Friendship Feed thought of the idea of having a list of actual contestants following my site similar to BAV’s Winners List, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. We’ve heard from a wide variety of people including those who have won big, those who haven’t had much luck but still came away w/ something, and people who unfortunately have been gooseegged. We also have heard from a couple people who lost the $100K, but NEVER anyone who won the big one. The people you see below follow me by either email, WordPress, Twitter or Facebook and the results may surprise you. Whoever comes here to write to say hi, you need to conduct yourselves in a civil manner. Use the search engine to find the posting of your show, and be sure you spell your last names correctly when you make your reply. The purpose is to explain to me and my fellow admins about the situation of your show. Name calling is NOT allowed. There are times where episodes can frustrate me to an extent, and I don’t want to lose my patience (I’ve lost one admin due to the chaotic events of Feb. 8, 2023), so please give us at least a decent episode and don’t do anything foolish that could cause you to go viral for the wrong reasons. To give our site a follow, look at the part under the visitor counter where it says Follow Blog via Email. You can also click the WordPress button to follow and you get a username via WordPress. I’ve also added the Facebook and Twitter links below for you to follow as well.
11 years ago, I’ve launched this personal site of mine and have been making a name for myself ever since. I’ve worked hard to make this my virtual home away from reality. Unlike the message boards, this is where I do recaps personally for contestants coming to my site. Thanks to the assistance of my fellow admins, my site now has over 6K recaps whether it’s syndicated, primetime, daytime, or international. I’ve got well over 200 followers to date including some past contestants whether they follow me via email, WordPress, Twitter, or Facebook.
I’ve built a lasting legacy through the years — potential contestants should know how the game works, watch the show as much as they can, and PLAY SMART (and hopefully NOT make any foolish mistakes). I do have a heart and I would appreciate it if smart contestants make a good effort. Millions of viewers at home would appreciate the same. The ideal contestant should also be likable, enthusiastic, and not over the top.
It’s such a shame we lost fellow admin @skippslargo due to the chaotic events of Feb. 8 earlier this year. According to @jliu23232’s “10 Words or Less” post, this was the WORST episode of Season 40 and it was so bad it totally broke him (even some episodes throughout the years broke me as well). He’s done a terrific job helping me out in the last five years. I could really use someone to help fill the void.
I owe you people a big thanks for following my site over the years. Here’s to another year of blogging episodes from today and from the past!
Since the Season 39 Saturday Reruns have ended, here is the list of Season 40 Saturday Reruns which will begin after the first week of S41.
Legend
The symbols and colors mean the episode…
🟢 …featured a grand prize win
🔴 …featured a grand prize loss
🔵 …reran at least once previously
🟣 …featured a $10KMW win
🟡 …featured a BaV Boards member
🌟 …featured the first appearance of a “Fan Favorite” contestant
💲 …featured a Million Dollar Bonus Round
♂️ …featured at least two male contestants (four for team weeks)
♀️ …featured an all-female panel
👥 …is part of a team week
…was recapped by jpgenius
…was recapped by former member Skipps Largo
…was recapped by Adam Alam
…was recapped by nickskapower
…was recapped by yours truly
♂️Sept. 16: Wednesday episode of Week 5 (Oct. 12)
UGH, Skipps’ birthday episode was painful to watch. Round 1 had a handful of duds plus three consecutive BANKRUPTS and two LaTs in a row, and late in the round we had this…
B E A C _ / B A L L B E A C _ / B L A N _ E T B E A C _ / B _ _
Tony Reale was incorrect on the last word with BOD, so $6,400 was at risk for him. Suzanne Alaouiefell for the O trap shortly after and Malcolm Brown solved BEACH BALL, BEACH BLANKET, BEACH BUM after he SPINGLED. The next round didn’t fare any better because…
_ A _ L E / A N D S E A / S A L T K E T T L E / C O R N
…after Tony landed on the MW near $650, he shockingly decided to risk $5,450 and his WC… BAD IDEA. We got another $0 puzzle win as a result. Eventually, Suzanne was the winner with $19,200 cash & prizes and she chose PHRASE as her category. This puzzle is similar to that agonizing $1M loss on Jan. 11, 2019…
_ L _ _ / T _ E _ _ _ E
PCHA gave her a shot…
_ L _ P / T H E P A _ E
…but she BLEW IT withFLOP THE PACE, KEEP THE PACE, and FLAP THE PACE, so she didn’t FLIP THE PAGE to an easy $40K payoff.
Sept. 23: Tuesday episode of Teen Week (Feb. 21)
This episode featured two kids whose mothers were on the show before: Kennedi Williams (her mom Dr. Kchristshan Howard appeared on Feb. 3, 2022 and won with $31,506 cash & trip) and Joel Foster (his mom Iren appeared on Jan. 18, 2017). It also had a crossword with only three words. Molly Pitzen and Kennedi had a good match with each other even though the game was pretty shaky with all those duds and repeated letters, but it was Molly who won with an all-cash total of $24,700. She chose PHRASE as her category and got an easy BR puzzle…
_ T / _ L _ _ _ S _ _ _ _ E N S
HPMA should do it even though C was no good…
_ T / A L _ A _ S H A P P E N S
I can’t say IT ALWAYS HAPPENS regarding a possible BR win, but she made the $40K solve to leave with an all-cash total of $64,700.
♂️Sept. 30: Thursday episode of not-so-Fabulous Food (Oct. 20)
There were too many duds throughout the game (sans the PR in the Mystery Round) and in the second Triple Toss-Up…
P _ P _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S
It can’t be PAPER PLATES again according to Jacob Borcover (that was the solution to the first Triple Toss-Up). Despite this, he was the winner of the game with $17,200 cash & St. Maarten and he chose PLACES as his category. You would see plenty of these during the time of year this episode aired…
_ _ _ _ _ _ N _ _ T _ _ E S
He chose CDMA…
_ _ M _ _ _ N _ A T C _ E S
…and he had no trouble navigating through these PUMPKIN PATCHES for $40K and a final total of $57,200 cash & trip.
Speaking of pumpkins, the hosts sampled cherry, pumpkin, key lime, and cookie dough pies from Winston Pies in Bentwood. While Vanna couldn’t pick a favorite flavor because they’re all delicious, Pat enjoyed a mix of all four… but then said he was “gonna be sick” after eating all of them (uh oh 🤢).
Oct. 7: Thursday episode of the awful America’s Game IV/5-year anniversary week on that chaotic Wheel Across America set (Apr. 13)
This was a low scoring game and late in the PP/Express Round…
_ A P P I N E S S _ _ _ E S / I N / _ A _ E S
Ray Norfleet didn’t count the I’s carefully and flubbed with HAPPINESS LIVES IN WAVES. Shortly after that, Melissa Durante said a baffling dud of K resulting in a $0 Prize Puzzle win. During the Speed-Up, Melissaquestionably called F…
F _ _ _ N D S / _ N _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ C _ S
…and fell $320 short of the victory since she didn’t go for the H’s, resulting in Brittany Ward winning with a measly $11,720 cash & Antigua. She chose PHRASE as her category and got this much to start…
_ T / _ _ S / _ _ S T _ / _ _ N _ _
GHPO only added two in the last word…
_ T / _ _ S / _ _ S T _ / H _ N _ H
Unfortunately, we had another loss by just one lousy letter at the time– she said “IT HAS JUST A HUNCH” instead of the right one of “IT WAS JUST A HUNCH”, costing her $40K and resulting in her being the second-lowest winner that season.
Oct. 14: Tuesday episode of College Week (Nov. 22)
This episode was a flunk-fest like the episode before it (botched Toss-Up solves, painful BANKRUPTS, critical duds, a SEASON-WORST BANKRUPT TRASH at the time of $21,500 cash & prizes, nobody having five figures after the Prize Puzzle…). It also had a crossword round with only three words and a category strip error (in the second shot of the board during the Mystery Round, the category strip accidentally displayed WHAT ARE YOU DOING? instead of the actual category of WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?). Eventually, Sarah Spakes was the big winner with $21,950 cash & Barbados and she chose PERSON as her category. Here’s a trio in this one-wordy…
_ _ _ T _ _ E R
This YOUTUBER would be uploading a video of her WIPING OUT with MPDI and losing $40K.
Oct. 21: Monday episode of Great American Cities (Apr. 17)
KOMO 4 Seattle anchors Eric Johnson & Molly Shen gave their 40th anniversary greeting to start this episode. Mike Bush & Anne Allred of KSDK in St. Louis gave their congratulations to the show going into the first break, and before the Triple Toss-Up, Beth Hunt & Chris May of KATV in Little Rock gave their congratulations to the show.
