One Wheel of Fortune player’s childhood dream was ripped at the seams after she lost the Bonus Round. This came after she and fellow contestants trash-talked each other throughout the episode.
Wheel of Fortune continued with their Bragging Rights Week on Wednesday, May 14, where a group of people who know each other, whether it’s family, friends, coworkers, etc., coworkers, compete against each other instead of complete strangers.
Courtney White, a former Marine, from San Diego, played against Tess Lee, also a marine corps. veteran, from Spring Valley, and Joe Vargas, an active duty Navy chief, from El Cajon, California, on Wednesday, May 14. White has had the dream of being on Wheel of Fortune since the seventh grade. She had also had the letters that she would use in the Bonus Round picked out since then.
In an after-show video with social media correspondent Maggie Sajak, White said that Vargas wanted to “talk all this smack,” but she was the one who won the game.
“I’m just ready to prove that I’m going to win the Bragging Rights for our team,” he said during the episode.
“Yeah. I had a feeling you would say that,” host Ryan Seacrest responded.
When Lee landed on Bankrupt and lost the $1 million wedge for all of them, Vargas yelled, “Thanks a lot, Tess!” Although he revealed to Sajak that he wasn’t disappointed and was super proud of White. “I know this has been her dream, so I’m just glad we were able to partake in it.”
Vargas ended with the least amount of money between all three of them — $8,000. Lee had $10,050 and a trip to Mexico. White was the big winner with $15,200.
“She’s been dreaming of this day since back in Okeeheelee Middle School in West Palm Beach, Florida,” Seacrest said during the Bonus Round. “Told you I’d make it here,” White told her teammates before spinning the wheel.
She chose “Place” for her category. After Wheel gave her “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” White didn’t hesitate to say the letters she’d been holding onto all of these years, which were “C,D,H, and A.”
“It’s been a lifetime to say those,” Ryan Seacrest said as the board lit up. Her puzzle then looked like “_A_-_AC_ED CA_E.” White guessed “cave,” “faced,” and “map,” but couldn’t guess the puzzle, which was “Jam-Packed Cafe.” She lost out on an additional $40,000. This made it the 13th Bonus Round puzzle in a row that has been lost.
When the credits rolled, Vargas claimed he knew the Bonus Round puzzle to which Seacrest said, “Bragger!”
At the end of the interview with Sajak, she said that they are a lot nicer to each other off-camera.
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