‘Wheel of Fortune’: Military Mom Speaks Out After Winning $73,000

A Wheel of Fortune contestant, who is a new military mom, dominated the game and won $73,000, including a trip to Costa Rica. Her win came before she challenged host Ryan Seacrest to a plank-off.

Becky Lenski, from Yorkville, Illinois, faced off against Yolande Johnson, from Montgomery, Alabama, and Josh Ficciotti, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the Wednesday, April 16 episode. Lenski, shared that she has two sons — Van, who just enlisted in the army, and Max, who is a freshmen at Ole Miss.

Johnson, a baker who enjoys weekend getaways, solved the first toss-up. Lenksi solved the second. The game show contestants both earned $1,000. Johnson took the lead when she solved the first puzzle. However, she landed on Bankrupt on the next puzzle, giving up her lead. In a surprising turn of events, Ficciotti, a nerd memorabilia collector, solved the puzzle and took the lead with $4,100.

Ficciotti solved most of the prize puzzle until he landed on Bankrupt. After only choosing two letters, Lenski solved “Walking through a cloud forest” and won a trip to Costa Rica, taking the lead.

For the Triple Toss-Ups, Lenski solved two and Johnson solved one. Lenski also solved the final puzzle — “From Rags to Riches” — and made her way to the Bonus Round with a total of $23,150. Johnson left with $5,000. Ficciotti took home $4,100. Lenski chose “What are you doing?” for her final category.