The first half of the maingame was riddled with penalties, but Lashawn Marshall’s BIG (and intense) PR in the PP/Express Round was the real highlight. She went on to be the big winner of the game with $29,724 cash & Bahamas. She chose AROUND THE HOUSE as her category and got a few up top to start…
_ _ N _ _ E L _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HMBA gave her a chance…
H A N _ H E L _ _ A _ _ _ M
In about three seconds, she broke the eight-day BR losing streak at the time and would likely need a HANDHELD VACUUM to clean up her new Ford Escape SEL worth $34,635, giving her a final total of $64,359 cash & prizes!
Pat & Vanna stood in front of the Washington Monument at the end.
Oct. 28🎃: Wednesday episode of Weekend Getaways (Dec. 21)
This episode was originally pre-empted in most 7:30 PM Eastern airings due to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. president Joe Biden holding a joint press conference at the White House. Some Mountain Time Zone airings were also joined in progress during Round 1 or 2 due to the special reports.
Lydia Burnett and Nick Romero had a tight match with each other, although there were quite a few duds in this episode, mostly Round 1. In the Mystery/Crossword Round, Nick made the CRITICAL PURCHASE of O to throw away $10,250. It was Nick who won with $17,700 cash & NM and he chose PHRASE as his category. This long one started as…
_ _ / _ _ _ / _ N _ _ _ _ _ T / _ / _ E _ N
AMCP gave him a little run on the bottom…
_ _ / _ _ _ / _ N _ _ _ _ A T / _ / M E A N
This is a classic case of “close but no cigar” IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, because he just missed the first word withDO so he wasn’t the third $40K winner that week.
At the end, we saw a photo of Vanna and some of her high school friends at their annual weekend getaway in North Myrtle Beach.
Nov. 4: Friday episode of not-so-Fabulous Food (Oct. 21)
It may have been worth the wait for Lisa Hinshaw to appear on the show after panicking for 40 years (she was scheduled to appear on a Teen Week but she panicked during rehearsals in spinning the wheel and couldn’t say a word), but boy did this episode leave a sour taste in our mouths. We had this in the opening Toss-Up…
I / M A _ E _ E S _ R _ A T I O N S
Brian Moranblew it with“I MAKE INSPIRATIONS”, which had nothing to do with the theme. And in the next Toss-Up…
A / C R _ A _ U R E O _ / _ A B _ T
He blew it again by adding -AT at the end of his answer (he said A CREATURE OF HABITAT) and later realized his mistake. There were so many penalties in the next three rounds, and eventually we had this…
S T U N N I N G T _ O _ I _ A _ S E T T I N G
Tracey Augustine said a CRITICAL DUD of D on the WC to throw away $5,950. And the duds didn’t stop in the Speed-Up which caused her to fall $530 short of the victory. Lisa was the winner with just $12,130 cash & Barbados and she chose FUN & GAMES as her category. This is what we at home and the contestants on stage are doing while playing along with the show…
S _ L _ _ N _ _ _ _ _ L E S
CMPI added a key letter on the bottom besides the obvious I…
S _ L _ I N _ P _ _ _ L E S
Ironically, she didn’t realize that she wasSOLVING PUZZLES in the maingame to make it here because she blew it with PEOPLES, PEBBLES, and SLIPPING PUDDLES, so she was the other Infiniti QX50 loser that week and went down as the lowest-winning champ of the season at the time.
The hosts weren’t eating any food at the end because they’re “full”.
♂️Nov. 11🎖️: Friday episode of Veterans Week, fittingly (Nov. 11🎖️)
This was an ugly end to the week. In Round 1, Deb Inovejas got hit with a PAINFUL LaT to put over $11,750 cash & CHICAGO on the table, Curtis Durham got a BANKRUPT (near $2,500) right after, and Chris Anger solved for an unnecessary house minimum instead of going for 2 D’s. In the next round, DebSPINGLED after Chris’s bad MW flip which resulted in nothing over the house minimum (assuming both opening Toss-Ups were solved) being given out at this point. Eventually, Deb was the winner with $15,999 cash & Oahu and she chose PHRASE from that DREADED trio. She needed some serious help on the bottom…
_ E / L _ _ E _ _ _ _ _
MBOV was an interesting combo, but it was only good for the first line…
_ E / L O V E _ _ _ _ _
…and she got the bottom word wrong withVANNA (LOL!), MILITARY, AMERICA, WHEEL, and DEBBIE, so we were SKUNKED for the first time that anniversary season. Though WE LOVE PIZZA, we didn’t love the fact she lost $40K. That was just cruel, Bellamie & Co… 😑
💲Nov. 18: Monday episode of WoF XL III (Feb. 27)
There were too many penalties in the game (especially in the second and third rounds, and I’m kind of surprised that Andy gave this one a 7 despite the penalties). In the Mystery/Crossword Round about desserts…
T
P
U
D
D
I
N
G
_
I
B
_
_
_
N
I
E
T
Michelle Jones got the across word of BROWNIE, but missed the down word with TORT when it was actually TART. Alex Pimentel was the winner with $21,960 cash & Cancun plus the MDW while La Donna Chandler got gooseegged, and he chose PHRASE as his category. I knew this one already…
T _ _ T / _ _ S _ _ N N _
HMGA pretty much gave him the top line…
T H A T / _ A S _ _ N N _
Well, THAT WAS FUNNY he would get it even without any help on the bottom, and he won…
…
…
…
…
…the BMW X1 worth $43,565 for a final total of $65,525 cash & prizes! The million dollar envelopes were under the ’ (2 away) and ★★ (9 away).
Nov. 25🦃: Friday episode of America’s Game III on the Collette Show You the World set (Feb. 3)
Although Tom O’Neill was dominant, this wasn’t such a good end to the week. In Round 1…
C A R R O T C A K E / & C I N N A M O N C _ I _ _
He didn’t count the R’s carefully and blew the solve withCARROT CAKE & CINNAMON CRISP to watch $10,800 cash & Zazzle gift tag go down the drain. In the PP/Express Round…
H O W / D O / Y O U _ _ Y / T H _ _ _ / Y O U _ _ / _ T _ _ _ _ _ ?
Madi Smith made a CRITICAL PURCHASE of E to throw away $10,550 plus the $12,400 Italy trip. Tom had $28,950 cash & Italy going into the BR and he chose WHAT ARE YOU DOING? from that DREADED trio. This puzzle was last used on the next-to-last night of the first-ever Secret Santa sweepstakes on Nov. 21, 2011 (and wasn’t solved for a Chevrolet Camaro convertible)…
T _ _ _ N _ / _ _ T _ T _ E / _ _ E _
HDPA gave him besides the obvious H…
T _ _ _ N _ / _ _ T H T H E / _ D E A
The producers were TOYING WITH THE IDEA of giving away another vehicle… but he painfully missed the first word withTAKING, TONING, and TAMING, so he lost the Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Meg from Monday was excused for blowing her easy BR puzzle.
Dec. 2: Monday episode of Teacher’s Week (Sept. 26)
Ladies Jen Hwang and Tracy Oswalt had a tight match in a shaky BANKRUPT-fest episode on the eve before that heartbreaking loss. It was Jen who won with $22,360 cash & Antigua and she chose PHRASE as her category. This was the name of an early S24 week that had a SKUNKING…
_ _ S T _ _ R / _ _ N
BFWO was an interesting combo…
_ _ S T F O R / F _ N
JUST FOR FUN, she would be driving around town in the $37,410 MINI S Hardtop 2dr, giving her a final total of $59,770 cash & prizes.
Dec. 9: Friday episode of Winter Hideaway (Jan. 6)
Noora Barakat cleaned up nicely winning $38,332 cash & prizes although she lost her MDW to BANKRUPT in the Mystery Round, and Rob Daniel finished with a nice 2nd-place total with $18,150 (including the $10K Triple Toss-Up sweep bonus). Noora chose PHRASE for her BR and got this much to start…
_ N / _ _ _ _ _ E _ R
BCHA gave her…
_ N / H _ _ H _ E A R
As it turns out, Marissa’s bad BR loss on Wednesday did cost us a PBRW, but Noora’s mind was IN HIGH GEAR for the $40K, giving her a final total of $78,332 cash & prizes!
In the end, Pat and Vanna sat by the virtual fireplace on set and drank with their WoF mugs. Noora sat with them during the credits.
Dec. 16: Tuesday episode of Week 5 (Oct. 11)
This episode features a former Jeopardy! contestant named Cody Lawrence (he finished in third place on Dec. 8, 2020 and later appeared on Sept. 12 during the Second Chance Tournament Semifinals this season). There were too many penalties in the game including an EXPRESS crash by Nicole Roberts (who got gooseegged at the end of the game), but he and Cindy Jansen had a tight match. The first Triple Toss-Up BUYING A NEW CAR had two spaces between the last two words for some reason. Cody was the winner with an all-cash total of $16,700 and he chose FOOD & DRINK as his category. This BR puzzle was the longest puzzle of this episode (the only known time since 1985 where this has happened)…
_ _ N _ _ _ E S / _ _ _ E _ R _ _ / S _ R _ T _ _
CPMO was a PERFECT combo…
P _ N C _ _ E S / M _ _ E _ R O M / S C R _ T C _
He ate up these PANCAKES MADE FROM SCRATCH for $40K and a final all-cash total of $56,700.
