At least he was a good sport! A Wheel of Fortune contestant who has five children lost out on taking home $65,000 during the Bonus Round.
Pierre Poindexter, from Charlottesville, Virginia, almost solved two Fortune Frenzies, but couldn’t get the last one in before time ran out. The dad of five played against Andrea Hernandez, from New York City, New York, and Danielle Jaffry, from Alton, Illinois, on November 9. All three game show contestants solved one Fortune Frenzy each, giving them $1,000.
Hernandez, a former chef for several years who is now a registered dietitian, took the lead when she solved “Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice.” This gave her $2,000.
Poindexter, a cornhole champion who plays sports in his backyard often, solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “Sink or Swim Trunks.” He took the lead with $2,200.
During the next round, Hernandez rode the Express Train, but went Bankrupt when she guessed an “O,” which wasn’t in the puzzle. Poindexter solved “I Just Can’t Help Myself.” He won a trip to London, Paris, and Amsterdam, giving him $9,949.
He also solved two of the three Triple Toss-ups, putting $4,000 more in his bank. Jaffry, a mother of three, solved the third one. She made a bet with her sister, that her now-husband, Scott, would go out with her, and she won the bet.
Poindexter solved the final puzzle — “Looking At The Big Picture.” This gave him a final total of $20,399. Jaffry went home with $3,000. Hernandez had $2,000.
Poindexter chose “Phrase” for his Bonus Puzzle category. Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” He rounded out the puzzle with “P,G,H, and O.”
The puzzle then looked like “_ _ _H _ _PRO_E_.” The clock counted down, but Poindexter said he “didn’t know it.”
“Much Improved” was the puzzle. “Hard to get there,” host Ryan Seacrest said. “When we throw a couple of letters in there, it’s easy.” There was $45,000 in the envelope, which would have given him $65,399.
“I knew it! That’s ok!” Poindexter said. “I’m a happy camper.”
“I love your energy,” Seacrest said.
Could you solve the bonus puzzle? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
