Wheel of Fortune/YouTube

‘Wheel of Fortune’: Local TV Meteorologist Loses Car After Buzzer ‘Beeps Too Soon’

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 3:08 PM ET

A Wheel of Fortune contestant lost out on winning a car when fans claimed that the game show set off the buzzer before time ran out. Video seems to show that while the beep went off there was still a couple of seconds left on the clock. Fans relived the moment when the October 15 episode reaired on Tuesday, June 24, during Wheel‘s summer reruns.

Jamel Vanderburg, an ABC7NY local news meteorologist, from Hempstead, New York, played against Marvel Murray, from McCormick, South Carolina, and Nancy Naigle, from Franklin, Virginia.

After winning $40,998 in cash and a trip to Alaska, Vanderburg advanced to the Bonus Round. Naigle, an author of small-town love stories, went home with $1,000. Murray, a woman who wants to be all over the news, put up a good fight with $23,400.

Vanderburg chose “Phrase” for his Bonus Round category. Although he was only one letter off from winning, he was robbed of time to try and guess again.

Vanderburg had the letters “R,S,T,L,N and E,” as well as “W,Y,P, and A.” His puzzle then looked like “‘ALWAYS _N _E_AN_.” Before the timer could start, the Wheel of Fortune contestant shouted, “Always On Demand!” With five seconds left, Vanderburg turned to Vanna White to see if he was correct and stopped guessing.

The buzzer went off, and host Ryan Seacrest revealed it to be “Always IN Demand.” Vanderburg stood there in disbelief as the envelope revealed that he would have won a new Ford.

Vanderburg shrugged it off and said that he was glad to still have won $40,000 and a trip to Alaska, as Seacrest hugged him.

Fans claimed that there was still a couple of seconds left on the timer as the letters began to fill in. “The guy on the show today beat the timer, and he lost the Ford. What a travesty,” an Instagram user said.

“@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!” said an X user.

“What just happened on #WheelOfFortune ? The buzzer went off, but the clock was still running. Jamel was cheated,” a third added.

“He was so close, but I love his positivity in spite of not winning,” a YouTube user said.

“ALWAYS ON DEMAND vs ALWAYS IN DEMAND (yikes, one letter away!!!),” another commented.

“They should have given him a win,” one fan suggested.

Some blamed Ryan Seacrest for not speaking up about the time left on the buzzer. “Ryan, tonight on @WheelofFortune they rang the buzzer and cut the Bonus Round music on Jamel with 40% of his time left. …Then started filling in the puzzle with 1 more tick left on the clock. He knew ‘Always on demand’. With that time left, he’d have solved ‘Always IN demand,” a fan said.

Wheel of Fortune will keep airing reruns of Ryan Seacrest’s first season until Season 43 begins in September.

Wheel of Fortune, Season 43, Fall 2025, check local listings

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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