♂️Dec. 23: Monday episode of not-so-Fabulous Food (Oct. 17)
Josh Burstein and Kelsey Lock had a tight match, but it was Josh who won with an all-cash total of $17,500. He appropriately chose IN THE KITCHEN and got this much to start…
_ _ _ L _ T _ _ _ _ E _ _ R E
BCDO didn’t add much…
_ _ _ L _ T _ B _ _ E _ _ R E
He wasn’t even close withBLENDER, SPOONS, or AIR FRYER, and he didn’t win $40K to help purchase some QUALITY BAKEWARE thanks to that QU- trick.
At the end, the hosts ate pizza from LaRocco’s pizzeria (Pat ordered the thin crust one with sausage, mushrooms, onions, and jalapeños).
Dec. 30🍾: Wednesday episode of Happy New Year! (Dec. 28)
Although there were no penalty spins in this episode, there were too many duds including not one, not two, but THREE CRITICAL AND BAFFLING ONES from Alexandra Cook…
_ _ _ N T _ _ N _ H _ P P _ N _ C E N T E R
M thinking of MOUNTAIN for the first word (UGH! -__-) in Round 2 to throw away $14,150, and in Round 3…
_ A C _ _ R _ N _ A C C _ M M _ D A _ _ _ N S
L to leave $11,450 sitting there (Maggie Polk, who was wearing $5K wedge earrings custom-made by her female friend Kyle, repeated the A after this, and she tried to change it but was too late), but then she was given another chance at it a little later…
_ _ A C H _ R _ N T A C C _ M M _ D A T _ _ N S
…but she BOMBED OUT on the very next pick of W while on $3,500, so $12,100 went down the drain for her. In the second Triple Toss-Up…
_ _ _ _ _ S _ N G _ / _ _ _ _ E R
Maggie botched the solve with WRITING A LETTER when there’s an S on the top word (and she knew that wasn’t right). In the end, she was the winner with $31,704 cash & trip while Alexandra got the DESERVING $1K GOOSEEGG from us. She chose PEOPLE as her category and got a trio to start…
_ R _ _ _ T _ _ _ S
DGBI put her in good shape even though M was no good…
B R I G _ T _ I D S
She said, “I’m a teacher, so I know these people- BRIGHT KIDS” and those kids would be happy to hear that she’s won $40K for a final total of $71,704 cash & trip!
Jan. 6: Thursday episode of Winter Hideaway (Jan. 5)
There were too many duds in this episode and you won’t believe what happens in the PP/Express Round…
I N C R E D I B L _ B E A _ T I F _ L L _ C A T I _ N
David Bise CRASHED VIOLENTLY HARD ON EXPRESS SAYING THE ADJECTIVE FORM OF THE FIRST WORD NOT COUNTING HIS E’s CAREFULLY WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SOLVE DESPITE NOT YET RUNNING OUT OF CONSONANTS, and he threw away $11,850 plus the expensive $11,190 Barbados trip with that EPIC FAIL (and he looked very shocked and confused when he found out about his error)– UNBELIEVABLE! UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE!! We got a $0 Prize Puzzle win as a result. Jamie McMahon Carrillo was the winner with $14,590 cash & Barbados and she chose PLACE as her category. This was used as a Speed-Up puzzle on Jan. 20, 2016 featuring that foul-mouthed Christine Kennard…
_ _ _ E T N E _ _ _ _ _ R _ _ _ _
All of GHBI were there…
_ _ I E T N E I G H B _ R H _ _ _
She would be driving around in her QUIET NEIGHBORHOOD in the Mazda CX-9, giving her a final total of $61,535 cash & prizes (and she twerked on Pat after solving- LOL! 🤣).
Jan. 13: Wednesday episode of Hawaii Week (Mar. 22)
Nicole Griep and Cory Houser had a very nice match with each other, although the former fell a consonant short of the win after solving the Speed-Up for $13,300. Therefore, it was Cory who won with $30,340 cash & Barbados and he chose PHRASE as his category. This one was a biggie…
_ / N _ _ E / _ _ E _ _ R _ _ / T _ E / T _ _
He knew it already and settled on PVWI…
_ / N I _ E / V I E W _ R _ _ / T _ E / T _ P
…and there will be A NICE VIEW FROM THE TOP of him winning the 2023 Ford Mustang GT Premium convertible worth $55,825, giving him a total of $86,165 cash & prizes!
🟡Jan. 20: Thursday episode of Teachers Week (Sept. 29)
Although Nate Cardin (eero on BaV) cleaned up, this episode was mostly painful to watch. In Round 1 on the HOME ______ crossword puzzle, Kara started an odd and unsurprising dud of T, and then later, after all but the left column is filled, she FLUNKED OUT with L (HOME LAKE wouldn’t work when there’s only one K up here), and 1 $650 P later, Paula DrutzTOTALLY BLEW IT with Y (PAYE?! -__-). In the next round, Paulapainfully BANKRUPTed near $650 to lose $7,350 and the BANKRUPTS didn’t stop coming in that round. In the end, Paula ended up being the first gooseegg victim of the season which I say is half BAD LUCK and half DESERVING while Nate had $23,207 cash & Aruba going into the BR. He chose IN THE KITCHEN as his category (ON THE MAP was also offered for the only time since the S37 premiere) and got this much to start…
_ _ _ _ L E _ R _ N
BGDI only added the vowel…
_ _ _ _ L E I R _ N
…but he woke up to $40K located near this WAFFLE IRON to salvage this episode giving him a final total of $63,207 cash & trip.
♂️👥Jan. 27: Thursday episode of Sweethearts Week (Feb. 16)
This airing is pre-empted on ABC affiliates by an NBA tripleheader.
This episode features the first known LGBT couple, Charlie Brown & Kelly Pierce, the former who also has the same name as the famous yellow-shirted Peanuts character. It was Heidi & Jeff Szekeley, however, who won with $32,400 cash & prizes and Heidi chose FOOD & DRINK as their category. Take away the first word and you get a puzzle used on Dec. 20, 2012 (it wasn’t solved for a Jeep Grand Cherokee)…
_ _ R _ / _ _ _ E _ _ R _ _ N _ E S
DGPAM gave them a run on top…
_ A R M / G _ _ E _ _ R _ _ N _ E S
They struck out late with WARM BRUNCHES, which isn’t even a food. And Heidi was going to be kicking herself, because she does baking- the foods were WARM GOOEY BROWNIES and they lost $40K.
Feb. 3: Tuesday episode of not-so-Fabulous Food (Oct. 18)
Although Liz Mendez had a nice Round 3, it was Ashwin Vaidyanathan who won with an all-cash total of $21,850. He chose PERSON as his category and got this much to start…
_ _ N _ N _ _ _ L E _ _ E R T
MCVO only added…
_ _ N _ N C _ _ L E _ _ E R T
MECHANICAL, PRINCIPAL, and WHIMSICAL won’t cut it for the top word, so he disappointed his FINANCIAL EXPERT and didn’t get their approval to drive off in the Infiniti QX50.
The hosts tried chicken wings with assorted sauces from Holy Cow BBQ. While Pat ate Nashville hot wings, he “tricked” Vanna into trying one of her Buffalo wings with Kickin’ Hot sauce. Her response: “It’s hot.” So he’d try buffalo sauce with his wings.
The maingame was underwhelming at best with Raul Villanueva (who blew the second Toss-Up with STAGE BRIGHTS, which makes no sense with or without the S at the end; he’s also bearishplains on BaV) barely needing the PP to win with $13,990 cash & Barbados. He chose the rare IN THE KITCHEN as his category and got this much to start…
_ E R _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R E
CPHO gave him some great help…
C E R _ _ _ C C O O _ _ _ R E
He won $45K to help buy some CERAMIC COOKWARE for a final total of $58,990 cash & trip.
🟡Feb. 17: Thursday episode of Great American Cities (Apr. 20)
To start, sports commentator Ducis Rodgers of 6ABC Action News in Philadelphia gave his congratulatory message to the show. Margot Kim & Warren Armstrong of ABC 30 in Fresno, CA gave their congrats to the show going into this first break, and Andrew Kinsey & Yolanda Harris of 10 TV WBNS in Columbus, OH gave their congrats before the Triple Toss-Up.
