A Wheel of Fortune contestant has achieved the second confetti-ensuing win of the Ryan Seacrest era, and the equally rare feat of scaring the wits out of fans first.
On Monday, October 28’s episode, Brent, a career BBQ chef from Pocahontas, Arkansas, got cooking with multiple impressive solves. He proceeded to the coveted bonus round with $20,700 in cash, a prize trip to St. Lucia, and the off-side support of his adoring parents.
Fittingly selecting “Food and Drink,” he joined Seacrest center stage, and chose the additional letters of “G, C, P, O.” The three-word puzzle read, “_OT ‘_ _ _ GE’ ‘TOPP_NG’ and Seacrest remarked at his odds, “Not bad!”
However, while the answer came to many viewers right away, as made clear on social media, it did not come to Brent. When the ten-second timer began, Brent looked perplexed and guessed “Um, ‘Hot Large topping?”. It was abundantly clear he did not initially know the answer to the within-reach puzzle, causing one of the down-to-the-wire solves in memory.
With a mere four seconds to go, it came to him: “Hot Fudge Topping” he declared.
Seacrest ruled him correct and revealed the gold prize card contained the elusive $100,000. An explosion of confetti ensued with an over-the-moon Brent hugging his parents and the iconic Vanna White. “You did it!” Seacrest exclaimed, as his grand total was displayed: a towering $120,704.
The game show shared the big win on YouTube where fans in the comments section were overjoyed but also admitted to being put through an emotional rollercoaster, unable to recall such a close call on a jackpot win.
“I was worried for a moment,” the top comment read.
“Me, too! That was an amazing win!!!” replied another fan.
“What a great way to start off this week and it literally gave me a heart attack!” admitted a third.