‘Wheel of Fortune’ win felt sweet — until a tricky Bonus Round puzzle left $40K sitting in the envelope
The last season of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ was heavily criticized over tough puzzles. And every time fans came across such a game, they didn't hold back their frustrated emotions. One such Bonus Round puzzle was seen when longtime Vanna White fan, Joey Sweet, appeared on the reality game show. Sweet was a program director for teens from Oceanside, California, who went head-to-head against Tamika Martin, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and Lindsay Demsky from Detroit, Michigan.
During the game, Martin was the one to take an early lead. Sweet then entered the Mystery Round and Express Round, winning a Caribbean Coastline trip to the Barceló Maya Riviera in Mexico worth $7,350. Towards the end of the game, he had the most wins, piling up a big amount. Sweet had made $16,150 in cash. Meanwhile, he also had a trip and a Wildcard wedge as he entered the Bonus Round, according to Andy Nguyen’s Blog.
In the Bonus Round, Sweet chose the “Phrase” category for the final puzzle. After he spun the wheel, he picked up the envelope and was given a three-word puzzle on the board. Having the standard letters, "R, S, T, L, N, E," on the board, Sweet went on to choose "C, D, M, A," and the extra letter "F" with his Wild Card, according to Market Realist. This surely helped him get more clues. His final puzzle read, "CAR_ED _ _ _AND."
Soon, Ryan Seacrest hit the ten-second timer, as Sweet had a confused expression on his face. As the clock ticked, Sweet tried to guess the puzzle, yelling phrases such as "Cleared In Hand," and more. However, none of his attempts were correct. As the timer went off, co-host White unveiled the answer to be "Carved By Hand". Looking at the puzzle, even Seacrest, who stepped into the shoes of Pat Sajak recently, stated that the puzzle was difficult. "This is a tricky one," Seacrest stated, also adding, "Tough one. Even with the head start." Next, he showed Sweet the prize money in the envelope. It was $40,000 that he had lost.
While Sweet felt fine with the loss, as he focused on the prizes that he had already won, the fans had a bit of a frustrating approach. Under the footage available on YouTube, a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fan mentioned, "I wouldn’t have gotten that unless I picked the right letters. Tricky one indeed." A separate comment echoed a similar sentiment, “I couldn't get it. This was tough.” Another comment on the social media platform read, "Joey did a great job! He just wasted letters in the first word, but I knew the first word was carved. Hope he enjoys his well-deserved trip! Awesome to hear that his father met Vanna White!" Meanwhile, some even congratulated Sweet, as the comments read, “Joey won $16,150, congratulations.” ‘Wheel of Fortune’ wrapped its Season 41 this June. The game show is expected to make a return in September 2025, with Seacrest and White taking over the hosting duties again.