‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Slam Bonus Round Puzzle After Controversial New Twist
Wheel of Fortune is shaking up its traditional format in an unprecedented way. Rather than pitting three unfamiliar contestants against one another for cash prizes, the show features three friends competing head-to-head to determine who is “the best Wheel of Fortune contestant,” earning both money and ultimate bragging rights.
The participants featured on the Monday, May 12 broadcast are colleagues who have served together at a Rhode Island Fire Department for 20 years. Among the trio, one aimed to claim the title of “King of Wheel of Fortune,” another declared themselves “the real boss,” while the third likened his situation to the story of David versus Goliath.
Johnston, Rhode Island native Melissa “Missy” Porter squared off against her firefighter coworkers: Darrin “Poppa” Gallagher of Narragansett, Rhode Island, and Tim Stebenne of Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Viewers quickly took to social media to share their thoughts on the new format. “This is so much better than playing in teams,” one fan shared on Instagram.
Another enthusiastic viewer commented, “I’m rooting for them as individuals and as a team I AM SO CONFUSED BUT I LOVE IT!!!”
On Reddit, a user noted, “I really enjoyed the dynamic of them all being friends, and while I know it shouldn’t be the norm, I’d love to see it more often. I have never seen it before.”
“Nice fresh concept we are seeing this week,” added another fan.
A final viewer pointed out, “I like the concept of Bragging Rights. How many of us have sat on our couches competing against friends and/or family members? So to see that play out on television is interesting. It’s also a sign that there’s a new era of Wheel between Ryan and Bellamie.”
This week also saw the return of the Jackpot twist, beginning at $0 and growing by $500 with every spin. The contestant who successfully solves the puzzle in that round claims both the jackpot and their regular winnings. Additionally, if a player lands on the $1 Million Wedge, host Ryan Seacrest holds onto it. Provided no one hits Bankrupt before the round concludes, the round’s victor carries the wedge into the Bonus Round, assuming they make it that far.
Xem bài viết này trên Instagram
Porter—who uniquely cooks meatballs only while watching the show—and Gallagher, his station’s most veteran firefighter, successfully answered the initial two toss-up puzzles. Stebenne, who first met his competitors 21 years prior at the fire academy (where Porter was his first truck run partner and “Poppa” served as their instructor), secured a vacation to Iceland by solving the phrase “Love-Hate Relationship.”
Stebenne followed up by solving the subsequent puzzle too. Then, Gallagher correctly guessed “Lush Rainforest of Panama,” earning himself a trip to the Central American country.
Sweeping all three Triple Toss-Ups for $10,000, Gallagher surged into the lead. Porter managed to solve the last puzzle of the main game, “Running Neck and Neck,” securing $6,000 to bring her final tally to $7,000. Ultimately, Gallagher emerged as the overall champion with $20,150 in cash plus the Panama trip, while Stebenne concluded his run with a respectable $12,700.
Heading into the Bonus Round, Gallagher selected the category “What are you doing?” as his firefighter friends cheered enthusiastically from their podiums. However, once the solution was revealed, the show immediately faced backlash from fans.
After the standard “R, S, T, L, N, and E” were provided, Gallagher added “K, D, G, and A” to the board. This left the puzzle looking like: “TAK_NG A _ _ _ _ _.”
With the timer ticking away, Gallagher could only manage to guess “Taking a…” before getting stuck on the final word. The correct answer was “Taking a whiff,” a phrase he admitted he would have never figured out.
Host Ryan Seacrest then revealed that Gallagher had missed out on an extra $40,000. Notably, this marked the 11th consecutive Bonus Round loss for the series.
Online reactions poured in, with one YouTube user stating, “Another tough word.”
Another frustrated viewer expressed, “At this point, I don’t even care if it’s the regular $40,000 anymore. Just win something!”
A third commenter chimed in: “What is going on right now? And 11 losses in a row tomorrow somebody’s gonna have to break the losing streak.”
Analyzing the puzzle, another fan noted, “That was a hard one surprisingly. I knew the first part was ‘Taking A’ without the letter selection. But that last word was odd because there was no T or R. I’ve heard of Take A Whiff, but not Taking A Whiff.”
“I thought it was ‘taking a break’,” admitted another fan.
A final commenter questioned the vocabulary choice entirely: “How many people used this word in a year WHIFF or even in ten years.”
Wheel of Fortune airs weeknights; check your local listings.