There’s no single reason why viewers are captivated byWheel of Fortune,celebrating its golden anniversarythis year. But if one were to point at the most likely, it would have to be “like a box of chocolates”: you never know what you’re going to get. Over those 50 years,Wheel of Fortunehas seen its share ofhilarious, but wrong, guesses, contestants who solve puzzles on thebasis of one letter, and contestants that have taken home amazing prizes, includingLaura Trammell, whotook home a home. Recently, one contestant,Traci Demus-Gamble, took home $78,650 and two separate Caribbean cruises. But it wasn’t what she won,it washowshe won, that left host Ryan Seacrest stunned.
Traci Demus-Gamble Nails the “Phrase” Category With Only 4 Letters
On theFriday, January 17th episodeofWheel of Fortune, Demus-Gamble, an English teacher from Dallas, Texas, was pitted againstT.R. Campbell, an aspiring game show announcer from Lutz, Florida, and triathlon participantBrittany McCauley, out of Fauquier County, Virginia.The first half belonged to an unstoppable Demus-Gamble, who won Round 1, Mystery Round, and Express Round puzzles. By the time the show hit the 15-minute mark, Demus-Gamble had garnered $28,650, and not one, but two separate Caribbean cruises.
Demus-Gamble, however, had seemingly spent her magic as McCauley took over the back half, answering all three puzzles in the Triple Toss Up round and the final Speed Up puzzle. McCauley’s surge netted her a total of $21,550, just shy of Demus-Gamble’s haul, and it would be Demus-Gamble into the Bonus Round on the strength of her first-half heroics. She didn’t make things easy for herself, selecting the “Phrase” category, one known to be troublesome. Nevertheless, she got her free letters,R, S, T, L, N, and E, and took M, C, D, and O as her extra letters. Out of 10 letters, only 4 showed up in the clue, resulting in “T _ E _ / _ O / _ _ _ / _ _ C _.” Impossible, especially with only 10 seconds to solve it. Right? Wrong. The timer had barely started when Demus-Gamble exclaimed, “They Go Way Back,” and intoWheel of Fortunehistory asone of the most stunning solves ever.
Demus-Gamble’s Solve Stuns On — and Off — the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Set
Seacrest couldn’t believe it, and playfully circled around Demus-Gamble looking for an earpiece. He then opened the prize envelope,revealing an extra $50,000 to her winnings, bringing her total to $78,650, on top of the two Caribbean cruises. After the initial excitement had died down, Seacrest said, “That was amazing,” before asking the question that had to be on the mind of viewers across America: “How in the world did you solve that last one?” Demus-Gamble replied, “I just dug deep,” prompting Seacrest to add, “Yeah, you dug real deep. Congratulations.”
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The reactions before and after were priceless.
Seacrestwasn’t the only memberof theWheel of Fortunefamily to be awestruckat Demus-Gamble’s feat.Social media correspondentMaggie Sajak(yes, that Sajak — Maggie isPat Sajak’s daughter) interviewed Demus-Gamble after the show, confessing that she and other crew members were trying to solve the puzzle themselves backstage, and were nowhere close with their own guesses. “How did you do that?” Sajak asked.“I just looked for the letters that weren’t there and plugged them in and just powered through,” Demus-Gamble answered, and summed up her experience on the show by adding, “I’ve grown up watchingWheel of Fortune. I love solving puzzles, obviously. Everything was just perfect.”
Demus-Gamble’s Bonus Round puzzle solve had fans raving on social media with comments like: “One of the most impressive bonus round solves I’ve seen for this season.”; “I couldn’t solve that one to save my life, but Traci got it like it was nothing. Congratulations! Enjoy the moolah!”; “It wasn’t that she got barely any letters. It was that she knew it immediately and said it with confidence.” Demus-Gamble’s spectacular Bonus Round feat is sure to be remembered asone of the most amazing moments in the Ryan Seacrest era. Certainly better than this now-legendary"TREAT YOURSELF A ROUND OF SAUSAGE"guess.
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