“Wheel of Fortune” fans are used to shocking losses in bonus rounds after watching contestants effortlessly glide through other games. But sometimes, players tend to surprise viewers and the hosts in a good way, by pulling off unexpected wins. One such player registered a $100,000 bonus round win and went home with $126,000 in one night. He got lucky with his choice of letters and solved the final puzzle for the grand prize.
Cory Earp was off to a great start by taking the early lead with $7,150 in the bank. However, his competitor, Davis, mounted a strong comeback in the mystery round to win a trip to Mexico and $14,184 in cash. She continued to win more as she bagged another Road Scholar tour of France worth $11,498, in the express round, according to Andy Nguyen’s blog. Then Earp fought back to pull off a Triple Toss Up sweep to get close to her lead. In the end, he won more money in the final round to emerge as the big winner with $26,450.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, Earp chose the category “What Are You Wearing?” for his final puzzle and brought his mother and best friend, Abby, to the stage for support. Before spinning the wheel, Earp asked, “What do y’all think it’s [the wheel] going to land on?” After his mother said, it would be the ‘A’, Seacrest quickly reprimanded Earp, saying, “Hey! I’ll ask the questions around here.”
After spinning the wheel and picking out his Golden Envelope, Earp faced a two-word puzzle. With the show’s standard letters, “R, S, T, L, N, E” filled in, he chose “B, F, K, and A” as his additional letters, which turned out to be great, as the puzzle read, “F A N _ _ B L A _ E R.”
With just one second in, Earp yelled out the correct answer, “Fancy Blazer,” to win the Bonus Round. As Seacrest turned to the player and slowly revealed that he had won the $100,000 prize, Earp jumped up in the air with delight. He was then joined by Vanna White, his mom, and a friend on the stage as the confetti dropped.
“Now, let me ask you a question. What is this moment like for you, Cory?” Seacrest asked the winner. “I’ve watched ever since I was young, and I probably won’t believe it until it comes on, honestly. Like that. Unbelievable. I’m speechless. Crazy, crazy, crazy,” he said in the end.
Even the fans at home were delighted to see Earp bag the grand prize. “Congratulations!!! I solved it when the extra letters were put on the board!!! This has to be the earliest $100 winner of the entire series!!!” wrote one fan, @LouiseLuccio1213, in the comments on YouTube.
