Wheel of Fortune fans think they know why a contestant lost out on taking home $65,000. The photographer/videographer couldn’t solve the Bonus Round puzzle, which fans agreed was very tricky. But there was one element to it that made it especially tough..
Janel Pilate, from Chicago, Illinois, played against Ricky Ostry, from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Theresa Chapman, from Taylors, South Carolina, on January 22. While Pilate takes photos and videos during the day, she also loves spending time with children and teens in the community, who call her Coach J, at the South Side Help Center.
She solved the first toss-up while Ostry, a member of a ton of different bands, solved the second. After Pilate and Chapman, a retired grandmom, guessed most of the letters in the first puzzle, the turn moved to Ostry, who only guessed two letters and then solved “Soothing Mud Bath” for $6,100.
Ostry also solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “Mr. Potato Head Cold” — which gave him a total of $8,050.
Pilate took the lead when she solved the prize puzzle — “Chasing Waterfalls” — for a trip to Panama. This gave her a total of $16,250.
Chapman finally got on the board with $2,000 when she solved one of the three triple toss-ups. Pilate solved the other two, adding $4,000 to her bank.
Ostry solved the final puzzle, “Rainbow Fruit Tart,” giving him a final total of $15,650. Chapman went home with $2,000. Pilate was the night’s big winner with $20,250.
She chose “Food & Drink” for her bonus Round category. During the break, the game show swapped out her name tag for one that said “Coach J.”
After being given “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” Pilate chose “D,C,M, and A” to round out her puzzle. It then looked like “_ _ _N_A _ _ _L.”
As the clock counted down, she guessed “Granola Bowl,” “Banana Bowl,” and “Fruit Bowl.” Pilate couldn’t quite guess “Quinoa Bowl.” She would have added $45,000 to her total, which would have given her $65,250.
Fans said that this one thing caused her to lose the Bonus Round — no one ever picks “Q” as one of their letters. “‘Quinoa’ is a good word for protecting margins. No one guesses Q and only 1 vowel can be chosen,” one YouTube user said.
“It’s rare for a Q to be in the Bonus Round,” another commented.
“Always with the Q!” a third added.
“The A was a good guess, but the B or the O could be used. Q is a rare letter but not frequently used here,” another wrote.
“What a tough puzzle, especially with the letter Q,” one last fan said.
Could you solve the puzzle? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
