Not every memorable moment on Wheel of Fortune is all about the wins. Often it is the near-miss loses that stand out, when the contestants come so close to winning a large prize but just miss out in the end. The recent Wheel of Fortune Season 41 reruns reminded viewers of an ironic answer that cost contestant Celina Alvarado more than $100,000 in the Bonus Round. The Zumba instructor from Arizona dominated the game from the early stages, but in the last round Alvarado was stumped by a puzzle that had an ironic answer, considering the quiz show attracts trivia lovers from across the globe.
Alvarado performed well throughout the early rounds, after a rocky start when all three contestants stumbled on the first toss-up puzzle in the category “Occupation.” When the puzzle wasn’t solved until almost every letter was filled in, new host Ryan Seacrest joked that he, too, was unaware that a “Chief Happiness Officer” was an occupation, but that every workplace should have one. After this early stumble, Alvarado began to dominate the game, which is what ultimately made her big $100,000 loss in the final round so memorable.
The Memorable $100K Loss Came After a Brilliant Game
After solving a prize puzzle, Alvardo took the lead in the game, earning $18,350 and a trip to Costa Rica. She then continued to dominate, earning more than $30,000 before the Bonus Round. For the final puzzle, in the category of “Person,” Alvarado chose the letters “M,P,D, and I,” after being provided with the customary letters “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” This left her with few options for her to tease out the final answer.
Her initial guess of “Trivia Quiz” was close, but didn’t fit the category. Her second guess of “Trivia Kids” was even closer still. But luck wasn’t on the player’s side, and she ran out of time before she was able to guess the ironic correct response. Most viewers of Wheel of Fortune would probably consider themselves to be a “Trivia Buff,” so it was ironic that such a well-rounded player would miss out on this puzzle. It turns out the envelope Alvarado had landed on in her final Bonus Round spin contained the $75,000 prize, which when added with the $30, 350 she had already earned would have buffed her total amount to more than $100,000.
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As much as I’d love to binge Wheel of Fortune, let’s not jump to streaming just yet.
The Big ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Misses Make Memorable TV
Even with her Bonus Round loss, Alvarado still walked away with a pretty hefty consolation prize. But it is the big $100,000 loss that made the episode memorable. Win or lose, when the thought of a big payout is on the line, it tends to stand out to viewers.
A clear example comes from earlier in the season, when an endearing nurse from Kentucky earned the opportunity to spin for the million dollar wedge in the Bonus Round. Unfortunately, nurse Jesse Larson wasn’t able to solve the final puzzle, and even though the envelope she landed on in her spin turned out to contain the $40,000 prize, it was missing out on the chance of the highest prize that is most memorable. A loss in the bonus round is always heartbreaking, since the contestant has already traversed the hidden pitfalls of the game, like landing on a “Bankrupt” tile and starting over. These big Bonus Round losses stand out in the memory of the viewers, and often create some of the most memorable moments of the season.