'Wheel of Fortune' player wins $64,000 in the Bonus Round after getting an 'easy' puzzle to solve
A 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant managed to make a huge fortune after solving an easy one-word puzzle in the Bonus round! During a March 2025 episode of the popular game show, a contestant named Rich Rinaldi, originally from Narberth, Pennsylvania, was seen competing against Cherie Mohr, who hails from Henderson, Nevada, and Unnecia Gathright, from Bolingbrook, Illinois. As per a report by TV Insider, Rinaldi initially earned $1,000 by solving the first toss-up, which read, “Cracking Open a Coconut." Shortly afterward, Rinaldi guessed the second puzzle correctly that read, “Put Down The Phone" and bagged $2,000.
In the episode, Rinaldi, who is an expert travel packer, got the chance to spin the wheel for the first puzzle. However, at that point, things didn't work out for him, as it landed on "Lose a Turn." Following that, Mohr and Gathright also spun the wheel and guessed the letters. When we talk about Gathright, every time she spun the wheel during the round, it landed on "Bankrupt." Eventually, Mohr solved the puzzle "Working On Vacation" and added $1,150 to her account.
During the 'Before and After' round, Mohr solved the puzzle that read, “Orange Chicken Little," and her total went up to $18,200. In the Prize Puzzle round, Gathright finally got onboard with $3,500 after continuously landing on "Bankrupt." Then, Gathright guessed a few letters, which turned out to be wrong, and she went bankrupt again. Following that, Rinaldi guessed all of the triple toss-ups, which brought his bank up to $10,000. Gathright solved the final puzzle, adding $4,500 to her bank. On the other hand, Mohr finished with $18,200; meanwhile, Rinaldi emerged as the winner of the game with $24,365 and three of the triple tossups.
Soon after, Rinaldi advanced to the bonus round. When asked to pick a category by the host, Ryan Seacrest, Rinaldi chose 'Place.' Then, the wheel gave him “R, S, T, L, N, and E,” and he ended up selecting “B, G, H, O, and D." As soon as the letters appeared on the screen, the puzzle read, “G__EBO.” Without wasting any time, Rinaldi screamed, “Gazebo!” At that point, Rinaldi won another $40,000, taking his total to $64,365.
As per Market Realist, Rinaldi took to his LinkedIn account to talk about his experience on 'Wheel of Fortune.' The caption of the post read, “A personal update and break from my typical project management content… this Tuesday, March 18, I will be a contestant on hashtag #WheelOfFortune! It’s been a hashtag #bucketlist item for me, and I’m thankful to my fellow contestants, crew, and of course hosts for a fabulous experience." Once the episode dropped, some of his friends and followers stopped by the comments section of the post to congratulate him on winning big on the game show. One user wrote, “Congrats, man! I remember when you were on another game show years ago. This is freaking awesome." Followed by a second person who commented, "Ooo. Can't wait to hear what fun anecdotal information they share about your life on the air. Hope you get to keep the name tag... Congrats!”
