Wheel of Fortune Contestant's "Painful" Mistake Costs Her $1 Million in Prize Money

A Wheel of Fortune contestant was letters away from earning $1 million. 

Vivian Tran, who competed on the game show’s Sept. 16 episode, lost the grand prize when she couldn’t complete the first word in a three-word puzzle during the bonus round.

"My heart is racing,” Ryan Seacrest—who took over as host following Pat Sajak’s retirement—said during the round. “This is a first for me. You’re playing for $1 million."

When Vivian made her way to the bonus round after landing on the “One Million” wedge during the final round, the $100,000 prize was replaced with $1 million. To win the prize, she had to land on the million-dollar envelope, which she did, and solve the puzzle correctly.

As for what the puzzle was? The phrase “Offering Some Help." 

Unfortunately, she was missing four letters in the first word and ultimately lost the money. 

Ryan pulled open the envelope to show she landed on the correct envelope as she folded over in disbelief. Although it was a disappointment, Vivian left with a $27,300 cash prize, a trip to Europe and high spirits.

"It turned out great," she told Wheel of Fortune's social correspondent Maggie Sajak after the show, "a little bit painful, but I'm grateful for the opportunity."

"He kind of brought me into a corner and he's like, 'Vivian, I don't know if you want to see this,'" Vivian recalled of the moment she lost. "I knew the last two words but the first one, I just couldn't get the syllables. It was 10 seconds, so by the time I got to the eighth seconds, I missed it."

But she's grateful to have had the opportunity. She added, "I'll look back on it positively despite what happened."

Season 42, which began Sept. 9, is the first without Pat after he stepped away from the series in June after more than four decades. Although it's a bittersweet moment for longtime letter-turner Vanna White, she has high hopes for the American Idol host.

"He's doing an incredible job," Vanna told E! News in a joint interview with Ryan this month. "It's not easy. He makes it look easy."

And she sees this as a new chapter for the beloved game show.

"Pat decided to retire after 41 years and god bless him," she said. "He was happy and they said Ryan's gonna be the next one and I said, 'Great.' Because he's so talented, he's so professional, he's so good at what he does. I'm so thankful."

And for Ryan, the opportunity was a no-brainer.

"If Wheel of Fortune is offered to you, you just don't say no," he emphasized. "You'll have bad karma for the rest of your TV life."

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