đĄ $77,000 Gone in a Flash? âWheel of Fortuneâ Fans Stunned by Chaotic Episode đ± The entire studio was left in disbelief during a tense moment on Wheel of Fortune when contestant Helena Asherian confidently answered âPuff Pastriesâ â only for the buzzer to sound at that exact instant. Even host Ryan Seacrest appeared unsure, asking on air, âDid she get it right?â â a question that instantly ignited fierce debate among viewers over whether she had been unfairly denied a win. But the shocks didnât end there. Later, the nightâs champion, Steve Johnson, stepped into the Bonus Round with a life-changing prize on the line â only to miss the solution âFormer Owner,â watching a staggering $77,000 slip away in seconds. Within minutes, social media exploded with theories: Was it a buzzer malfunction? A timing controversy? Or simply cruel game-show fate? One episode. Two jaw-dropping moments. And fans still arguing about what really happened.
âWheel of Fortuneâ Contestant Loses $77,000 After Buzzer Controversy â Fans React

Did she get it? A Wheel of Fortune contestant thought she had solved the puzzle correctly, but the buzzer went off. Fans debated whether she got the puzzle or not before another contestant lost out on taking home $77,000.
Steve Johnson, from Westchester, Ohio, played against Mark Madison, from St. Louis, Missouri, and Helena Asherian, from Atlanta, Georgia, on February 20. Johnson is a man who has gotten hooked on travel, thanks to his wife, Angeline, and National Geographic magazines that he read at his grandparentsâ house.
Johnson solved both of the toss-ups, putting $3,000 in his bank. He picked up the Expedition Cruise wedge on the first puzzle. Since National Geographic Week started, contestants had the chance to go on amazing trips if they kept the wedge all the way through to the Bonus Round and correctly solved it. He solved the âBefore & Afterâ puzzle â âHow I Met Your Mother Natureâ â for $8,900.
Asherian, a woman who tries to get on the jumbrotron everytime she goes to a sporting event, obtained the Wild Card in the second round, but landed on Bankrupt, so she had to give it up. Madison, a man who loves Sunday because of football, solved âDriving With the Blinkers Onâ for $13,350, taking the lead.

During the Prize Puzzle, Johnson won the One Million Dollar Wedge after Asherian landed on Bankrupt once again. He solved âCabins & Sunsetsâ for a trip to Baha California, Mexico, for a total of $25,900.
In the Triple Toss-Up round, Asherian finally got on the board, when she solved the first two, putting $4,000 in her bank. Johnson solved the last one.
The final puzzle was where the controversy came in. When the puzzle looked like âP_ _ _Â Â P_STR _ _S,â Asherian guessed an âF,â which then made the puzzle âP_FFÂ P_STR_ _S.â
After the letters appeared, a buzzer went off when she guessed âPuff Pastries.â Host Ryan Seacrest asked, âDid she get it?,â thinking it was the time out buzzer, but it was the buzzer indicating that there were no only vowels left.
âLook at you coming in strong at the end,â Seacrest said. Asherian ended with $7,200.
Madison ended with $13,350. The nightâs winner was Johnson with $27,900. He went into the Bonus Round with the Cruise wedge and the One Million Dollar Wedge.

Fans debated whether or not Asherian got the puzzle in time. âWTH on the last puzzle before the bonus round? Helena guessed the F and solved the puzzle just after the letters were displayed, and they had to make sure she got it solved in the 3 seconds?â a Reddit user asked.
âIt was because they played the sound when thereâs only vowels left, but Ryan confused it with the âtimeoutâ buzzer. So it was just a momentary confusion on Ryanâs part. Fortunately, all was good for Helena on that,â another wrote.
âI noticed that too. It seems like the buzzer went off right after the letters were turned,â one fan said.
âSomebody needs to fix that buzzer. The second F hadnât even been âturned overâ and it went off that she had run out of time,â another commented.
âReference the final puzzle, âpuff pastries.â the contestant was clearly buzzed while Vanna was still in front of the letters she activated. Fortunately, the contestant started solving it but if she had waited for Vanna to move, she would have lost it,â fan pointed out.
During the Bonus Round, Johnson chose âPerson.â He was given âR,S,T,L,N, and E,â and chose âG,H,P, and O.â
The puzzle then looked like â_OR_ERÂ O_NER.â As the clock counted down, he guessed âCorner Ownerâ and âBorder Owner.â Johnson couldnât figure out âFormer Owner.â
âYou were definitely on the right path,â Seacrest said. The game show contestant lost out on taking home $77,900 as he he $50,000 in the envelope.