A Wheel of Fortune contestant lost out on taking home a car when he called a letter that wasn’t in the puzzle. Fans called him out for saying the odd letter and thought he could have won if he solved it. His opponent went on to win the Jeep.
Vontoba Terry, from Frisco, Texas, solved the first toss-up on June 4. He is the board chairman of his local YMCA.
Terry played against Brynne Hall, from Leawood, Kansas, and Patricia Green, from Murfreesboro, Texas. Terry solved the second toss-up, giving him $3,000.
With only two letters left to guess in the puzzle, Terry solved “Subatomic Particles.” He had $8,600.
Terry landed the Mystery Wedge and picked it up. Luckily, it had $10,000 on the other side, so when he solved the “We Are Family” Crossword puzzle, he won all of that money. “Husband, Dad, Son, Grandmother” was the puzzle. This gave him $20,700.
Green, a registered dental hygienist, began to solve the prize puzzle, but she landed on Bankrupt. Terry bought a bunch of vowels and guessed a “V,” but he was wrong, so the turn moved to Hall, a die-hard sports fan and mother to two girls.
She guessed a “K” and then decided to ride the Express Train. Hall put $9,000 in her bank when she solved “Roller-Skating In the Park.” Hall also won a trip to Yosemite National Park. The trip made her bank $17,199.
“Why did he call V? It was pretty obvious N would be in the puzzle. He maybe could have won if he didn’t call that V. Glad to see someone ride the express train and win, though!” a Reddit user wrote.
“My guess: He saw _OLLE_ and thought he was looking at VOLLEY — even though what followed it was a hyphen and seven letters (most not yet revealed). And yes, cheers to her for hopping the Express to victory!” another replied.
Hall took the lead when she solved two toss-ups. Green finally got on the board when she solved the third. She put $4,500 in her bank when she solved the final puzzle — “Tailgating.” Green went home with a total of $6,500.
It was close between Terry and Hall. Terry ended with $20, 700. Hall was in the lead with $21,199.
Hall chose “Fun & Games” for her Bonus Round category. She brought her husband, Jerome, whom she met at a volleyball match, with her.
Wheel of Fortune gave the game show contestants “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Hall rounded out the puzzle with “D,G,B, and O.”
“_ _ELD GO_L” was what the puzzle looked like. Hall solved “Field Goal” and won the Jeep Wrangler.
The car was worth $41,010, so Hall took home a total of $62,209.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
