'Wheel of Fortune’ contestant misses $68K in Bonus Round — and had no clue what the answer even meant
'Wheel of Fortune' contestant Amy Johnston was left fumbling during the Bonus Round because she couldn't guess the correct phrase. The Texas native lost $40,000 and left fans fuming about the bizarre result. Time and again, seasoned viewers of the coveted game show have complained about the senseless puzzles that don't allow contestants to collect grand prizes. During the competition, the Texas native was pitted against Misha Graves, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Jon Reinink, from Indianapolis, Indiana. Graves, a mother of seven, took the lead by solving the first two tossups and earning a total of $3,000. The savvy homemaker managed to keep her score up by solving the first puzzle as well, which read out as - “Hula Hoops and Happy Hour."
Johnston made a late entry into the game after solving the tough Mystery Puzzle, which read: “Ice Cream In a Waffle Cone.” The Elvis impersonator who works at a Chinese restaurant continued her winning streak by guessing the letters right on the Prize Puzzle, which read as “Shake off the Winter Blues.” Additionally, she also secured a lavish trip to Lake Tahoe and boosted her earnings to $13,739. Johnston's 'Midas Touch' didn't stop there; she collected an additional $10,000 after guessing all three Triple Toss-Ups and entered the Bonus Round after correctly solving the last puzzle, "Wellness Spa". Johnston made a total of $28,539.
Graves took home $5,000, and the third contestant, Reinink, a minister by trade, earned nothing, so the game gave him a courtesy amount of $1,000. Before moving to the popular Bonus Round, Johnston introduced host Ryan Seacrest to her adorable family backstage. "Got several generations represented here, right?" Seacrest inquired. "Yes, I do. I have my daughter, Kayla. She's my middle child, followed by my husband, Richard, and then my dad. He is the king of dad jokes. Tom," Amy gushed. She then picked the “What are you doing?” category to win $40,000.
After seeking the standard letters on the puzzle board, which were “R, S, T, L, N, and E,” Johnston picked “G, C, M, and O.” The puzzle board then looked like “_ _ _ _ NG _T O_ER NO_.” “Something is over now,” Johnston made multiple failed attempts at guessing the right answer before the ten-second buzzer could go off. “Picking it over now,” “Making it over now,” “Taking it over now,” “Watching it over now,” “I got nothing,” she lamented in the end. Vanna White then revealed the answer to be “Faxing it over now.” “Of course. I don’t even know what faxing means,” Johnston reacted after Seacrest announced she had lost out on the cash prize.
Fans instantly reacted to the foolish puzzle, "Are you kidding me right now? That is 18 losses in a row!!! Are we gonna reach a record-breaking of 20 losses in a row before we finally get a win? I am faxing to WOF right now to wanting to know what is going on!!" a viewer criticized. "Either the puzzles are getting harder or Sony’s losing money," a fan slammed. "Amy was dealt the RAW deal list tonight. That WHAT ARE YOU DOING puzzle was IMPOSSIBLE! The G and O were wasted picks, and she picked them both," a netizen reasoned.