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‘Wheel of Fortune’: Contestant Loses Cash and Trip to Europe After Mispronouncing This Word

Game shows can be ruthless. None know this better than Jonny, a contestant on a 2018 episode of “Wheel of Fortune.” The unfortunate man wore a look of complete shock after he mispronounced the word “flamenco,” reading from a completed phrase on the letter board.

Fair warning. The video is painful to watch.

The clip shows Jonny giving his “solve” for the phrase. He had already done the hard work by revealing all the letters. Unfortunately, when he read the phrase aloud, he pronounced the Spanish dance style as “flamingo” instead of “flamenco.”

Not only did Jonny lose the $7,100 he racked up, but he lost out on a trip to Europe as well. You can see the utter confusion on his face as he’s forced to watch fellow contestant Ashley read out the answer. Unsurprisingly, she pronounces “flamenco dance lessons” correctly.

The longtime “Wheel of Fortune” host came over to clarify what happened to Jonny and the audience.

“So to explain, what we all heard was, and I know you didn’t mean to say it, but you gave us a ‘G’ instead of a ‘C.’ But we’ll look at things and make sure we did things correctly during our commercial but that’s the way it’s been heard everywhere,” said Pat Sajak.

A confused Jonny appears to be pronouncing the words under his breath the whole time.

‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Redeems Himself

The best part of this “Wheel of Fortune” episode from 2018 is what happened next. Despite his mispronunciation, Jonny wasn’t completely out of the game. He went on to solve what has to be one of the most fitting puzzles ever.

The video shows Jonny guessing the final letters of a question on the letter board. He knows what it says, and this time he’s pronouncing it correctly.

“What. Just. Happened.” Jonny says carefully. That exact question had no doubt been running through his mind the entire episode.

His “Wheel of Fortune” journey came full circle with the correct answer. Best of all, Jonny earned a big chunk of money back. And while it may not have included another trip to Europe, at least he was able to salvage some of his pride.