Cody Horton (cjbojangles on BaV) cleaned up nicely in the maingame after the $6K Final Spin winning $46K cash & prizes! He chose EVENT as his category and minus the first word, this is the puzzle that wasn’t solved for a Ford Escape at the start of American Heritage week in S30…
_ R _ E _ / _ _ _ E R _ _ T _ _ E
MDCI only added the vowel, but there was a B courtesy of his WC…
B R I E _ / _ _ _ E R _ _ T _ _ E
The WCsaved his bacon, and hopefully he didn’t experience a BRIEF POWER OUTAGE as the second owner of the Ford Escape SEL that week! His final total was $80,635 cash & prizes!
At the end, we saw the hosts standing in front of the USS Midway in San Diego.
Feb. 24: Thursday episode of European Vacation (Nov. 3)
You may recognize Owen Panno from the official series premiere (and 2nd overall aired episode) of the 2019 ABC reboot of “Press Your Luck” where he nearly won but then WHAMMIED after being passed the very last spin of the game. He was a powerful spinner in this episode, but that got him into trouble several times. In Round 1, he PAINFULLY BANKRUPTed near $650 to lose $8,950. In the Mystery/Crossword Round, he made a CRITICAL PURCHASE of O to throw away $8,700. In the PP/Express Round, his powerful spinning got him into trouble again with an untimely LaT resulting in a $0 Prize Puzzle win. Despite this, he managed to win the game largely thanks to his total Toss-Up sweep with an all-cash total $18,650 wile Jess Lapensee left with a $1K gooseegg. He chose EVENT as his category and got this much to start…
_ _ _ _ R _ _ _ N _ _ _ R
DPMO was a PERFECT combo…
M _ _ O R D O _ N P O _ R
…and he got caught in a MAJOR DOWNPOUR of cash in the amount of $40K, giving him a final all-cash total of $58,650.
Mar. 2: Tuesday episode of the America’s Game V/season finale week on the College Week Spring Break set (Jun. 6)
Kira Paskett and David Avelsgard had a tight match with each other, but this was just an underwhelming game overall and we had an awful Round 2 that had three consecutive penalty hits (Kira’sBANKRUPT near $650 and Catie’s and David’sLaT). Kira was the winner with $14,800 and she chose WHAT ARE YOU DOING? as her category. Opening setup…
_ E _ _ _ _ N _ _ _ R / _ _ T _ _ N S
MCHA only added…
_ E _ _ H _ N _ _ _ R / _ _ T _ _ N S
She only got the second word and wasn’t even close on the first word with PAYING, PATENT, or PURCHASING. Since she didn’t realize that we’re WEIGHING OUR OPTIONS when it comes to decision making, she lost $40K.
Mar. 9: Thursday episode of WoF XL II (Nov. 17)
Praveen Pamidi cleaned up really nicely in the maingame with $52,384 cash & trips including a major EXPRESS run! He chose PLACE as his category and got this much to start…
_ _ R _ L _ N E _ _ N _ _ R
DMHA gave him…
A _ R _ L A N E H A N _ A R
This came out of the AIRPLANE HANGAR and into his garage — the Lincoln Corsair worth $45,070, giving him a final total of $97,454 cash & prizes!
Mar. 16: Friday episode of Teacher’s Week (Sept. 30)
Angie Twiss really picked it up with that big Prize Puzzle PR and Triple Toss-Up sweep after a rather slow start in the first two rounds. She was the winner with $28,600 cash & Curaçao and she chose PHRASE as her category. Lead-offs…
_ _ N ’ T / _ _ _ E _ _ _ E S
DMPA gave her some more help…
D _ N ’ T / M A _ E _ A _ E S
But she didsn’t listen to us when we told her “DON’T MAKE WAVES” with us, the viewers, by not solving this puzzle since the last word eluded her, so she lost $40K and million-dollar loser Alane was excused. That was some FORCED LOSS setup right there.
Mar. 23: Wednesday episode of European Vacation (Nov. 2)
Lamont Ross and Stephanie Peterson had a nice match with each other one, but the one scary moment from this episode came from Round 4 when…
G A R D E N S / A N D G R E E N _ _ _ S E S
Melissa Miller still didn’t know it and goes on once more… and TOTALLY BLEW IT thinking the last consonant was P (first dud in the game) to throw away $7,700– GREENPOUSES?! UGH. -__- It was Stephanie who won with $25,850 cash & Bahamas and she chose PHRASE as her category. I knew this one already…
_ _ _ T E _ E R _ L E _ _ N _
MPCO added just 2 P’s, but that should’ve been enough for the bottom word. Could she get the top, however?
_ _ _ T E P E R P L E _ _ N _
Yes she could! It thankfully wasn’t QUITE PERPLEXING for her to defeat the QU- and X tricks as she won the Mercedes-Benz GLB250 worth $45,140, giving her a final total of $70,990 cash & prizes!
🟡🌟Mar. 30: Tuesday episode of Weekend Getaways (Dec. 20)
This episode was a wild one. In the Mystery Round, we had TWO INTACT NULL CYCLES (one had FIVE STRAIGHT PENALTIES and **one** good B was in between them). Although we had extra time in Round 4 for the first time in over two weeks at the time, Ricky GilbertPAINFULLY BANKRUPTed both his extra cardboard pieces which also started another aired NULL CYCLE and wasted away potential for a fifth round.
In the end Ricky pulled off the first maingame sweep by the red panel since Nov. 26, 2008 with $49,120 cash & Antigua. I wasn’t sure if he would be able to pull off a total clean sweep after he was given that DREADED trio. He chose WHAT ARE YOU DOING? and got this much to start…
_ L _ _ _ N _ T _ E / T _ _ _
Pat thought Ricky knew it with GPBO…
P L _ _ _ N G T _ E / T _ B _
There was no need for us to be PLAYING THE TUBA, because HE HAD JUST PULLED OFF THE FIRST TOTAL CLEAN SWEEP SINCE S35 ON DEC. 13, 2017 AND FIRST IN THE TRIPLE TOSS-UP ERA for $40K and a final total of $89,120 cash & trip!!!
Apr. 6: Friday episode of Week 20 (Jan. 27)
The original airing of this episode was at least partially pre-empted on some East Coast airings by the following events:
all CBS airings for the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament
7:30 PM Eastern airings on ABC for a special report on the public release of the video of the police killing Tyre Nichols (the airings don’t begin until Round 2)
7:30 PM airings on NBC around the end of the maingame for a special report on the same matter
Philadelphia and Kansas City markets for local specials
first Toss-Up and part of the interviews in Washington, D.C. due to WJLA accidentally switching to the ABC network feed showing part of a repeat of ABC World News Tonight
Hypnotist Brandon Broda was a decent player in this episode winning the New Orleans trip in Round 1. However, the one downer from this episode was in Round 4 when Anne Brady (who solved the third Triple Toss-Up SUIT OF ARMOR with only the F revealed) called a FATAL DUD of L on $5K, which proved costly assuming she were to have solved before the Speed-Up bell rang or first to it after if she had called a key letter like the S’s instead. Brandon had $21,150 cash & trip going into the BR and he chose AROUND THE HOUSE as his category. The bottom word of this one should remind you of the first-ever $1M win by Michelle Lowenstein…
_ _ R _ _ E _ _ _ _ E T
He picked a good time to go for CDMA even though P was no good…
C _ R _ M E _ A _ C E T
He turned on the CHROME FAUCET to win the 2022 Ford Escape SE worth $31,100, giving him a final total of $52,250 cash & prizes.
In the postgame chat, Vanna claimed that Brandon hypnotized Pat after the BR. Vanna conducted an experiment where Pat would do anything she asked of him. Every time she whispered in Pat’s ear, he silently gave her money.
Apr. 13: Tuesday episode of College Week Spring Break (Apr. 4)
Madeline Ahrens and Sydney Roberson had a nice match with each other, with the former sweeping the Triple Toss-Ups. And for the first time since Apr. 15, 1999, we got to see a Final Spin be redone on air.Dane Christensen spun LaT twice in a row and the BANKRUPT near $650 (and Pat came to his podium and asked for his dad’s phone number!) before spinning $1,550 for the value of consonants. Sydney was the winner with $19,482 cash & Aruba ($632 over Madeline) and she chose PEOPLE as her category. Here’s a trio to start…
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ E _ _ _ N S
HDGAC gave her a fighting chance…
A _ _ D / H _ C _ E _ _ A N S
Though she and her family weren’t AVID HOCKEY FANS, she had finally ended the 8-day losing streak at the time and won the $40K for a final total of $59,482 cash & trip. And that was the only BR win that week.
