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Giants superfan won $25K and a luxury cruise on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ — but one brutal puzzle cost him $75K

The episode that aired on January 17 saw Nick Isadori take the lead in the initial rounds with $25K cash prize and a luxury cruise trip.

One of the most iconic game shows, 'Wheel of Fortune,' has seen millions of players try their luck at solving puzzles for a shot at life-changing money, but not everyone walks away a winner. That was the case for Nick Isadori, a diehard sports fan who faced off against Barbie Swiger, a part-time church HR worker, and Dionne Dixon, whose family has a history of Army service. In the episode that aired January 17, Isadori led the early rounds, winning $25,000 and a luxury cruise, while Swiger and Dixon finished with $14,000 and $15,050, respectively, per a recap from Andy Nguyen's blog.

Isadori was joined by his girlfriend and father for the Bonus Round, where he chose the “Place” category before spinning. The contestant faced a two-word puzzle, and what happened next shook his confidence. When the puzzle board showed up, surprisingly, the board revealed very little from the show’s usual starter letters, R, S, T, L, N, and E, and the puzzle read, "_ _ _ _ _ _ _ E_ _ _ _".But he wasn't discouraged yet and chose his additional letters to be C, P, G, and A, but they didn't help him either. Now the puzzle read, "C _ _ _ _ _ _ E A _ A _."

He tried hard to piece it together, but the clock ran out, leaving the puzzle unsolved, prompting the host, Ryan Seacrest, to say, "That's frustrating, because there is not enough up there." Co-host Vanna White then revealed the correct answer, which was "COZY HIDEAWAY." Despite the loss, Isadori's sense of humor stayed, and, erupting with laughter, he said, "You couldn't get that. I had no shot." But when Ryan Seacrest revealed the $75K that the contestant had lost, he looked away disappointed and remarked, "Aaghh."

Fans who were also trying to solve the puzzles at home didn't hold back in expressing their frustration with the difficult puzzle. In the YouTube comment section of the video, a viewer of the show wrote, "Impossible puzzle to solve." Another viewer who was trying to solve the puzzle as well said, "I figured it out and solved it…AFTER THE BUZZER!! This was a tough one." Echoing the sentiment, a YouTube user added, 'I got 'hideaway', but not 'cozy.' Oh well, congrats, Nick!" Picturing the alternative outcome, a netizen exclaimed, "He would've walked away with exactly $100,000!!"

Meanwhile, sharing their struggle solving tricky puzzles, another fan of the show chimed in, "Nick was given the TRUE generic list (PEOPLE/THING/PLACE). I thought this was the right pick. NOT. This was VERY hard. Nick, to make you feel better, I picked PLACE too, and we both chose the LANDMINE." According to Market Realist, the sports fan told host Ryan Seacrest that he loved the New York Football Giants so much that they ranked above his family and even breathing on his list of priorities. The moment caught the attention of the Giants, who shared the clip on X.