‘Wheel of Fortune’: Ryan Seacrest Cracks Up at Contestant’s Unenthusiastic Family as He Loses $40,000

Ryan Seacrest chuckled at a Wheel of Fortune contestant’s family who didn’t seem too excited that he was on the game show. The contestant lost $40,000 in the Bonus Round after a tough puzzle.

Jeremy Nelson, from Chicago, Illinois, played against Sam Guarino, from Tustin, California, and Jack Kugel, from Jupiter, Florida, on Friday, March 21.

Nelson started off the game by guessing the first tossup, “Strangers on a Train,” earning $1,000. He got another $2,000 when he guessed the second one, “Fun for the whole family.”

During the first puzzle – “Travel Tips” – Nelson started off by landing on a wedge for a Rail Tour. If he solved the puzzle, he would get the trip and money. When the bar trivia host guessed a letter that wasn’t in the puzzle, the turn moved to Guarino. She guessed an “H” before landing on Bankrupt, so the turn moved to Kugel, a chicken wing joint owner. He landed on Bankrupt, so it was Nelson’s turn again. He solved “Make a checklist,” earning $7,699 and the rail trip.

In the “Before and After” puzzle, Guarino guessed “T.” There were three, so she got some money in her bank. Kugel landed on the mystery wedge but picked it up and it had “Bankrupt” on it. Nelson racked up his bank to nearly $5,000 by guessing most of the letters. However, he landed on Bankrupt. Seacrest said that he was “breaking his heart.” Guarino, a public speaking lover, also landed on Bankrupt. Kugel solved the puzzle “The best thing in life are free delivery,” earning $1,000.

For the “Food and Drink” puzzle, Kugel landed on the Express wedge. He guessed “R” and Seacrest told him that he could ride the express train, meaning he could keep guessing letters until he solved the puzzle, but if he was wrong, he would have a total Bankrupt. Kugel decided to go for it. Kugel guessed two letters before “N” wasn’t in the puzzle, losing all of his money. Nelson went on to solve the puzzle – “Perfect plate of pasta” – and won a trip to Italy. This brought his total to $22,148.

During the Triple Tossup round, Nelson solved the first one – “Cutting a rug” – earning $2,000. Guarino got on the board when she solved the second one – “Cutting the cake” – and earned $2,000. She solved the last one as well – “Cutting to the chase” – ending with $4,000.

For the final puzzle, all three contestants earned money, but it was Nelson who solved the puzzle again. It was “Orchestra Conductor.” This earned him the Bonus Round. Guarino ended with $4,000. Kugel only left with $1,000. However, Nelson’s total was $30,148 before attempting the Bonus Round.

Nelson picked “Showbiz” for the final round. Seacrest asked him who came with him. Nelson introduced his mom, dad, and sister. Seacrest greeted them and they gave him a small wave and a “Hi.”

“Wish him good luck,” Seacrest said.

There was a brief silence before his mom said, “Good luck Jeremy.” The audience laughed and then so did Seacrest, folding over laughing.

“You have to coax them sometimes,” Nelson said.

“Are you sure that’s your family?” Seacrest joked.

After Wheel gave him, “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” Nelson picked “C,M,D, and A.” His puzzle then looked like “_ _ LM  _ _ _TA_E.” He shouted out different phrases, but none of them were correct. The puzzle was “Film Footage.” He lost out on an additional $40,000.

After Seacrest’s interaction with Nelson’s family on Friday, Reddit users said how much the host is a people person and how much they enjoy him.

“Watched this evening and I think Ryan is a FANTASTIC replacement for Pat. Pat of course is iconic but Ryan feels like a natural to me. Very pleasantly surprised,” the original poster said.

“Agreed. Him and Vanna have great chemistry also,” said another.

“Ryan is very good and seems to genuinely like, and connect with, people. Pat was good in the early years, but towards the end when it was clear he just wanted to leave, he was abrupt and sometimes even rude and insulting to the contestants. It was time for him to leave,” wrote a fan.

“I think Ryan is fantastic! I love that he truly is happy for people, or at the very least he is a great actor, because he seems so genuine! I’ve always thought he was a good person and I liked him, but now I think he is really amazing and kind, and I adore him!,” a Reddit user wrote.