♂️Apr. 20: Friday episode of Great American Cities (Apr. 21)
To start, Frank Vascellaro & Amelia Santaniello of WCCO in Minneapolis gave their congrats to the show. And Pat acknowledged that his wife and Judy Friedman (wife of former EP Harry) were celebrating birthdays back then. Vicki Dortch of WLKY in Louisville, KY gave her congratulations to the show before the first break. The final congratulatory message this week came from Mark S. Allen of ABC 10 in Sacramento.
There were quite a few bumps along the way, especially in the Mystery/Crossword Round, but the men Brent Chinn and Drew Carter (engaged to Meghan Boudreau; she appeared on May 23, 2022 last season) had a match. We also saw a WHEEL Moment of the Week from the 1980s where the hosts were sitting in a spa and Pat says to the camera “We’re practically clothed”. Drew was the winner with $27,502 cash & prizes and he chose PHRASE as his category. I knew this one already, albeit not immediately…
_ _ _ _ L _ _ E _ _ T _ _ L E
PHGO only added a few on top…
H _ G H L _ _ E _ _ T _ _ L E
…but this was not aHIGHLY DEBATABLE result- he got it without any help on the bottom! Although we were denied a car landing sweep, he did win $45K for a final total of $72,502 cash & trips!
👥Apr. 27: Friday episode of Sweethearts Week (Feb. 17)
This was an average end to the first team week in three years, but in the end of the maingame, we saw Jim presenting Miller & Alicia Exantus a unicorn piñata with the WoF logo on it (the daughters made a request for this couple to bring back a unicorn from this show). Jennifer & Jay Chalk were the winners with $20,310 cash & Virgin Islands and they chose WHAT ARE YOU DOING? from DREADED trio. There was a puzzle similar to this one used on Mar. 9, 2020…
_ _ _ _ S _ N _ / _ N _ _ / _ _ R _
GDPA caused me to stick a fork in them…
_ _ _ _ S _ N G / _ N _ _ / _ _ R _
While I’m FOCUSING ON MY WORK, they were way off with DANCING ON MY YARD, CRUISING IN MY CARS, and DANCING IN MY CARS, so they were the other team to lose the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250.
May 4: Friday episode of Week 5 (Oct. 14)
Ricky Henne was a fine player in this episode although we had our first TRIPLE STUMPER in the first Triple Toss-Up (FRIENDLY FACE) and a rough Round 4. He had $19,570 cash & Aruba going into the BR and he chose PLACE as his category. Only the vowel to start with…
_ _ _ _ _ E / _ _ _
MPGOH was an EXCELLENT combo…
M _ H O M E / G _ M
Although I don’t have MY HOME GYM, he made the solve for $40K and a winning BR week to leave with $59,570 cash & trip.
In the postgame chat, Vanna said she spent an entire day putting together a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle (and shows picture of it for proof) and then Pat asked her if she showered and brushed her teeth and she said she did afterward because she was sweating.
🔴May 11: Tuesday episode of WoF XL II (and Andy’s 10-year anniversary of blogging the show) (Nov. 15)
De’Shawna Yamini cleaned up nicely in the front game with a new seasonal maingame record at the time with $46,690 cash & prizes plus the WC and she chose PHRASE as her category. Lead-offs…
_ _ _ _ T / T _ _ _ _ E / _ _ _
CDMAG didn’t do much good…
A _ _ _ T / T _ D _ _ E / _ _ _
I’m not ABOUT TO DOZE OFF yet, but she flubbed withABOUT TO DAZE ___, and ABOUT TO DARE ___…
…
…
…
…AND WE HAD OUR SECOND STRAIGHT $100K LOSS ON DAY 2 OF AN XL WEEK. Did this really have to happen on Andy’s blogging anniversary of all things?! Oy vey.
From Pat on Twitter: “Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”
Hey folks, I have officially created a Facebook page (“WoF with Andy Nguyen”; I am the one who will be managing this) to hopefully attract more viewers to this site. Click HERE for this link. All of our recent postings will not only be only shown on Twitter, but also Facebook. So what are you waiting for? Give us a follow!
This show along w/ sister show JEOPARDY! will soon be getting its own dedicated digital channels, respectively, on the Pluto streaming service beginning on August 1st.
If you aren’t aware already, that Hawaii week from late last month is probably one of the WORST weeks I’ve ever covered in my nearly 10-year stint of my site. I don’t think I’ve ever been this annoyed with all the misplays I’ve seen by a handful of contestants that week. You see, I’m a former contestant myself and I do have a heart and the main purpose of my site is to assess how good (and how lucky) you are as a player on the show you appeared on. If you’re smart and at least make a good effort, I can appreciate it. But if you do something really bad such as give a horrible missolve that causes you to go viral, I start to get upset and have serious doubts. I will tell you that I am diagnosed with autism and there are times where I start to lose it against players who play badly, but I have to keep things under control and make it more enjoyable. There are certain misplays which really bother me…
calling extremely rare letters like Z, J, X, or Q too early (unless I have a good understanding about those letter selections)
any nonsensical missolve that has a good possibility of going viral and doesn’t fit at all
a very poor choice of consonant on a puzzle that is nearly complete and on an easier word
any MW gamble where you have too much money at risk and could also have the prize wedge in your possession
Any one of these misplays could put a dent in my enjoyment. The last thing I want to do is put a players gooseegg performance as DESERVING. I DON’T like to do it and please don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s a penalty on those who play badly (even those who went viral).
Now please understand this…I don’t mean to be overly rude and I try to keep it cool and also apologize to those who I may have gotten mad at in the past, but if you wish to talk to me, please either reply to the recap of your show in the comments (use the search engine to find the date of your show) or shoot me an email by clicking the Contact Me at the top of this page and explain to me your situation so I can understand better.
Thank you for your understanding and it’s good to regain control after two weeks of time off.
We’ve created a new account on Twitter (andynwof) to hopefully attract more viewers to this site. All of our recent postings will be also shown on Twitter. So yeah, give a follow. 🙂
Instead of scrolling up to make the follow button appear, I’ve included Follow buttons on the sidebar of our site as well as in the bottom of our site so that you readers have an easier time to follow our site. You can also receive notifications of new posts via email just by entering your email address into the small text box.
As a former contestant who played this game in Season 35, I understand it’s nerve-racking when you have cameras watching, the bright lights and millions of people watching you. I know we all would love to see videos of past episodes on video websites like YouTube, but they are bound to be taken down by Sony. That’s why I’ve created this site originally under the original platform of blogger (and changed to WordPress very early in 2016) and we are helping to relive your moments by writing so many recaps of past episodes using help from various sources as needed. Most of them are by me while some of them are by my fellow admins. As much as we would love to have a complete season of recaps, some may NOT be available, because we don’t have enough sources to write them.
We all want you to do well on the show and rack up as much winnings as possible and hopefully you don’t make a fool of yourselves. We rate episodes by weighing the good and the bad and averaging them out to give our final rating for your episode. Any crucial misplays may negatively impact our rating such as critical duds, big BANKRUPTs, bad missolves or bad BR losses. We don’t get mad at all kinds of missolves; it’s just the ones that make absolutely NO SENSE at all. As admins, we have to be careful in NOT rating your episodes way too low (unless there is a good reason to do so), so that we wouldn’t upset you. Two guys over on my fellow blogger’s website (bobbymgsk) tend to rate you way too low when in reality the maingame wasn’t so bad and one of them called you bad names when you lose the Bonus Round, which is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They need to understand the pressure you’re facing while on national TV.
While you’re here, find the recap of your show by typing in the search engine box where you see the word Search (eg. my airdate of April 11, 2018 or episode number 6783). To make a reply, scroll down to the comments where it says “Leave a Reply”. Fill in the required information (real name and email), and type in your message to us and we’ll approve it. We want to know EXACTLY who you are and we would love to hear your experience and tell us what’s going on in your games! If we don’t have a recap of your show, shout-outs on this site would be great (go to the About section and make a reply there). We’ve had rare incidents of one or two contestants badmouthing us, especially the lady from January 20, 2016 who cursed us out and called us bad names. Please DON’T do that. We are analyzing your performance in comparison to others.
Your comments ARE very important to us. For any contestants who stumble on this site, please be sure to look for the posting of your game in the search engine and please leave your comments at the bottom of the posting so that we get the notification in our emails knowing that you’re here.
After I’ve said all that, please enjoy browsing my site. And if you would like to be fan of my site, click the Follow buttons on the sidebar or below on my site. There is also an email form where you enter email so that you can stay up to date on any new posts.
