and then hugged Seacrest. As the host showed him how much he won, Charles went back for another hug, where he squeezed Seacrest tight.

In January, Ricky Brown solved the puzzle with only three letters. He jumped up and down when he won and then tackled Seacrest in a huge hug. He nearly knocked the host over, causing Seacrest to laugh.

From TV Guide Magazine

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