Viewers call out ‘Wheel of Fortune’ over ‘lame destination’ prize — even after contestant wins big
A 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant won a trip during the Prize Puzzle round, but fans weren’t thrilled with the destination. In an episode that originally aired November 1, 2024, Reyna Kilpatrick-Ray, a middle school teacher from Philadelphia, competed against Michelle Schneider of Riverview, Florida, and Joey Gonder of Chicago. The episode reaired July 25 as part of the show’s summer reruns. During the Prize Puzzle round, Kilpatrick-Ray won a trip to San Antonio, Texas, a destination many fans called “lame.”
She later won a trip to Spain, but fans were still stuck on San Antonio. A Reddit user penned, “San Antonio? First of all, that’s a lame destination for a prize." Followed by a second user who wrote, "I commented to my husband about this. I love San Antonio, but it certainly doesn’t cost that much to visit there. And Spain is the other trip?!” A user noted, "I've lived in San Antonio for 25 years ... it's become a real s--thole ... property crime is ridiculous, homeless people downtown, very sad, immigrants dumped here."
Another netizen remarked, "I thought the same! I would be pissed. I live in Salem, MA, and they gave away a triphere during Halloween week worth $8000. It’s so weird to me that someone might pay that much to come to my city." One 'Wheel of Fortune' fan shared, "Funny how they apparently keep a huge stack of cards and take one out for whatever the trip is, instead of maybe just one small dry-erase board and writing down the name of the trip there." Another user jokingly said, “I hear there's a basement at the Alamo worth checking out."
However, things got better for Kilpatrick-Ray during the Bonus Round. When the game show host Ryan Seacrest asked Kilpatrick-Ray to pick a category, Reyna chose "Place." As Kilpatrick-Ray took over the center stage, Seacrest told her, “Great night for you so far!” Soon after, the two-word puzzle was displayed on the screen. At that point, only two letters of the puzzle were shown, and Kilpatrick-Ray quipped, “You're definitely putting me to work."
After 'Wheel of Fortune' gave Kilpatrick-Ray the letters “R, S, T, L, N, and E," she selected the letters “C, D, M,” and an “A." Kilpatrick-Ray managed to add three more letters to the puzzle. According to TV Insider, while looking at the final puzzle, Seacrest said, “Only three letters there." In the end, Kilpatrick-Ray’s final puzzle, which had no vowels, looked like “R_ _ M _’ ‘C _ ND _.” With nervous laughter, the educator shared, "I think I know."
As the ten-second timer began, the 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant yelled, "Roomy Condo,” which was the correct answer. While giving a high-five to Seacrest, Kilpatrick-Ray exclaimed, "I got that!” Shortly afterward, Seacrest opened the Golden Envelope and informed Kilpatrick-Ray that she had won an extra $40,000, giving her a grand total of $58,000 in cash and prizes. At that moment, Seacrest told Kilpatrick-Ray, "Well done!"