Seeing all this nonsense over on the message boards regarding last Friday has inspired me to create this warning message:
Some of you guys went over the top and made unwanted remarks like “Worst Episode of the Series. Period” (Adam Alam), “That’s it, I’m done watching this show for good”, “WoF is dead”, etc. Totally UNCALLED for. Me and my fellow admins WILL be forced to remove or trash comments awaiting like that. I mean, we can probably agree that Jan. 11, 2019 is a nominee for WORST EPISODE OF THE SEASON, but to say it’s the WORST OF THE SERIES is really too much. And of course, we really HATE it when any jerks like Jimmy Ruska declare technical wins. There will NEVER be any technical wins on this show. That really suggests the contestants are CHEATING Sony out of their money. You should know that TV game shows like this one are like businesses and they will have tougher challenges in store for contestants, OK? To earn the cash & prizes, you have to WORK FOR IT. And if players keep winning the big prizes over and over (that goes the same for losing over and over), then this show would be off the air already.
I know many of us like myself this show very much, but if you don’t have anything nice to say regarding this show, then DON’T SAY IT. I know I had my share of anger and frustration when I see contestants play badly. And if anybody still breaks the rules regarding tech. wins, THEN TAKE IT UP WITH SONY. I already confronted Jimmy Ruska via e-mail and forced him to call Sony and email the producers of the show.
So, I must end this by saying CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY. Don’t assume the worst based on what you have NOT watched. You never know what’s gonna happen.
She was silent until at the halfway point, she said the right one ofHOSPITAL PORTER for the car! In addition to the two prizes, she also took home the souvenir watch like everybody else.
Before I head off to Europe soon, let’s look at all of what’s available for Series 4 of the UK version. BTW, @jliu23232 forgot to mention in the Series 3 premiere that there was a third BANKRUPT added in R3 according to the timeline HERE (and it was for that series only).
These prizes are up for grabs…
trip to China including a trip to Hong Kong
a £4K Jackpot!
KIA Pride 1.3L
The last names of these first contestants of S4 were never mentioned…
Lisa: mom of three from Newmarket
Richard: coach driver from St. Ives, Cornwall
Zaida: secretary for a carpet firm from Nelson, Lancashire
Round 1: OCCUPATION
As of this series, the host will no longer ask 50/50 questions. Instead, it’s an open-ended question, and whoever buzzes in with a correct answer will gain control of the wheel.
Question: Who presented the first programme on Radio One? Lisa: Tony Blackburn — CORRECT
Lisa: 1,200 R trio, 250 S, 400 T pair, P for phooey
Richard: H for halt
Zaida: 400 D, 500 N pair, 200 V, 300 G, 750 C (NMC), solve…
D R _ V _ N G _ N S T R _ C T _ R
Zaida solved DRIVING INSTRUCTOR. Her prize choices…
mountain bike
mountain holiday in Salzburg
step-up exercise machine
She’s going to Salzburg.
FEATURED PRIZE FOR THIS ROUND: pair of 18-karat gold earrings (on 300)
Round 2: PROVERB
Question: Who played James Bond in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service?” Richard: George Lazenby — YEP
Richard: 1K H, 3K T trio, 3K N trio, baffling K call
Zaida: 400 M pair, R for rats
Lisa: 400 D pair, W for worthless
Richard: 400 G pair, PRIZE acquired, 600 S pair, 600 L pair, solve…
_ L L / G _ _ D T H _ N G S / M _ S T _ _ M _ / T _ _ N / _ N D
In the case of Pat’s long tenure on the show, ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END, and Richard solved for 8,600 and the earrings. Prize choices…
And beginning in this series from this round onwards, the point values are doubled (for example, the 1K is really a 2K space), so somebody might make a comeback.
FEATURED PRIZE FOR THIS ROUND: pair of wool designer sweaters (but Nicky forgot to place the PRIZE token)
Round 3: PHRASE
Question Who was the Greek goddess of love? Richard: Aphrodite — RIGHT
Richard: 1,600 T pair, 4K N pair, 1,600 G, D for dud
After this mistake, Nicky mentioned that whoever solves this puzzle will also receive the sweaters even without the token.
Zaida: 900 S, 800 R, 800 C, no P
Lisa: 400 W, solve…
N _ / R _ _ _ T _ / S W _ N G _ / C _ T
Lisa solved NO ROOM TO SWING A CAT for 400. Her prize choices…
I think he may have known it from the get-go, and sure enough, he knew it’s HYDE PARK CORNER for the car! In addition to the three prizes, he also took home the watch.
(This will be my last stat post for this season before Jerry does the rest.)
This week started out fine, but boy did things really came crashing down in the tail end big time… -___-
And I must say this again…we DO NOT want to hear anybody tell us to change $100K losses into technical wins. A LOSS is a LOSS. If you wanna fight with SONY about it, call 310-244-4000 and DON’T WASTE OUR TIME. 😡
Total for this Week: $291,195 -Maingame: $201,195 -BR Wins: $90K
Total for the Season: $9,031,517 -Maingame: $6,349,203 -BR Wins: $2,682,314
Prize Wedge Wins: 33
MW was Flipped-Declined: 44-18 MW Flip was $10K–BANKRUPT: 15-29 $10KMW was Next to LaT–$650: 19-25 MW Wins: 6
EXPRESS was Played-Passed: 31-9 –Successes: 13 –Crashes: 18 (Wipeouts: 8)
Average Maingame Winning Score this Week: $22,679 (-$2,005) Average Maingame Winning Score this Season: $23,724 (-$33)
Median Maingame Winning Score this Week: $16,600 (-$10,300) Median Maingame Winning Score this Season: $22,450 (-$230)
This Week’s BANKRUPT Trash: $45,850 Total BANKRUPT Trash for the Season: $776,298 + 1 trip of unknown value Biggest Known BANKRUPT: $29,750 (Apr. 26) Biggest Known BANKRUPT Trash in a Game: $36,250 (Apr. 26)
AROUND THE HOUSE: 1/1; 1-0 EVENT(S): 7/17; 3-4 FOOD & DRINK: 14/17; 6-8 FUN & GAMES: 2/3; 1-1 IN THE KITCHEN: 1/2; 0-1 LIVING THING(S): 5/11; 1-4 ON THE MAP: PERSON/PEOPLE: 9/41; 3-6 PHRASE: 68/154; 26-42 PLACE(S): 13/36; 4-9 THING(S): 10/165; 0-10 WHAT ARE YOU DOING?: 32/45; 11-21 WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?: 3/3; 1-2
BR Wins Despite Losing WC to BANKRUPT: 4 BR Losses Despite Having WC: 12 Non-$100K Wins After Losing MDW to BANKRUPT: 1
Toughest BR Puzzle this Week: KIND OF WEIRD (it’s not often you hear this, and the uncommon K and W can throw somebody off) Easiest BR Puzzle this Week: HONEYSUCKLE (nice RSTLNE help, but Kate didn’t really take advantage of that and it really cost her BIG TIME)
Player of the Week: Alex Harrell
WEEKLY RATING: 3 (no thanks to that HORRIBLE Friday episode)
Next week, you could win a trip to a Margaritaville Resort. And I’ll be doing my last recaps for this season Monday and Tuesday, so the episodes better be good…
Ellie or these end-of-week panelists from left to right could see a BEAUTIFUL SAILBOAT if they win a trip…
Ellie Jung: Rice University student studying cognitive science and art whose family is super competitive (both her parents have been on game shows but not this one) from Houston, TX
Kate Metz: kindergarten teacher at Pinecrest Sloan Canyon married to her “sometimes wonderful, sometimes okay” husband (the hubby got her started watching the show and has applied every year while she applied once and finally made it) from Las Vegas
Travis Graham: runner who also wanted to be a power lifter from Richmond, VA
$2K Toss-Up: FOOD & DRINK
B _ E F / B A _ L E Y _ O U P
Kate eats up some BEEF BARLEY SOUP. The $10,398 HOLLAND AMERICA Alaskan cruise is available one more time this week.
Round 1: SAME LETTER
Kate: four S’s for $10K, one E, SL Bonus of five T’s for $13,500, other four vowels of two I’s, O, two A’s and U, $7,500 R trio…
T I _ _ E T S T O U R S T R A I _ S / & T R A _ S
…but she keeps on going…and SHE HAS PAINFULLY BANKRUPTED NEAR $2,500 TO FLUSH AWAY $29,750!!!Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. -___- And if I’m not mistaken, that’s the third largest amount lost to BANKRUPT in a single spin in show history. Travis then SPINGLES for the $800 C…
T I C _ E T S T O U R S T R A I _ S / & T R A _ S
…and solves TICKETS, TOURS, TRAINS, & TRAMS for a $200 bonus. This better not be a bad sign of things to come…
Mystery Round: FUN & GAMES
Travis: instant dud of T
Ellie: $1,950 R trio, three E’s and A, T repeat on MDW (and don’t lie, girl, you just did)
Kate: $1,100 S pair, M for mistake
Travis: $2,100 B trio, three O’s, BANKRUPT near $650 (lost $1,850)
Ellie: $1,700 C pair, two L’s for WC, solve…
_ O _ B L E / _ O R _ S C O R E / _ _ S C R A B B L E
She solves DOUBLE WORD SCORE IN SCRABBLE for $4,150.
