11 April 2023 , 18:59
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A Wheel of Fortune contestant missed out on a whopping $100,000 (£80,500), despite some viewers insisting she gave the right answer.
College student Alexa Hoekstra sailed through to the bonus round of the popular ABC game show after already bagging $20,000 (£16,000).
The guest chose the category 'What are you doing?' and picked several letters, with the board reading: "__ST _IN_IN_ IT".
Host Pat Sajak explained she had just 10 seconds to try and solve the code and take home the prize money.
Under pressure, Alexa seemed to shout out "Just winning it," among other guesses, with the correct answer then being revealed as "Just winging it".
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As the time ran out, 76-year-old Pat said: "You were right there."
Alexa Hoekstra almost bagged $100,000 (CBS)Alexa seemed gutted as she replied she had been "so close".
Viewers quickly took to Twitter to accuse the show of cheating the contestant, with some people convinced she gave the right answer.
"@WheelofFortune I think you folks just denied this girl $100k …I sure heard “Just Winging It”," one person wrote.
Another tweeted: "To me it sounded like she got it on her first guess However he did not confirm she was correct so she kep guessing."
She was so close with her guess (CBS)"I JUST listened to her response. Undoubtedly, she said, as her first response..."just winging it". So, directors and producers of this show MUST REVIEW and correct error and AWARD what she EARNED!" demanded a third fan.
"No...she absolutly Saif it...100%," another person agreed.
However, others sided with the show, with one person writing: "Am siding with @WheelofFortune on it. The contestant did say "Just Winning It" and not "Just Winging It". And even after replaying it, it was winning and not winging."
"As much as we'd love to see a college student win big, the show had it right. She said 'Just Winning it.' Otherwise, she would've advocated for herself, which she didn't," another person pointed out.
A third viewer added: "I watched, hoping to hear she got robbed and was owed the money. Sadly, she said 'winning'."
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It wasn't all bad though as Alexa went home with the $20,000 she had already won.