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'Wheel of Fortune' contestant stuns the audience with impossible solve in just 1.5 seconds

She solved a four-word phrase with hardly any letters on the board.

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A woman's iconic, $50,000 puzzle solve on 'Wheel of Fortune' is going viral.

Still talking about your great Wordle guess from the other day? You might want to take a seat and watch how a truly great puzzle solver does it.

Listen, while we all love a hilarious Wheel of Fortune fail, watching an epic win can be just as entertaining. And that’s exactly what recently happened on The Wheel when a contestant named Traci Demus-Gamble made a winning puzzle solve so out-of-nowhere that it made host Ryan Seacrest jokingly check her for a hidden earpiece.

In a clip posted to the show’s YouTube account Friday, Jan. 17, Demus-Gamble waved to her husband who was standing on the sidelines before going up to the stage for her next challenge: guess a four-word “phrase.”

Wheel of fortune, gameshow, tv, tv game show, puzzles, word games, word puzzles, viral videos, live tv, ryan seacrest Step right up and take a spin on the Wheel of Fortune! Giphy

Demus-Gamble wasn’t off to a great start, as only two of her given letters (“T” and “E”) made it to the board. And the odds didn’t improve much after Demus-Gamble, admittedly “nervous,” gave the letters “M,” “C,” “D,” and “O” and only two of those letters showed up once on the board.

“Again, not too much more, but who knows, you’ve had a lot of good luck tonight,” Seacrest said. “Maybe it’ll strike you.”

Demus-Gamble had almost nothing to go off of. No category, no lucky words that were already filled in.

Then, all in under ten seconds (more like in 1.5 seconds), Demus-Gamble correctly guessed, “They go way back” like it was nothing. She was right, to the amazement of everyone watching.

Watch the incredible moment below:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"How in the world did you solve that last one?" Seacrest asked.

"I just dug deep, I dug deep," Demus-Gamble said.

Yeah, you dug real deep," Seacrest replied. "Congratulations, great, great work."

The clip racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, where commenters couldn't believe their eyes:

“Now THAT was an amazing solve.”

“Wow! That was impressive!”

“I couldn't solve that one to save my life, but Demus-Gamble got it like it was nothing.”

“There's only one way to describe this to me: 😦”

"One of the most impressive bonus round solves I've seen for this season"

"I’m happy for her, that was not an easy puzzle to solve and she got it right away. So amazing! I definitely had no idea what it was and I’m pretty good solving the puzzles."

Demus-Gamble's solve was absolutely incredible, but it might fall just short of being the best of all time.

In 2020, a woman named Taya solved a lengthy five-letter phrase with just two letters given: "A Place Like No Other." Another man guessed "Championship Match" with only the letter T present.

Demus-Gamble's epic solve definitely earns her a spot in the Wheel of Fortune Hall of Fame, however.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Solving word puzzles like this one might seem like pure luck, but there's definitely a strong element of skill involved. Keen watchers of the show will be familiar with patterns and will quickly be able to identify likely choices. For example, in the clip above, the first word is shown at "T_E_." It could be a lot of different words, but it's highly probable that it's "They." It takes a lot of practice and quick thinking to recognize that in just a fraction of a second.

According to her LinkedIn, Demus-Gamble has worked as an English teacher and as a self-employed author, which totally checks out.

At the end of the clip, Seacrest opened the envelope to reveal that Demus-Gamble’s puzzle solve won her $50,000, earning her a total win of $78,650. Certainly not chump change.

As for her winning strategy—Demus-Gamble assured no cheating was involved. “I just dug deep," she told Seacrest. We’ll say.

This article originally appeared in January. It has been updated.

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‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant immediately regrets his hilariously wrong answer to an easy puzzle

“I can’t breathe. I am laughing so hard."

via WheelRob/X

Will Jodran has a hilarious answer on "Wheel of Fortune."

The Monday, November 11, Veteran’s Day episode of “Wheel of Fortune” featured military veterans competing for cash and prizes. But it’ll probably be best remembered for a hilarious answer given by Coast Guard veteran Will Jordan.

Jordan is a veteran police officer working as a school resource officer in Newington, Connecticut.

During Round 1` under the “Phrase” category, Jordan faced a 6-word puzzle that read “_ _ _ E / _ O U R S E _ F / A / R O U N _ / O F / A _ _ _ A U S E.” At that point, Jordan thought he had the answer and proudly proclaimed, “I’d like to solve.” His answer was as strange, to say the least: “Treat Yourself A Round Of Sausage.”

First of all, sausage doesn’t start with an “A.” Second, have you ever heard anyone say they’re going to eat a “round” of sausage? People will treat someone to a round of beer or golf. But sausage, not so much.



When the phrase came out of his mouth, Jordan seemed to realize he was wrong by yelling quickly, “No.” Kitina Thomas, a retired Air Force vet from San Antonio, Texas, followed up Jordan’s incorrect guess with the correct answer: “Give Yourself A Round Of Applause.”

“Yeah, that’s it,” host Ryan Seacrest said. “Although, Will, I kind of like yours better. That sounds better than just clapping right now.” At the end of the game, Army Reserves veteran Chantel Toran took first place with $13,000, Thomas made $10,500, while Jordan finished in third with $8,000. He says he will use the money to take his family on a cruise.

