Solely 4 contestants in Wheel of Fortune historical past have ever gained the elusive $1 million prize. On Wednesday, November 20, followers had been crushed as Texas native Damon Sayles narrowly missed turning into the fifth. What was notably painful about it was he did all the things proper, and his dream ended with a single, unfortunate selection.
Sayles placed on a clinic all episode, and halfway via, he landed on the $1 million wedge, managing to maintain it the remainder of the sport. Heading into the bonus spherical, the $100,000 slot on the prize wheel was modified to the $1 million wedge, setting the stage for a life-changing second.
By then, Sayles had earned $29,290, together with a visit to Barbados, and chosen “What Are You Sporting?” as his bonus class. The 2-word puzzle was displayed. Correctly selecting “G, M, W, O,” as his extra letters, the puzzle practically spelled out and skim, “GL_MOR_US’ ‘GOWN.”
With the puzzle primarily solved earlier than the 10-second timer even began, he mentioned the appropriate reply immediately: “Glamorous Robe.” Regardless of a letter-perfect efficiency, all of it hinged on whether or not or not he had chosen the correct wedge.
“Let’s see what the envelope is!” Ryan Seacrest teased. In a heartbreaker second, the gold prize card was revealed to be the $40,000 quantity, not the $1 million, This introduced his complete to $69,290 in money and the journey. “I’ll take it!” Sayles kindly mentioned.
Seacrest and Vanna White mentioned the near-million win within the episode’s credit scene. “He was so near the $1 million,” White mentioned, as Seacrest shared, “What a giant night time for Damon. I believed my arms had been starting to sweat. He was so shut with that nice resolve. However I really feel it. It’s going to occur. And shortly,” Seacrest assured.
The sport present shared the letdown second on YouTube, the place followers had been shocked at how shut Sayles was to creating historical past and 7 figures, solely shedding out by selecting the improper wedge.
“He picked the correct letters for the puzzle. Good job my man on profitable the 40,000! It wasn’t the million at the least… he nonetheless did magnificent!” one fan wrote.
“Wasn’t the million greenback, however Damon actually picked the correct letters to get numerous assist,” appluaded one other.
“The $1,000,000 was underneath the ‘&’ (ampersand),” identified a 3rd.
“No bc wheel of fortune is so improper for giving him 40,000 {dollars} he earned that a million,” raged a fourth.
“I might’ve had a coronary heart assault if he gained the million…” wrote a fifth.
Solely 14 Wheel of Fortune and Superstar Wheel of Fortune gamers have had an opportunity to win the $1 million jackpot for the reason that huge prize was debuted in 2008. It’s been gained even much less, with simply 4 folks (together with one celeb, Melissa Joan Hart) strolling away millionaires.
The primary win got here in October 2008, only one month after the grand prize was launched. The subsequent win wasn’t till 2013, adopted by one other in 2014. Hart would develop into the subsequent million-dollar winner in 2021. One other enjoyable truth: each single winner has been a lady!
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