A ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant won a whopping $100,000 in the Bonus Round after solving his final puzzle. During an episode of ‘Wheel of Fortune’, which was released on September 19, a player named Cory Earp put his incredible puzzle skills on display by cracking numerous puzzles. Eventually, Earp advanced to the Bonus Round after defeating his fellow rivals with $26,000 in his bank account. In the Bonus Round, Earp faced a two-word puzzle, and his choice of letters helped him guess his final puzzle.
In the episode, Earp, a sixth-grade language arts teacher from Taylorsville, North Carolina, was up against Alesha Davis, a middle school math/science teacher from Chicago, Illinois, and BB Fisher, a high school psychology and US history teacher from Tempe, Arizona. Earp kicked off the game with a bang and bagged an early lead with $7,150 in the bank. Soon after, Earp’s competitor, Davis, bounced back in the game when she solved the puzzle, “Wandering Eye Of The Tiger” in the mystery round, winning $14,184 in cash and a trip to Mexico. According to Andy Nguyen’s blog, Davis maintained the momentum in the express round and bagged another Road Scholar tour of France worth $11,498 after guessing the Prize Puzzle, “Cobblestone Streets.”
Then, Earp made a strong comeback by pulling off a Triple Toss Up sweep to get back her lead. Eventually, Earp secured the top position on the leaderboard with $26,450. When host Ryan Seacrest asked Earp to pick a category for his Bonus Round puzzle, the contestant selected “What Are You Wearing?” Shortly afterward, Earp was joined by his mother and best friend, Abby, on the stage for support. Before spinning the wheel, Earp asked, “What do y’all think it’s [the wheel] going to land on?” and his mother stated that it would be the ‘A.’ Seacrest quipped, “Hey! I’ll ask the questions around here.”
After spinning the wheel, Earp picked out the Golden Envelope and handed it over to Seacrest. The ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host gave Earp the standard letters, R, S, T, L, N, and E, and he went on to choose B, F, K, and A as his additional letters. His choices were spot on, and his final puzzle read: “F A N _ _ B L A _ E R.” As Seacrest began the ten-second timer, Earp shouted, “Fancy Blazer,” which was the correct answer. Without wasting any time, Seacrest flipped the Golden Envelope and revealed that Earp had won an additional $100,000. After hearing the great news, Earp jumped in the air with excitement.
Earp’s mother and bestie also joined him on the stage to celebrate the joyous occasion as the confetti showered them in colors. Seacrest asked Earp, “Now, let me ask you a question. What is this moment like for you, Cory?” to which Earp responded by saying, “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,”