This Army veteran’s ‘Midas touch’ on 'Wheel of Fortune' ended with a $100k loss no one saw coming
Army veteran and National Guard Ron Wheeler's luck shone during the December 'Veteran's Special' edition on 'Wheel of Fortune' as he advanced to the Bonus Round. Unfortunately, his Christmas Eve celebrations didn't last long, and he lost the grand cash prize of $100,000 after failing to solve the puzzle. The Shreveport native was pitted against fellow veterans Sheneese Townsend, an Air Force veteran from Las Vegas, and Humberto Del Rio, a Marine Corps veteran from California. Throughout the game, Wheeler seemed to have the "Midas touch," taking the lead easily, only to suffer a heart-crushing defeat in the end.
The previous puzzle rounds passed by with none of the players making any earnings. But during the Express Round, Wheeler bagged a major score, winning a lavish trip to the Papagayo Beach Resort in Curacao worth $8,225. The final triple-tossup round ended with Townsend and Del Rio failing to make a clear start. Wheeler collected $16,525 in cash toward the end and was lucky enough to head into the $100,000 Bonus Round. "Where will we go? We got $500,000. What are you feeling? Okay, well, let’s manifest that. We're going to land on the N and straight down the stage," host Ryan Seacrest said, as Wheeler gave a big spin to the Bonus wheel.
The 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant chose the Phrase category, and the puzzle board presented him with "R, S, T, L, N, and E." Wheeler made an unlucky blunder of choosing the wrong consonants and a vowel, going with “D, G, C, and I.” "Well, that is not going anywhere, which isn't a great sign. So, it's going to be tough, but maybe you'll get this. All right. Good luck to you in the 10s. Go for it," Seacrest tried to sound positive after witnessing Vanna White glued to her place for the first time, since there were no letters on the puzzle board to turn. The board now read: “_ N / _ _ / _ _ _ / _ _ _ E.” Wheeler racked his brains as the buzzer ticked down. “On To The Next,” “On To The Life,” “In To The Zone,” he kept on guessing. Sadly, with just two letters revealed as a clue, he couldn't complete the phrase.
The timer ran out, and White revealed the right answer to be "On My Way Home," much to Wheeler's dismay. “It was really tough,” the host said as he opened the golden envelope, revealing that the contestant had lost a whopping $100,000. In the end, Wheeler walked away with only $16,525. Fans lamented in the comments section on the video on YouTube, with one writing, "I only knew the first two words. I wouldn't have gotten WAY HOME either without some extra letters." Another tried to be encouraging and wrote, "What a heartbreaking episode, but congratulations regardless, Ron, thank you for your service!" A third added, "In Ron's defense, when Vanna stays still, it's never a good sign. It still hurts like hell, though. That was brutal. Sorry, Ron! I feel your pain!" Some netizens also pointed out the fact that since it was Christmas Eve, it somehow made the entire situation a lot more tragic.