‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Fans Accuse Show Of Ripping Contestants Off

Fans are tired of seeing Wheel Of Fortune contestants lose the Bonus Round. After seeing multiple people lose their chance at $40,000 recently, viewers are accusing the long-running game show of ripping the guests off. Keep reading to see why viewers think Wheel Of Fortune might be purposefully thwarting contestants from collecting big prizes.

More Disappointing Bonus Rounds

It seems like Wheel Of Fortune producers are trying to save money during Pat Sajak’s sendoff season. In recent weeks, viewers have been surprised at how difficult the Bonus Round puzzles have been. Each time there is an upset in the Bonus Round, it seems the contestant is losing out on $40K.

Audience members in the studio have gone as far as to boo Pat Sajak when the Bonus Round goes wrong for the contestant. Viewers at home have started to weigh in through the comment section on TikTok and YouTube.

During a recent episode, fans were disappointed yet again when a contestant named Joey was seemingly cheated out of his $40K win. The episode was during Wheel Of Fortune‘s “Fabulous Food Week” and he chose the “What Are You Doing?” category in the Bonus Round.

Image: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune

As usual, he was provided with the letters R, L, S, T, N, and E. The letters Joey chose to add to the board weren’t much help. However, host Pat Sajak was encouraging, wishing Joey the best of luck as the timer started counting down.

Joey talked through a few possible word choices as the 10-second timer ticked down, but it was to no avail. The timer ran out before he came up with the winning answer to the puzzle. “Staying Above The Fray” turned out to be the $40,000 answer and, once again, fans were baffled at the difficulty of the answer.

Fans Call Out Wheel Of Fortune Producers

In the comment section on YouTube, many viewers gave Joey props for trying to solve the puzzle. Many fans pointed out that it was a hard puzzle to solve with the letters he had available to him. That being said, many people took to the comments to discuss how hard the Bonus Round puzzles have been recently.

“That was a hard one,” one person wrote. Another viewer disagreed with the category and wrote, “I feel like this should be classified as a phrase instead.” A third person pointed out that the puzzle’s wording was a bit “outdated,” claiming that “Staying above the fray” isn’t a phrase that is commonly used today.  “It’s 2024 for goodness sake,” they concluded.

Image: YouTube/Wheel Of Fortune

The person also offered up a theory as to why there have been so many disappointing bonus rounds recently. “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 wrote. “Then, they need tax write-offs and hand a couple on a silver platter.”

Despite his loss in the Bonus Round, Joey still walked away with $36,349 in cash prizes from Wheel Of Fortune. 

What do you think about the theory that producers are cheating contestants out of their prize money? Let us know in the comments.