Bon Jovi fan waited 7 years to be on 'Wheel of Fortune' — then 'blacked out' seconds before $61K win
'Wheel of Fortune' has given many viewers a platform to make their dreams come true. But some contestants come close to their dream, only to watch it slip away. Something similar happened with contestant Lori Girard, Halloween food creator and a fan of Bon Jovi, who competed on the show alongside Anthony Canerossi, a contestant from Farmingdale, New York, and costume designer Adelia Vaca, from West Covina, California, in July 2024.
Girard had won a cash prize of $21,998 and a luxurious trip to France during the initial rounds in the game, as reported by the Wyoming News Now. She entered the Bonus Round with gusto and was joined by her sister, Sheila, and best friend, Deanne. As she took the final spin, she landed on 'I' and chose the dreaded 'Phrase' Category. After the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E, Girard chose M, C, D for her consonants and A as a vowel, finally revealing the puzzle that read, “AL_A_S _N T_E M_ _E."
While Girard tried to get it right, she could only piece together "in the" before the clock ran out. The host, Ryan Seacrest, then revealed the correct answer, which was, “Always On The Move.” The miss cost her a staggering $40,000 extra, which would have increased her winnings to $61,998 if she had gotten it right. Despite the huge loss, Girard held her head high and said, "That's okay," and was glad with her takeaway amount.
The player later spoke about her 'Wheel of Fortune' experience with a local news station, KFRY-TV, and described it as a "whirlwind." She said, "I like the challenge of the puzzles and trying to solve them kind of before those contestants do to see how quickly can I solve them." Girard, who has been a fan of the show for nearly three decades, added, "I’ll be honest. I think I feel like I blacked out." The channel reported that it was her husband who nudged her to apply, and she finally saw herself on the show, after seven years of solving all the 'Wheel' puzzles at home.
Despite the loss, Girard expressed her happiness to be on the show. "Even if, you know, for anybody who does this, and I think all the other contestants I was with that day felt the same way, like, even if you didn’t hit big numbers or big prizes, it was such a great experience," she told the outlet. Though Girard was sad not to meet former host Pat Sajak, but said that Seacrest is “personable, charismatic, and easy to talk to.” She said that she was happy to meet Vanna White backstage after the show. The contestant said that meeting both Seacrest and White was like "love at first sight," as reported by Andy Nguyen's blog.