‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans slam Ryan Seacrest for teasing million-dollar win as player loses out

Seacrest kept teasing the player and the fans about finally crowining a million dollar winner.

The contestant trying to solve the bonus round puzzle (Cover image source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

Ryan Seacrest has been having a hard time winning over “Wheel of Fortune” fans who are still loyal to his predecessor, Pat Sajak. But the antics he pulls off once in a while are, at times, too annoying and aren’t helping at all. Fans were unhappy about a contestant named Latanya Watkins losing out in the bonus round after coming close to winning $1 million. But it was Seacrest who got called out for building too much anticipation for the million-dollar win.

Screenshot showing the player with the million dollar wedge (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)
While the game didn’t start well for Watkins, she made a great comeback by solving the third puzzle to win $2,250 and take the lead. Further in the Mystery Round, she picked up the Wild Card and the One Million Dollar Wedge right after the other. She held on to the cards as she solved a few more puzzles to win $15,300 in cash and a trip to St. Lucia. With this, she emerged victorious and advanced to the bonus round.

This is when Seacrest started his antics and teased a big million-dollar win. “She might win $1 million,” the host said after Watkins picked the “Event” category for the final puzzle. He kept it up when the two gathered around the wheel to pick out the fateful Golden Envelope. “We have replaced the $100,000 card with $1 million. I think we’re ready to give away $1 million. Are you ready to win that?” he asked the player before she spun the wheel. “Oh yes!” she said in response.
Screenshot showing Seacrest hyping up the big win (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

Seacrest then added, “It might be my first million-dollar win,” as Watkins spun the wheel. After picking out the Golden Envelope, Seacrest said this might be the one. The two then made it to the center of the stage, where she faced a three-word puzzle. With the show’s standard letters, “R, S, T, L, N, E,” filled in, Watkins chose “C, D, H, M, and A,” as the additional letters after using the Wild Card. In the end, her puzzle read “_L_ _ _ _N_     A     H_ _SE.”

Screenshot showing the puzzle (Image source: YouTube/The Wheel Of Fortune)

As the ten-second timer kicked off, Watkins shouted out different phrases that ended in “a house.” While she kept trying to get the first word, the clock ran out on her. Co-host Vanna White then revealed that the answer was “Flipping a House.” Seacrest once again added to the hype by peeking into the envelope. After building much suspense, he revealed that it wasn’t the $1 million card, but Watkins had lost out on winning a brand new BMW car. The host kept hopes alive till the end as he walked over to reveal the million-dollar envelope that was resting on the wheel. “It’s gotta happen soon, right?” he said in the end.

While the loss was heartbreaking in itself, fans complained about Seacrest purposely giving them false hopes. “Dude, Ryan had me for a minute!” wrote @06MAN.
Screenshot of a comment on Seacrest’s antics (Image source: YouTube/@griffinholahan123)

“When Ryan slowly opens the envelope showing the BMW. I thought it was the million right behind there,” added another fan @QuintWise.

It’s not just “Wheel of Fortune” fans, but even “American Idol” judges have been annoyed by Ryan Seacrest’s antics as he hyped up Carrie Underwood.