Another Bonus Round, another loss for a Wheel of Fortune contestant who couldn’t solve a challenging puzzle.
A contestant named Joey had the opportunity to win beaucoup bucks during his Bonus Round, but his puzzle was too much of a doozy.
During an episode that aired recently during Wheel of Fortune’s “Fabulous Food Week,” Joey came up short, costing him big.
Joey opted for the “What Are You Doing?” category, and after being provided with his five customary consonants, one vowel, and his own letter choices, he was left with a challenging puzzle to solve.
Iconic letter-turner Vanna White stood close to Joey’s puzzle board to unveil which of his letters appeared, as longtime host Pat Sajak noted, “Let’s see what we get here.”
After seeing what Joey was left with, Pat admitted that it “wasn’t much help” but urged Joey to do his best with what he had and wished him good luck as his 10 seconds began.
Although Joey talked out a few word options, he couldn’t come up with the correct solution before he timed out.
“Staying Above The Fray” was the answer to the puzzle, and Joey’s inability to come up with it cost him a cool $40,000.
Joey’s Bonus Round segment appeared in a YouTube video on Wheel of Fortune’s official channel, where thousands of fans of the show watched and commented.
In the comments section of the clip, Joey was applauded by many at-home viewers for his efforts, noting how challenging his puzzle was.
Others were displeased with Wheel of Fortune’s producers because of the Bonus Round puzzle’s difficulty, and they sounded off.
Wheel of Fortune viewers put the show’s producers on blast
“That was a hard one,” @AlexMaxwell2000 pointed out.
Another show fan noted that they could solve the complex puzzle but felt the “What Are You Doing?” category was inaccurate.
“I feel like this should be classified as a phrase instead,” wrote @scottleung9587.
@DriftGenes left a lengthy comment below the YouTube video, admitting that although they were able to solve the puzzle, they felt the wording of the puzzle was a bit outdated and too complicated.
“It’s 2024 for goodness sake,” they commented.
“They always screw us in the BR when we ‘win too much’ in the regular game unless they have too many flops earlier in the week,” they added before accusing Wheel of Fortune producers of throwing in a few simple puzzles for “tax write-off” purposes.
“Then, they need tax write-offs and hand a couple on a silver platter,” they concluded.
Maggie Sajak interviewed Joey at the end of his episode
Joey also took a moment to speak with Pat’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, the Wheel of Fortune Social Correspondent, following his appearance on the show.
Joey shared his usual restaurant order with Maggie, revealing that anything “chicken-related, good old steak, and Brussels sprouts” were his go-tos.
And despite his Bonus Round loss, Joey still had a big night, cashing in with a total of $36,349 in cash and prizes.