‘Wheel of Fortune’ player almost won $1M on game show — but one letter tripped him up
It's surprising that 'Wheel of Fortune' has had only four contestants win the $1 million mega prize so far. Michelle Loewenstein, a florist from Santa Monica, created history by becoming the first player to walk away with $1 million in 2008. After her, Autumn Erhard became a millionaire after correctly guessing 'Tough Workout' during the Bonus Round in 2013. As per The Hollywood Reporter, math teacher Sarah Manchester followed suit in 2014, and Melissa Joan Hart, 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' star, won one million for her charity 'Youth Villages' on 'Celebrity Wheel of Fortune' in 2021. This year, Andrew Leachko would have been the first male and fifth contestant to win $1 million, but, lost by a small margin.
The Ohio native was pitted against Natalya Batenman, a homemaker from Cypress, Texas, and Audrey Cheatham, a former officer and now a high school teacher from Farmer City, Illinois. Leachko didn't have a good initial start; he made $2,000 by solving two Tossup puzzles, but soon lost it after landing on a bankrupt wedge in Round 1. However, he won massively during the AARP Mystery Round by landing on the Million Dollar wedge. For the unversed, after a player wins the Million Dollar wedge, he/she has to solve that round's puzzle without landing on bankruptcy. In case they cross the round, then a $1 million envelope is placed instead of a $100,000 envelope on the Bonus Wheel.
Leachko cleared the Express Round, earning a total of $22,228 and a luxurious train trip to the Canadian Rockies. His winning streak continued with Triple Tossup as he correctly also solved the final Speed-Up puzzle. Leachko then had $30,228 in savings and comfortably advanced to the Bonus Round. Additionally, he became eligible to win the million-dollar envelope during the mega round. He attempted to become the fifth million-dollar winner on the coveted game show by selecting the 'Event' category during the mega round. As he came close to making history, host Ryan Seacrest got introduced to Leachko's mother, Marita, and wife, Jen, who were cheering from backstage.
After the puzzle board showcased the standard letters 'R, S, T, L, N, E,' Leachko selected the additional letters 'C, M, D, and A,' and the board read: “_ _ R / _ E A R L _ / _ A S _.” The contestant rightly figured out the first two letters, "Our Yearly," but got confused and stuck with the last section. As the buzzer sounded, Leachko ended up guessing “Fast, Past, and Case”. Unfortunately, he couldn't create history, and Vanna White revealed the correct answer as “Our Yearly Bash.” Seacrest then announced that the contestant had won $40,000 but lost on the $1 million by just one wedge.
Fans felt cheated of witnessing the glorious moment and expressed their shock over Leachko's loss, "The $1,000,000 was under the ️(two stars), one space close. Also, he is the second Andrew this season to play for $1,000,000, not solve the BR for $40,000, and be one space away from the million," a viewer pointed out. "OMG!!! Andrew almost landed on the $1 million envelope on Wheel of Fortune!!! Now that's another 1 million dollar heartbreaker," a fan lamented. "Well, thankfully, Andrew didn't land on the million, but at least he walked away with 30K. We need a winner next week in the bonus round immediately," another chimed in.