SHOCKING TRUTH – Wheel of Fortune contestant drops chance to win $71,000 right before his eyes, the whole studio is silent and the audience explodes with criticism. Social media is flooded with angry comments, calling this ‘the most bitter moment in the history of game shows.’ Many people even demand an explanation from the organizers, while longtime fans exclaimed: ‘We have never seen such a painful misstep.’ Will this be the scandal that haunts the show for many years to come?

Fans have blasted Wheel of Fortune after a contestant lost out on $71,000 in the Bonus Round. They claim the puzzle in the round did not match up with the category, making it too hard.

Teryce Walters, from Bolingbrook, Illinois, played against Dawn McMahon, from Galena, Ohio, and Nick Oswald, from Ankeny, Iowa, on Thursday, September 18. Walters, a fourth-grade teacher, solved the second Toss Up for $2,000. McMahon, a high school science teacher, solved the first.

Walters maintained the lead with $5,600 when she solved “Global Positioning System.” She landed on the $10,000 in the Crossword puzzle. The category was “Corn,” and she solved “Bread,” “Ball,” “Dogs,” and “Flakes” for $17,800.

Walters solved the Prize Puzzle — “Beautiful Day Advisory!” — and won a trip to the Dominican Republic, putting $27,560 in her bank. She added $4,000 to her total by solving two of the three Triple Toss Ups. Oswald, a choir teacher, finally got on the board when he solved the other.

Oswald walked away with $11,600 after solving the final puzzle — “Pomp and Circumstance.” “Wow!” Oswald exclaimed. McMahon went home with $1,000. The big winner of the night was Walters with $31,560.

She chose “Event” for her category and brought her husband, Horace, with her. Walters was given R,S,T,L,N, and E.” She chose “M,D,F, and A.”

Only getting one extra letter, the puzzle looked like “_ _ _ER  _ _TA_E.” “That’s it,” host Ryan Seacrest said.

The game show contestant didn’t guess it in time, saying “Cover,” “Baker,” “Exhale.” The puzzle was revealed to be “Power Outage.” She lost out on taking home an additional $40,000, which would have given her a total of $71,560.

Fans blasted the show for having “Power Outage” in the “Events” category. “Great player, but no way to get that bonus round puzzle. I would say a power outage is more of a ‘thing’ than an ‘event’,” a YouTube user wrote. 

“How is a power outage an ‘event’? That’s more of a thing than an event,” another said. 

“A power outage is not an event,” a third said.

“The puzzle looked difficult to solve,” one last fan said.