{"id":425211,"date":"2024-11-28T12:28:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T12:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=425211"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Wheel-of-Fortune-Fans-Blame-Ryan-Seacrest-After-Contestant-s-Epic-Fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Wheel-of-Fortune-Fans-Blame-Ryan-Seacrest-After-Contestant-s-Epic-Fail\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Wheel of Fortune\u2019 Fans Blame Ryan Seacrest After Contestant\u2019s Epic Fail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wheel of Fortune<\/em><\/a> viewers were at a loss for words when a contestant lost the game and his shot at the bonus round\u2014not by botching a puzzle, but by correctly solving it one letter too soon. Many fans blamed Ryan Seacrest\u2019s<\/a> lack of seasoned hosting for the truly head-spinning mistake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 26, during the \u201cFinal Spin\u201d puzzle. The wheel landed on the $5,000 wedge, and the audience went wild. This meant that consonants were worth $6,000 each, so the three-word \u201cEvent\u201d puzzle would likely decide who\u2019d win. After a few correct guesses from each player, Kathryn McWhorter from Arlington, Tennessee, who had $14,176 going in, correctly chose a \u201cG.\u201d At this juncture, it read as, \u201cTOUR_NG \u2018A\u2019 \u2018_ _ _ N_R_\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

McWhorter got buzzed, and the next contestant, Oleh Voloshyn, who grew up watching the show in Ukraine and now lives in Maryland, had amassed $12,000 from it. If he chose one more consonant correctly, he\u2019d get another $6,000 and $18,000 total to win the game. Instead, he decided to forgo calling a consonant and solved the puzzle correctly as \u201cTOURING A WINERY.\u201d<\/p>\n

This left Voloshyn with $12,000 and $14,000 in total, while McWhorter, with her previous $14,176, won by a mere $176. This meant that his not picking one more consonant first made the difference. Seacrest turned to the players and gently told Voloshyn he was \u201cjust shy\u201d of the bonus round.<\/p>\n

\"wheel-of-fortune-11-27\"<\/p>\n

\"wheel-of-fortune-11-27\"<\/p>\n

\"wheel-of-fortune-11-27\"<\/p>\n

Fans took social media in disbelief at the one-letter loss, with a fan dedicated a discussion on the WoF<\/em> Reddit to the maddening moment titled, \u201cCan\u2019t believe what I just saw\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

They continued, \u201cInstead of guessing a letter and getting an extra SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS, Oleh decided to solve right away on the last round??!?!?!??!? He just threw away so much money!!! FOR NO REASON. AND HE WOULD HAVE WON. WTF.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many others argued that Seacrest should have reminded the player he could choose one more letter as Pat Sajak<\/a> always did so in this situation, instead of letting him fall in his sword in front of millions of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cPat [Sajak] would have reminded him to guess a letter before solving,\u201d one fan replied which got 20 upvotes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were screaming at the screen!\u201d wrote another.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not ask for a W and sail into the bonus round? What a dummy!\u201d wrote a third.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t watched wheel of fortune in years and came to Reddit to find this\u2026no situational awareness,\u201d wrote a fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m Oleh, I\u2019m upset at myself for not realizing the situation\u2026\u201d wrote a fifth. \u201cI\u2019m also angry at Ryan for not doing something that Pat always made a point to do in this exact situation. It\u2019s not the host\u2019s job to point those types of things out but Pat always tried so now we expect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised by that too. I\u2019m sure he was kicking himself when he realized\u2026\u201d wrote a sixth.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould Ryan not say something???\u201d asked an additional fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly!\u201d replied one more. \u201cPeople do this all the time, or at least try to. Pat was great at always reminding them to call another letter first though. I\u2019m pretty sure Ryan did the same thing in his first or second episode, which was passable since he was new. But now?\u201d<\/p>\n

A fan titled a separate Reddit thread about the incident, \u201cSuper frustrating,\u201d adding, \u201cI was so upset for Oleg tonight, why oh why didn\u2019t you pick one of the letters for Touring a Winery rather than just solving!?! He would have won if he had poor guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

There, fans felt similarly, one writing, \u201cDidn\u2019t Pat used to say \u201cdo you want to guess a letter first\u201d? I\u2019ve noticed a couple times that Ryan does not do this. Not blaming Ryan. This was frustrating for my wife and I too.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyan needs to start doing this,\u201d one more fan surmised.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile,\u00a0<\/em>Seacrest, of course, had huge shoes to fill replacing the legendary Sajak\u00a0alongside the iconic\u00a0Vanna White<\/a>\u00a0after four decades for Season 42. His debut month was the\u00a0strongest ratings month for\u00a0WoF<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in the past three years, and viewers were already treated to a viral moment (via a\u00a0round of sausage)<\/a>. That said, there have been some other questionable hosting moments.<\/p>\n

In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his\u00a0\u201cfirst blooper\u201d<\/a>, involving a prolonged reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Fans also called out the host for\u00a0ruling against another player before the timer was up.<\/a> Many fans also blamed a lack of experience on Seacrest\u2019s mishandling of a\u00a0contestant\u2019s $1million wedge,<\/a> which she instantly forfeited, the new host having not reminding her what was at stake.<\/p>\n

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Wheel of Fortune<\/strong><\/em>, Weeknights, Check your local listings<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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