Ryan Seacrest’s bonus round blunder almost cost a contestant $100K — thankfully, the judges stepped in
In recent years, viewers have witnessed many amazing moments as well as a couple of goof-ups on the popular game show, 'Wheel of Fortune.' In an episode, a mistake by the game show host Ryan Seacrest almost cost a contestant named Keith Upton a whopping $100,000. Yes, you read that right. However, the judges soon intervened and handled the situation. During the episode released on March 27, Upton from San Diego, California, competed against Clare Antoine, from Madison, Wisconsin, and Dhaina Grubb, from Grayson, Georgia, originally from Jamaica.
Upton kicked off the game by solving the first puzzle, "Blowing into a conch shell," winning $5,850 and a wild card. Following that, Antoine managed to crack the next puzzle, and she nearly guessed the third one as well, but unfortunately, she landed on Bankrupt. Subsequently, Upton decoded the puzzle, “Achieving peak relaxation," and won a trip to Barbados. Soon after, Antoine solved the remaining two puzzles. Eventually, Upton emerged as the big winner of the night with $20,730 in cash. On the other hand, Antoine went home with $18,000, and 'Wheel of Fortune' gave $1,000 to Grubb, who only had $450 in her bank.
Ultimately, Upton advanced to the Bonus Round, where he picked 'Event' as the category, and introduced his wife, Havilah, to Seacrest. When he spun the wheel, the ticker got stuck between “A” and the apostrophe. According to Market Realist, a confused Seacrest said, “Well, that’s interesting. That’s never happened to me. Do I go this way or this way, judges?” Shortly afterward, the host received a message from the judges to go ahead with the apostrophe, which turned out to be crucial by the end of the game.
After 'Wheel of Fortune' gave Upton the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E, he picked his additional letters: C, H, D, A, and B for the wild card. Then, his final three-word puzzle looked like “THE B_ _ _ _NALE.” Before the ten-second timer began, Upton seemed confident. Without wasting any time, he screamed, "The Big Finale," which was the correct answer. Later, Seacrest opened the Golden Envelope and told the contestant that he had won an additional $100,000. As the confetti fell from the ceiling, Upton celebrated his big win by hugging his wife. Then, Seacrest asked Upton, “That was incredible! When did you know it?” The winner responded, “I think the A, L, E. That was it. The finale. I put it all together."
In the end, Upton walked away with a cash prize of $120,730 from the show. Once the episode dropped, many fans congratulated Upton on his huge victory. One social media user wrote in the comments section of the YouTube video, saying, "The big finale we all deserve. Major congratulations to Keith!" A second penned, "Now that’s what I call a BIG FINALE! Congratulations on the $100K, Keith." Another netizen commented, "That was definitely 'The Big Finale' that I would go for! Way to go, Keith! Another $100,000 Winner of the Ryan Seacrest Era on Wheel of Fortune!"
