Ryan Seacrest Stunned by ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant’s Answer
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Wheel of Fortune host Ryan Seacrest couldn’t believe his eyes — or ears.
On the Friday, January 17 episode of the beloved show, contestant Traci Demus-Gamble pulled off a jaw-dropping puzzle solve that left everyone stunned.
The 55-year-old English teacher from Dallas dominated the game, racking up $28,650 and two Caribbean cruises before heading into the Bonus Round. Her final challenge? A “Phrase” puzzle with barely any letters: “T _ E _ / _ O / _ _ _ / _ _ C _.”
Without hesitation, Demus-Gamble confidently shouted, “They Go Way Back,” as soon as the timer started. Even Seacrest, 50, was floored. “That was amazing,” he said, jokingly circling her as if checking for an earpiece. Moments later, he revealed her prize — an additional $50,000, bringing her grand total to $78,650.
“How in the world did you solve that last one?” the famous TV presenter asked, still visibly amazed.
“I just dug deep, I dug deep,” Demus-Gamble replied, pointing to her noggin.
“Yeah, you dug real deep,” Seacrest added. “Congratulations, great, great work.”
Fans watching at home were just as shocked. After clips of her solve hit YouTube, the comments poured in.
“One of the most impressive bonus round solves I’ve seen for this season 😮❤,” one viewer wrote.
“It wasn’t that she got barely any letters. It was that she knew it immediately and said it with confidence,” pointed out another.
“AMAZING solve. I was stunned. And I RSTLNE a lot of these bonus puzzles. I couldn’t get it with the extra letters, but Tracey just SAW IT. GOOD JOB,” chimed in a third.
“Wow; did she pull that out of left field!” someone else added.
“I couldn’t solve that one to save my life, but Traci got it like it was nothing. Congratulations! Enjoy the moolah!” another said.
Even Maggie Sajak, the show’s social media correspondent and daughter of the legendary former host Pat Sajak, was stumped along with the rest of the backstage crew. “How did you get that?” Maggie, 30, asked via The Spin. Without skipping a beat, Demus-Gamble said, “I just really looked for the letters that weren’t there and just kind of plugged them in.”