Ellie: $5,150 WC/Kate: $2K/Travis: $1K
PP/Express Round: AROUND THE HOUSE
Ellie: $650 R, S for sorry
Kate: $1,600 T pair, E for end of turn
Travis: $1K N pair, two I’s, $3,500 G, one A, same BANKRUPT he got before (lost $4K)
Ellie: exact same fate (lost $650 and WC; she handed it over to Pat and he put it in his jacket)
Kate: LaT (Pat: “This is riveting television.”)
Travis: $900 L, three O’s, $1,400 D pair, $700 H, $1,800 Y pair, solve…
H Y D R A T I N G _ O D Y / L O T I O N
He solves for $4,550 and may be using some HYDRATING BODY LOTION at the Pineapple Beach Club in ANTIGUA worth $8,460.
I really have serious doubtsKate would salvage this whole episode in the next segment, and here’s what she’s picking from…
THING
PEOPLE
LIVING THING
Pat just knew she would pick LT.
Fan Friday Word of the Day: FOREST (enter that on the website for a chance to win a collette tour of Costa Rica)
$100K Bonus Round
The name of Kate’s husband is Ben, and he’s joined by her mother Molly; she lands on what’s under the N of WIN. I know it already…
_ _ N E _ S _ _ _ L E
DHMI only adds the frontloading H…
H _ N E _ S _ _ _ L E
She goes way off w/ HANES, HOUSEWIFE, and HU…S…MUSCLE, so this gets tangled up in the HONEYSUCKLE…
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…BOY, DID HER EPIC BANKRUPT REALLY SET THE TONE FOR A HORRIFIC NIGHT — SHE’S THE EIGHTH $100K LOSER THIS SEASON. FURTHERMORE, THAT’S THE THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK TO HAVE SUCH A LOSS. My goodness. -___-
Oh, and Pat still has problems pronouncing Antigua.
MY RATING: I hate to say this, but it’s gonna be a 1 (this is now officially the 9th time in the MDW era I have no choice but to give this rating)
Tyler and/or these ladies may need to start PLANNING A VACATION if they win a trip tonight…
Tyler Chandler: flight attendant for the best airline in the world who collects pins everywhere he goes and put them on his apron as he serves dinner and story time from Louisville, KY
Shannon Schneider: engaged lady to Doug (he’s also one of her bosses) w/ three children (one daughter and two sons) who lives on a cattle ranch from Winston, MT
Jennifer Klase: married lady to Dan w/ two adult children who was voted for having the “Best Hair” in high school back in the 1980s (she has never changed her hairstyle over the years) from New Palestine, IN
$2K Toss-Up: ON THE MAP
_ _ _ _ N / _ _ Y W I _ C _ _ _ I N
Well, look what we have here — this was the opening Toss-Up I solved at the top of my episode, and Shannon locates GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN.
FEATURED TRIP: Barceló Bavaró Grand Resort in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Round 1: FUN & GAMES
Shannon: $2,100 R trio, two A’s and E, $600 S (just slid past trouble), three I’s, L for lost turn (even after dodging LaT)
Jennifer: $1,700 T pair, $2,700 H trio (made it out of trouble again), solve…
H I _ I _ _ / T H R _ _ _ H A / R A I _ _ _ R E S T
Could’ve gone for the two N’s and two G’s, but she solves HIKING THROUGH A RAINFOREST for $4,400.
Mystery Round: BEFORE & AFTER
Jennifer: $10,500N trio, $500 C, $500 G, one I, D for dud
Tyler: $500 W, five E’s, $1K R pair, two U’s, B trap (he thought of BURNING for the first word)
Shannon: goes for an unnecessary house minimum solve…
_ U R N I N G _ _ E R / _ / N E W _ E _ _ _ E _ _ U C E
She’s TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF LETTUCE when she could’ve gone for three T’s and two L’s.
Jennifer: $4,400/Tyler: $1K/Shannon: $3K
Holland America Puzzle of the Night: WAYD?
S _ _ _ N G A L A S _ A ’ S G L A C _ _ R S / A N D W _ L D L _ F _
Answer: SEEING ALASKA’S GLACIERS AND WILDLIFE
PP/Express Round: THINGS
Tyler: $1,300 T pair, three E’s, $1,200 H pair (almost to EXPRESS), two A’s, LaT
Shannon: $3,600 S quartet, two N’s for WC (not quite to the big one), bad I buy (I feared she would say that)
Jennifer: BANKRUPT near $3,500
Tyler: last vowel of two O’s, LaT again
S A N _ _ A S T _ E S O N / T H E / S H O _ E
Shannondecides to take a spin much to my dismay…and she gets the same BANKRUPT to hand over $4,350 and the WC. Jennifer then might be building SANDCASTLES ON THE SHORE during her trip to the Aston Ka’anapali Shores in MAUI worth $9,794.
All “lights”, and Jennifer turns on the PORCH LIGHT.
2.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ T
Nice try Jennifer, but it’s not HEADLIGHT.
_ _ M _ L I G _ T
Shannon turns on the LAMPLIGHT.
3.
N _ _ _ _ – _ _ _ H T
Shannon turns on a NIGHT-LIGHT.
Speed-Up: PHRASE
Shannon makes the consonants worth $1,600 apiece.
Shannon: R Jennifer: 2 D’s Tyler: N Shannon: 2 S’s Jennifer: 2 W’s Tyler: 2 A’s (he flubbed w/ SLOW DOWN ACROSS) Shannon: H Jennifer: N repeat Tyler: 2 E’s Shannon: L Jennifer: G (DUD) Tyler: P (DUD) Shannon: C
S L _ W / D _ W N C _ R _ E S / A H E A D
Shannon solves the road sign “SLOW DOWN, CURVES AHEAD” for $9,600 and the comeback win by $406.
PENALTY BOX
DUDS
LaTs
BANKRUPTS
DQs
Round 1
L (Shannon)
Round 2
D (Jennifer), B (Tyler)
Round 3
I (Shannon)
2 (Tyler)
2 (ladies)
Round 4
G (Jennifer), P (Tyler)
2 (Tyler’s missolve, Jennifer’s N repeat)
FINAL SCORES Jennifer: $16,194 cash & Maui/Tyler: $1K/Shannon: $16,600
Shannon’s given the same generic category list like Laura from Tuesday…
PHRASE
PERSON
THING
…and unlike Laura, she goes for PHRASE.
$100K Bonus Round
Doug the fiancé was here as well as Shannon’s daughter Dulcie; she lands on what’s under the S of AMERICA’S. Here’s a trio to start…
_ _ N _ / _ _ _ E _ R _
CDPA adds just two D’s…
_ _ N D / _ _ _ E _ R D
Some episodes can be KIND OF WEIRD when people make questionable decisions while on stage, and this lady realized the answer doesn’t start w/ SEND IT, but alas, she loses $40K.
Betty plants a CHESTNUT TREE. The midweek panelists go by these names…
Betty Hunter: sports mom (in football and basketball) of three bonus kids and roller skater from Fort Wayne, IN
Kaley Keller: pig farmer (the pigs are very smart and well fed, but will also do anything for a marshmallow and a belly rub) married to Logan w/ three children from Sulphur, LA
Alex Harrell: Osprey pilot in the Marine Corps (he’s been serving for over 9 years) married to Danielle w/ an 18-month-old Gabby plus a boy on the way in the summer from Stafford, VA
$2K Toss-Up: IN THE KITCHEN
C _ O _ I N G R A _ _
Alex just misses it w/COOKING RACK.
C O O _ I N G R A _ K
Betty triples up w/ COOLING RACK.
FEATURED TRIP: same one from Monday, the $10,398 HOLLAND AMERICA Alaskan cruise
Round 1: BEFORE & AFTER
Betty: one N for WC, $900 T, one I and two A’s, unfortunate dud of D on $2,500
Kaley: S for sorry
Alex: $1,800 R pair, two E’s and O (NMV), $850 P, solve…
P R O T E I N _ A R E _ A _
He passes the PROTEIN BAR EXAM for $2,150.
Mystery Round: WAYD?
Kaley: $1,100 N pair, one I, LaT
Alex: obvious $500 G, three E’s and A, $500 T, one Y for HOLLAND AMERICA, two O’s and U (NMV; the U purchase wasn’t necessary, IMO), $600 L, solve…
T Y I N G / U _ / A / _ E _ L O O _ E / E N _ _
He’s TYING UP A FEW LOOSE ENDS for a total of $11,498 cash & cruise. Oh, and Pat mistakenly asked Jim to describe the cruise again this contestant just won.
