What To Know
- Bigfoot enthusiast Danny Roman won $17,068 on Wheel of Fortune but lost out on an additional $75,000 after failing to solve the Bonus Round puzzle.
- Roman competed against Air Force veteran Stacey VanDyke and plant lover Brittanie McCleary, ultimately securing victory after a competitive game.
- Despite missing the grand prize, Roman fulfilled a lifelong dream by appearing on the show and sharing the experience with his family.
A Bigfoot-hunting Wheel of Fortune contestant failed to capture the big one on Friday’s (January 9) show as he came unstuck by a tricky Bonus Round puzzle.
The contestant in question was Danny Roman from Fairview Park, Ohio, who told host Ryan Seacrest he’s been on the hunt for Bigfoot since he was a kid. Roman’s Sasquatch adventures were inspired by his uncle, who he said used to take him on Bighoot hikes when he was younger. Unfortunately, so far, the mysterious beast has remained elusive.
Roman was up against Stacey VanDyke, a 20-year Air Force veteran and anesthesiologist from Panama City Beach, Florida, and Brittanie McCleary, a self-described plant mom from Rochester, New York.
Friday’s game started with a back-and-forth between Roman and VanDyke, with both contestants nailing puzzles in the opening rounds. However, Roman took the lead in the Express Round, figuring out the Living Things puzzle to bag himself a trip to Alaska worth $7,668.
Roman and VanDyke continued to trade correct responses in the Triple Toss-Up round. Meanwhile, McCleary answered her first and only puzzle in the final Speed-Up round, giving her $8,250 and shooting her to second place. It wasn’t enough to topple Roman, though, who won the episode with $17,068.
Heading into the Bonus Round, Roman selected the dreaded Phrase category, along with the additional letters “P, C, G, and I.” This gave him a three-word puzzle that read: “_ _ / T _ E / P _ _ N _.”
With only one of his additional letters showing up on the board, Roman struggled to solve the challenging puzzle. He guessed “On The Point, At the Point, Up the Point, and Of the Point,” forgetting that the final word couldn’t end in a T.
After the ten-second timer ran out, Vanna White revealed the correct answer as “By the Pound.”
“Don’t know how you were gonna get there,” Seacrest added. “Needed more letters.” The host then opened the prize envelope, revealing that Roman had lost out on an extra $75,000.
Despite missing out on a total of $92,000, Roman got to live out a childhood dream by appearing on the long-running game show.
“It’s one of my favorite shows. I feel like I’ve been watching it for as long as I can remember,” he told Cleveland.com. “I always felt like I was good playing it from home. We kind of joked that it should be me up there. That’s why I initially decided to audition.”
Roman added that it was “awesome to see behind the scenes” and that he was able to share the experience with his parents, whom he brought along to the studio recording, alongside his brother.
“Considering my parents have watched it forever, it was cool being able to bring them into that experience to see how the show is produced,” he stated. “Now watching it, having been there, it’s a different experience.”
What did you think of Friday’s episode? Did you figure out the Bonus Round puzzle? Let us know your thoughts below.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock