‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Viewers Upset By Bonus $40K Prize

Players on Wheel of Fortune can end up winning all sorts of prizes. During a recent episode, a player cheered on as they won a $40,000 prize in the bonus round. However, fans tuning into the episode found the prize disappointing.
‘Slow & Steady’ Won The Game On Wheel Of Fortune
During a recent episode of Wheel of Fortune, Cindy Valenzuela found herself taking part in the Bonus Round. Her category was “Phrase.”
In addition to the given letters, “R, S, T, L, N, and E,” Cindy picked “M, C, D, and A.” However, none of her selected letters appeared.

The puzzle read, “_ _ _ _ E N _ N _ L _ _ N _ _ E _.” However, Cindy was able to guess the correct answer: “HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW.”
Ryan Seacrest opened up the prize envelope, revealing Cindy would be getting $40,000. For her part, Cindy was happy over the news and celebrated with her friends. She ended up with a full prize package worth $60,400.
The official bonus round was uploaded to the official Wheel of Fortune YouTube page. The description read, “Slow and steady wins the race.. er.. we mean the Bonus Round!”
However, as noted by TV Insider, many fans weren’t too happy about the prize. Taking to the comments, many shared they hoped Cindy would get something larger.
In particular, many felt that there are too many $40,000 envelopes on the show. In the past, viewers could earn up to $70,000 or even $1 million. On his website, game show recapper Andy Nguyen shared the $40K prize has popped up 61 times as of Week 20.
Fans Haven’t Seen Other Prizes For A While Now
The million-dollar prize only appeared three times, as did a $70K prize. A $75K prize was twice as common, appearing six times. The $50K prize only appeared 10 times. Outside of cash prizes, a car prize appeared only 11 times.
Similar concerns also came up during the previous day’s episode. At the time, one person wrote, “What’s the point of the bonus wheel if it’s ALWAYS landing on $40K? Well, OK, maybe not ALWAYS, but it FEELS like it’s consistently landing on $40K.”
While many comments congratulated Cindy, similar concerns also appeared during the YouTube comments for the recent episode. Some of these comments included:
- “When I saw Ryan was hiding the prize from the envelope, I thought he [was] gonna surprise her and the audience with $100,000!”
- “How many $40,000 envelopes are there in the Bonus Round? I see another $40,000 win again.”
- “I was thought for sure [Seacrest] was going to reveal the $100,000, and it was only the $40,000.”
- “We got 105th shows with Still No million dollars, $70,0000 & $75,000 winners on wheel of fortune season 42nd…”
Did you catch this recent episode of Wheel of Fortune? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.
- ‘General Hospital’ Leslie Charleson’s SHOCKING Cause Of Death Revealed - February 14, 2025
- Melissa Reeves & Matthew Ashford Are Confirmed Back To ‘DOOL’ - February 14, 2025
- ‘Bold & Beautiful’ Hope Moves In On Finn After Steffy’s Rejection? - February 13, 2025