Another ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Contestant Solves A Puzzle With Just One Letter
A highly intelligent Wheel of Fortune contestant solved a puzzle with just one letter. Robert Santoli stunned viewers when he appeared on the long-running game show on Friday, March 25, and won nearly $100,000 in cash and prizes.
You may have not been able to see the genius Wheel of Contestant last week due to the NCAA tournament games, but he left his opponents in disbelief when he solved nearly every puzzle and walked away with a total of $76,000 in cash and prizes, along with two cruise vacations. His most impressive moment was when he correctly guessed the glue “Port & Starboard” with just the letter “D” revealed on the board.
After continuing to win every puzzle, Santoli revealed to TapInto.net that host Pat Sajak was started to get annoyed that he was sweeping every game. Sajak leaned over and asked him during the commercial break, “That was great, Robert, but now we have to let someone else play, OK?”
“I felt so bad for the other two players, Bonnie and Noelle. As soon as I solved the Round one puzzle for some cash and a $6,009 cruise, I knew they had a lot of catching up to do, so I told them, ‘I’m sorry’,” Santoli added.
Santoli, who is from Yorktown, New York, also explained how he prepared for his big moment on Wheel of Fortune.
“I spent the days before our trip compiling a list of possible puzzles and key words themed toward sailing, cruising, water and even fishing. There are websites that keep track of past ‘Wheel of Fortune’ puzzles, so I did some research on previous weeks themed toward these things and wrote them down. The show does sometimes repeat puzzles, especially themed ones. ‘Port & Starboard’ had been used at least twice before my show, both times as a Toss-Up puzzle. I got really lucky because that was the only puzzle that week that appeared verbatim on my list. As soon as I saw that ‘Places’ was the category, I had a hunch and then I saw four blanks, an ampersand and nine blanks, and my face just lit up.”
But Robert Santoli isn’t the contestant who’s had their luck at solving a puzzle with just one letter. Last year, a contestant named Rufus blew everyone away when he solved a difficult 17-letter puzzle on the show.
The category was “Event,” and Rufus only had to make one lucky guess. He asked for a “T,” and when it appeared, he only had a few seconds to give his answer.
Obviously, the answer turned out to be correct. That answer earned Rufus a cool $1,700. The video of his brilliant puzzle round immediately went viral on social media. There’s no doubt that Santoli’s impressive win will also go viral shortly after his video has been posted to the internet.
If you’re wondering when to catch new episodes of Wheel of Fortune, you’re now in luck. For those living in Boston and most of the East Coast, Jeopardy airs right after Wheel of Fortune. However, the shows sometimes air in a different order depending where you live in the U.S.
According to GraphGraph, 129 of the 206 U.S. media markets air Jeopardy first, while only 77 markets air Wheel of Fortune first. That means only 74 million households watch Jeopardy each evening, while only 40 million prefer Wheel of Fortune as their choice.
There are some media markets where the shows even air on different networks. The most common network of the two game shows is CBS, NBC, and ABC. The only markets that air Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy on ABC include Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia.
In addition to airing the shows in different orders and networks, the shows may air at different times depending where you live. For example, the Alabama market airs new episodes of Jeopardy at 9:30 a.m. while Louisiana airs the show at 12:36 a.m.
When does Wheel of Fortune air where you live? Sound off below in the comments section.
[Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]
