‘Wheel of Fortune’: See Pat Sajak React After Contestant Blows $40K Chance (Video)

Pat Sajak provided comforting words on Tuesday’s (March 20) Wheel of Fortune after a contestant fell just one word short of solving the final puzzle and bagging an extra $40,000.

The contestant in question was LaQuisha Persak, a married mother of one from Tallahassee, Florida. She faced off against Zevon Atkinson from Bloomington, Indiana, and Danielle Krueger from Omaha, Nebraska. Fun fact: Krueger’s mom competed on the show 20 years ago.

Persak got off to a solid start, and by the end of the Express Round, she’d won $19,589 cash and a cruise aboard the Disney Wish to the Bahamas worth $11,889.

Krueger fought back towards the end of the episode, putting the pressure on Persak. But it wasn’t enough. Ultimately, Persak won the episode with $23,589, while Krueger finished in second with a respectable $21,600. Atkinson trailed with $2,000.

In the Bonus Round, Persak selected the dreaded “Phrase” category and the additional letters “M, G, W, and A.” This left her with a four-word puzzle that read: “_ / _ A _ E / _ _ _ R / _ A _ _.”

Impressively, Persak figured out the first three words, answering, “I Have Your…” But she struggled to work out the last word, incorrectly guessing “Card” and “Case.”