Viewers took to social media to share their thoughts on Jordan’s hilarious answer.

“I think he realized he didn’t know right after he said he’d like to solve,” an X user wrote.

“I don't know how Vanna keeps a straight face the whole time. Hahaha,” an X user added.

“I can’t breathe. I was laughing so hard. He was so confident, too. “I’D LIKE TO SOLVE!” said one Reddit user.



When the game was over, Jordan told Maggie Sajak, former host Pat Sajak’s daughter, that he was so starstruck that it screwed up his performance. "I tell you when the lights go on and you know the stars—Ryan Seacrest, Vanna White. I just went blank."

But he hoped Sajak’s father would get a kick out of his outlandish answer. "If your dad in retirement is watching this show, maybe cracks a beer and gets a laugh, then it was worth it,” Jordan said. Pat Sajak, who hosted “Wheel of Fortune” for 41 seasons, recently handled over the reigns of the show to “Kelly and Ryan” host Ryan Seacrest.

Ultimately, Jordan is a little scared about what he may have to deal with when he returns home to Connecticut. "I'm sure I'm going to have sausages in my locker and police car when I get back. We'll try to have some fun with it,” he joked.

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'Wheel of Fortune' contestant dubbed 'best ever' after his instant $67,000 winning move

Pat Sajak was left speechless.

Wheel of Fortune/Youtube

Imagine winning that much money in milliseconds.

Over its decades-long syndication run, “Wheel of Fortune” has given audiences their fair share of epic wins (not to mention royally embarrassing misses). But regardless, seeing someone effortlessly wordsmith their way into winning big money never gets old.

And this big win came in a matter of milliseconds.

Alex Harrell, a father from Stafford, Virginia, who has served over nine years in the Marine Corps as an Osprey pilot, had already dominated the episode—racking up $27,105, a cruise and a trip to Aruba, per TV Insider.


This brought the young Marine to the Bonus round, where he selected the “Food and Drink” category and the letters “H, G, P and O.”

Up on the two-word puzzle screen, “T _ P _ O _ _ / P _ _ _ _ N G” appeared.

Before Pat Sajak is even able to say “if you need more time,” Harrell had his answer.

“Tapioca Pudding.”

Shaking his head in astonishment, Sajak opened the envelope to reveal Harrel won an additional $40,000, which gave him an overall total of $67,150, plus his trips.

“Way to go, Alex. Best contestant ever tonight!” wrote one viewer on YouTube.

Another added, “intense bonus round, he rocked it.”

Folks on X shared a similar sentiment.

One person wrote, “WOW!! Alex did Excellent!!! That’s the way we like it…and thank you for your service.”

Another seconded, “I'm assuming he's gonna go back to the Hyatt and roll around in the bed with all that dough.”

Now one has to wonder…does Harrell have a knack for words? Or is he just that big a fan of pudding? Either way, it paid off.

Watch his iconic win below:

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After 37 years, Vanna White finally got to host an episode of Wheel of Fortune

For 37 years, we've seen Vanna White glamorously and quietly turning the letters on Wheel of Fortune. During the show's history, she's worn over 6,700 gowns, and has clapped an average of 606 times a show. But until now, she's never hosted a full episode. Now, she's finally getting her turn to ask contestants if they'd like to buy a vowel.

Pat Sajak had an emergency surgery to correct a blocked intestine, leaving the show without a host. White was asked to step in, something she had never thought about. "I've never even thought of that in 37 years," White said in an interview, "and to be asked almost on the spot, 'How do you feel about hosting the show?' Like, what?!"

White will host the show for three weeks while Sajak recovers, although they won't air in that order.


RELATED: Alex Trebek made a very sad announcement, but his positivity and humor has everyone fighting with him.

While White filled in for Sajak, Minnie Mouse filled in for White. White was nervous during the show, but did great despite only having a few hours to prepare. "I literally had a 30-minute rehearsal of hosting the game. I did one, and then we did the shows! I'm very green, let's put it that way," White told People Magazine. "I think for listening Pat for 37 years, I understood the game and how he hosted it. I was very familiar with the show."

Fans were excited to see White finally step behind the wheel.








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There have been jokes made that it took White 37 years to get a promotion, but there's a sad truth behind it. Hosting game shows has largely been left to men, with women relegated to standing on the side and looking pretty.

Hollywood Game Night host Jane Lynch said, "I'm always surprised" when to comes to how few female game show hosts there have been. "'Hollywood Game Night' might have started this revival, but there's still no more female hosts," Lynch told the Huffington Post. "I'm the only one. There's just kind of an inability to open up the mind, I think, to females hosting things."

Meredith Vieira was able to have a lengthy run as the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, serving as host from 2002 to 2013. However, female gameshow hosts have been few and far between. When British show The Weakest Link was turned into American TV, Anne Robinson hosted the American version for only one year.

White says that women should be able to host game shows, too, even if "you don't see a lot of it." Gameshow hosts shouldn't be limited to the likes of Pat Sajak. "Everybody's entitled to host the show: female, male, everyone," White said. "It would be fun to see more women up there doing that. If that's what they want to do."

Even if we don't see more of White donning the hosting duties, hopefully we'll see more female gameshow hosts in the future.

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