A Wheel of Fortune contestant practically had the Bonus Round puzzle gift-wrapped for her on Thursday’s (April 18) episode but still managed to mess it up, costing her $40,000.
The contestant in question was Manisha Grant, a home bakery owner from Lake Panasoffke, Florida, who’s been watching Wheel for 40 years. She faced off against Courtney Johnson, a mom of three daughters from Jacksonville, Florida, and Kyle Johnson, head coach of a high school volleyball program from Calumet City, Illinois.
Grant’s decades of watching the long-running game show paid off, as she dominated the competition from the start. After the Mystery Round, she stood at $13,000, while her two opponents had $0 each.
She continued to run away with things in the Express Round, increasing her winnings to $26,900 and bagging herself a trip to The Buccaneer Beach & Golf Resort in St. Croix. Again, her fellow contestants had yet to move off $0.
While the other competitors managed to get on the board in the later rounds, it wasn’t enough to top Grant’s $26,900, which saw her advance to the Bonus Round.
“You kind of dominated here,” host Pat Sajak told Grant as they made their way over to the puzzle board.
Grant selected “What Are You Doing?” as her category and the additional letters “P, G, C, and A.”
Those proved to be intelligent picks, as it left her with a three-word puzzle that read “_ R A P P _ N G / S _ _ E / G _ _ T S.”
Even though the answer seemed obvious, the pressure got to Grant and she was unable to figure out the middle word. She made close but incorrect guesses of “Wrapping Safe Gifts” and “Wrapping Same Gifts” before the timer ran out.
Vanna White then revealed the correct answer as “Wrapping SOME Gifts.”
“Sometimes the easiest words can be the trickiest. You were looking for something a little trickier there. I’m sorry… you were darn close,” Sajak said before revealing Grant missed out on $40,000.
While Sajak was sympathetic, viewers at home weren’t so forgiving.
“Ouch, that $40k was gift-wrapped after some good letter guesses,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“Wrapping safe gifts,” commented another fan, followed by a face-palm emoji.
“WRAPPING SOME GIFTS!!! how!!???” exclaimed another. “How does that not become the first thought?? But “Wrapping Safe Gifts” ????”
One viewer wrote, “Just when I finally sing the praises of a contestant, they let me down in the Bonus Round.”
“Oh, brother… that was so easy, too,” added a YouTube commenter.
Could you have solved this puzzle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Wheel of Fortune, Weekdays, check your local listings