Alex: $600 T, $600 N (almost to EXPRESS), SIX E’s and A, $1K L pair, three I’s and three O’s (NMV), $1,500 S trio, $600 R (almost to EXPRESS), $800 V, finally goes for solve…
A / _ E E L – _ O O _ T E L E V I S I O N S E R I E S
For knowing that this show is A FEEL-GOOD TELEVISION SERIES, he’s won $4,100 and a trip to the Divi Dutch Village in ARUBA worth $9,357 — PR.
MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT in general terms would be all-you-can-eat buffets, and Mikeya’s the first to score among Tuesday’s panel from left to right…
Mikeya Bates: aunt of many nieces and nephews who started a skincare line w/ her best friend from Chicago
Laura Trombino: married lady to Jamie w/ 8-year-old twin boys (and the couple saw Pat & Vanna filming promos while they were on their honeymoon) from Brookhaven, NY
Adrian Carpenter: local truck driver on the mean streets who enjoys shooting pool and karaoke from Houston, TX
$2K Toss-Up: AROUND THE HOUSE
_ A _ I _ Y M I R _ O _
Adrian looks into a VANITY MIRROR for control.
FEATURED TRIP: St. James’s Club in Antigua (CARIBBEAN)
Round 1: SAME NAME
Adrian: instant dud of T
Mikeya: $1K R pair, two E’s, $700 N, three O’s, $500 M, last vowel of I, $700 L, $550 B, possibly fatal dud of C
Laura: $900 G, $550 W, two S’s for CARIBBEAN, solve…
E L B O W / & _ R E S S I N G R O O M
She solves ELBOW & DRESSING ROOM for $2,450 and the Antigua trip worth $9,380.
Mystery Round: EVENT
Mikeya: $3,500 S, two E’s, $1,500 R trio, three I’s, $600 N, two O’s, $1,700 C pair, $500 M, two A’s, CRITICAL DUD of P ($6,800 at risk)
Laura: $1,200 pair of H’s, solve…
M A _ O R S C I E N _ I _ I C _ R E A _ _ H R O _ _ H
She solves MAJOR SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH for just the $1,200 when she could’ve gone for the two T’s.
_ M B _ R K _ N G / O N _ N / _ L _ S K _ C R _ _ S _
Answer: EMBARKING ON AN ALASKA CRUISE
PP/Express Round: WAYD?
Laura: $2,100 T trio, three O’s, $1,700 S pair, $2,700 N trio, sole dud vowel of E
Adrian: $700 P, two I’s, BANKRUPT near $650 (lost $450)
Mikeya: $500 M, two A’s, LaT
Laura: just solves…
_ O _ _ S I N _ O N / _ _ A T ‘ S I M P O _ T A N T
Laura, since you’re FOCUSING ON WHAT’S IMPORTANT, you’ve won $6K and a “third honeymoon” to the Sensira Resort & Spa in RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO worth $9K.
All Italian foods here; Adrian was about to say WHOLE WHEAT BREAD, which would be wrong.
W H O _ E / W H E _ T _ A S T _
Mikeya can’t get the last word surprisingly.
W H O _ E / W H E A T P A S T _
Laura gets a plate of WHOLE WHEAT PASTA.
2.
_ _ M E _ _ D E _ _ _ _ _
Laura also solves HOMEMADE PASTA.
3.
S _ I _ E O _ / _ I _ _ A
Laura gets a SLICE OF PIZZAfor the bonus sweep!
Speed-Up: PHRASE
Laura has spun the $1,500 minimum.
Laura: T Adrian: F (DUD) Mikeya: 3 M’s Laura: D (DUD) Adrian: N (DUD) Mikeya: R Laura: S (DUD) Adrian: 2 C’s
M _ C _ / M _ R _ T _ / C _ M _
We’ve got MUCH MORE TO COME this week and the last weeks with Pat as host, as Adrian solves for $3K more.
PENALTY BOX
DUDS
LaTs
BANKRUPTS
DQs
Round 1
T (Adrian), C (Mikeya)
Round 2
P (Mikeya)
Round 3
E (Laura)
Mikeya
Adrian for $450
Round 4
F, N (Adrian) D, S (Laura)
FINAL SCORES Mikeya: $1K/Laura: $38,030 cash & trips/Adrian: $5K
GT: $44,030 Adrian’s BANKRUPT TRASH: $450
Laura’s generic category list…
THING
PHRASE
PERSON
We haven’t had somebody pick my most hated category of THING this month…and this woman has just picked it — oh, brother. -___-
$100K Bonus Round
After we see Jamie the hubby, Laura lands on the ’. I know it already…
_ _ _ R L _ _ N _ _ E _ R
DMGO only adds…
_ _ _ R L _ _ N D _ E _ R
2024 is gonna be a WHIRLWIND YEAR when Ryan takes over this fall, but she’s way off on the top w/ WONDERLAND, FAVORITE, WONDERFUL, and PEARLAND, costing her $40K.
This next theme was originally going to be “Resort Livin’” (last seen in S38), but it’s actually one we haven’t seen since S26 — Destination Relaxation.
EPISODE #7976:🍹DESTINATION RELAXATION🍹
$1K Toss-Up: THING
_ W _ D _ _ H M A _ S _ _ _
Erica and these men from left to right are looking for a SWEDISH MASSAGE…
Erica Brown: spin instructor and mom of a 3-year-old daughter (she has the personality of a 13-year-old) from Claymont, DE
Jeff Commings: married to another man of 12 years also named Jeff (LGBT ALERT) and both of them are swim instructors at a swim school; he’s also a Master’s world record holder in swimming and broke about 30 of them from Tucson, AZ
Jackson Land: retired I.T. sales worker married to Teddie w/ two daughters and two bonus daughters from Marietta, GA
$2K Toss-Up: ON THE MAP
_ _ L _ _ M O _ E _ A _ Y _ A _ D
Home of the NFL’s Ravens and MLB’s Orioles, Jeff locates BALTIMORE, MARYLAND for control.
FEATURED TRIP: 7d Alaskan Cruise aboard HOLLAND AMERICA line worth $10,398
Round 1: PHRASE
Jeff: $850 S, sole dud vowel of I
Jackson: BANKRUPT near $2,500
Erica: $800 L, one C for HOLLAND AMERICA, four A’s and five E’s, $650 R, $1K W pair, solve…
W E / A R E / W A _ A _ E A _ / _ _ S C _ E _ _ L E
WE ARE WAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE so far, because this lady’s won $12,848 cash & Alaskan cruise.
Mystery/Crossword Round: CHICKEN _______
Jackson: $1,100 T pair, two I’s and three E’s (NMV already), BANKRUPT near $650 (lost $600)
Erica: $1K L pair, $500 D, $1,500 N trio, $500 R, $700 F, unnecessary BANKRUPT on MDW’s left side (lost $4,200)
Jeff: SPINGLE for $700 G, solve…
_
F
L
I
T
T
L
E
N
E
G
D
I
N
N
E
R
WING is the last thing associated w/ chicken for a $300 bonus.
Erica: $13,848 cash & Alaskan cruise/Jeff: $3K/Jackson: BAD LUCK
WHEEL Winners Segment: Rana Aryan from New Year’s Eve 2021 won a PP trip to Costa Rica and took husband Adam there.
PP/Express Round: SONG LYRICS
Erica: $500 T, $500 R, $1,300 H pair, one A and four E’s, $1,600 Y pair, two O’s, LaT
Jeff: $1,700 S pair, solve…
Y O _ / A R E / T H E S _ _ S H _ _ E O _ / _ Y / _ _ _ E
He solves the Stevie Wonder tune “YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE ON MY LIFE” for the $1,700 and a trip to the Papagayo Beach Hotel & Villas in CURAÇAO worth $8,458.
Here’s a photo of the son of S7 WoF Alum Gerianne (she competed Mar. 9, 12, and 13, 1990) on the Earth Day special of TPiR today. The second photo has his mom sitting w/ S23 alum Alex from College Week.
Screenshot
This is John Jensen and he was one of the First Four contestants. He got up on stage third after winning a $2,120 package that had a AeroPilates reformer and yoga collection. The game he played was Pocket Change for a Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Blue (1.6L hybrid engine, 6AT, FWD, mud guards, alloy wheel locks, plus cargo net and cargo tray).
Number Pool: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 First Number: 2
Second Number Guesses:
7 — CORRECT; chooses envelope #19
Third Number Guesses:
4 — NO 5 — NO 6 — CORRECT; chooses envelope #2
Fourth Digit Guesses
4 — RIGHT; chooses #15
Last Digit Guess: 9 — NO (the ARP of the car was $27,645); chooses #12
Amount Needed to buy the Car: $1.00 Envelopes: DIME…QUARTER…NICKEL…75 CENTS FOR THE WIN!
He went over in the first showcase showdown after spinning 65 + 45.
WHEEL of FORTUNE with Andy Nguyen 