LosA Wheel of Fortune contestant received a hug from host Ryan Seacrest after they lost out on winning $114,000. The firefighter had already won $14,000 on the game show, but couldn’t solve the tough Bonus Round puzzle that would have earned him an extra $100,000. The poor guy was in agony when he saw how much he could have won.
Cameron Payne, from Katy, Texas, played against Brandi Pineda, from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Jessica Gabriel, from Bismarck, North Dakota, on December 22. Payne is a girl dad who sometimes puts on makeup and dresses when playing with his two daughters. In exchange, they watch Packers games with him.
Payne solved the first toss-up while Gabriel solved the second one. Gabriel solved “Visiting The Veterinarian,” obtained the Wild Card, and put $6,650 in her bank.
Payne had solved most of the next puzzle, but when he lost a turn, it moved to Pineda, an educator, who solved “Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens” for $1,450.
Payne won a trip to Walt Disney World after solving “Not a Cloud in the Sky.” This gave him a total of $10,478.
Payne put $4,000 in his bank when he solved two of the three triple toss-ups. Pineda solved the third, obtaining $2,000. Gabriel solved the final puzzle — “Who’s Keeping Score?” — for $3,800.
She ended with $10,450. Pineda went home with $3,450. Payne was the night’s big winner with $14,478. He advanced to the Bonus Round and picked “Phrase.”
He brought his wife, Ashley, and his dad, Mark, with him. “We’re so proud of you!” Ashley said.
“We’ve got $100,000 on the wheel. That would be big,” Ryan Seacrest said. “Any amount is big.”
After being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E” by Wheel of Fortune, Payne chose “C,H,P, and A.” His letter choices only gave him one letter. The puzzle looked like “_ _ _E _E THE L_ _ _ _ _N.”
“Have Me The Lesson” Payne guessed at the last second. “This is going to be tricky to get to. I don’t know how you would have gotten there,” Seacrest said.
The puzzle was “Give Me The Lowdown.” The game show contestant lost out on taking home an additional $100,000, for a total of $114,478.
Payne walked away, and Seacrest held out his arms in a hug. “I’m sorry!” Payne said.
“No, don’t apologize,” the host replied while hugging him.
Payne spoke out about the moment on YouTube. “I did need that hug! It was me, and I was so close to closing out the greatest night of my life with 100k. The most fun I’ve ever had. Thank you, Wheel of Fortune,” he commented on the Bonus Round video.
Wheel of Fortune, Weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
Commented