Ryan Seacrest tried to host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ — but this military mom made him do planks instead
A military mom was seen dominating the game on ‘Wheel of Fortune.' We are talking about Becky Lenski, who made an appearance on the highly acclaimed game show, ultimately winning it and also challenging Ryan Seacrest to do a plank off. She was on the April 16 episode, going against Yolande Johnson, from Montgomery, Alabama, and Josh Ficciotti, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the introduction, the Yorkville, Illinois, resident mentioned that she has two sons, Van and Max. It was Van who had enlisted himself in the army, while Max was a freshman at Ole Miss. During the game, Johnson solved the first toss-up, while Lenski joined the contestant, solving the second toss-up. They both earned $1,000. Then, Johnson took the lead by solving the first puzzle, but unfortunately landed on Bankrupt in the next round.
The third contestant, Ficciotti, soon jumped into the game by solving a puzzle that surprisingly gave him the lead with $4,100. He kept on guessing the puzzle till his luck ran out, and he landed on Bankrupt. Picking up only two letters, Lenski solved “Walking through a cloud forest,” which earned her a trip to Costa Rica. She also took the lead. During the first Triple Toss-Up round, Lenski solved two puzzles while Johnson solved the remaining one. In the final puzzle, Lenski successfully guessed the answer, “From rags to riches.” This helped the contestant to move into the Bonus Round with a total of $23,150. Meanwhile, Johnson had earned $5,000, while Ficciotti won $4,100, according to TV Insider.
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In the Bonus Round, Lenski chose 'What are you doing?' for her final category and brought her sons with her on stage. She then informed the host of the show, Seacrest, that Max was celebrating his 18th birthday. Seacrest, who recently stepped into the shoes of longtime host Pat Sajak, wished Max a happy birthday. He also asked the 18-year-old if being on ‘WoF’ was a good present. Replying to Seacrest, Max mentioned that the trip to Costa Rica was the real gift for him.
Coming back to the game, the Wheel revealed the standard letters: R, S, T, L, N, and E. Then, the player chose to add D, M, C, and A, following which, her puzzle looked like: “MEM_R_ _ N A _ _EM.” To everyone’s surprise, even before the timer hit its first second, the contestant shouted the answer, “Memorizing a poem!” Winning the game, Lenski jumped up and down, screaming with joy. Seacrest later revealed her grand prize—$50,000—which brought her total winnings on the game show to $73,150. "You knew it before we even got to it," he said, adding, "That was great."
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After the game, Lenski, who happens to be a fitness instructor, threw a fun challenge at the former ‘American Idol’ host. The mother of two challenged Seacrest to a planking duel, which he accepted. However, while holding the plank, Seacrest nearly fell from the effort and even let out a burp on camera.
