‘Wheel of Fortune’ Player Misses Out On $40k After Failing To Solve This Puzzle

A Marine veteran’s appearance on Wheel of Fortune sparked a wave of support from viewers after he walked away just short of a major Bonus Round payout — and many fans believe he should have been awarded the win despite a brief stumble while solving the puzzle.

Ron Sheppard of Clarksville, Tennessee, faced off against fellow contestants Devin Green of Washington and Hillary Hudson of Florida during the November 13 episode. Sheppard, a retired Marine who has been married for 36 years, lightheartedly noted that the secret to his long marriage is simple: he and his wife each keep their own TV and stick to their preferred shows.

The competition started strong. Green, a retired Army field artilleryman, swept the toss-ups right out of the gate and quickly built a $3,000 lead. Sheppard answered back by nailing the first main puzzle, “Mess Hall of Mirrors,” bringing his total to $4,850. He later added another big win by solving “Playing Minecraft” for an additional $8,500.

Green wasn’t done yet — he secured the prize puzzle, “Everybody’s So Nice and Polite,” earning an impressive trip to British Columbia valued at $8,768. That put him at $14,668 and gave him the edge heading into the later rounds.

The triple toss-ups brought more action. Sheppard managed to secure two out of three, but Hudson, a Navy veteran who dedicates her time to helping homeless veterans, finally put money on the board by solving the final toss-up for $2,000.

Heading into the final puzzle, Sheppard surged into first place with a decisive solve: “Cried During a Commercial.” That pushed him to an even $20,000 and secured his spot in the Bonus Round.

When asked whether she would watch her husband’s episode on her own TV, Sheppard’s wife, Dawn, nodded enthusiastically. He jokingly replied that for once, they might actually watch the same program together — prompting host Ryan Seacrest to tease, “A rare shared TV moment!”

For the Bonus Round category, Sheppard selected “Thing.” After receiving the standard R-S-T-L-N-E letters, he chose M, G, C, and O. The board displayed: O_ ECT E O _N_ON.

As the timer ticked down, Sheppard rattled off guesses — “Olecture Onion,” “Opinion,” “Objectionable Opinion” — but tripped over his words as he tried to zero in on the right phrasing. The correct solution was “Objective Opinion,” and he added an extra syllable to the first word in the heat of the moment. His miss cost him the $40,000 prize waiting inside the envelope.

But fans watching at home were convinced he had effectively solved it.

“I think they should’ve given it to him — he clearly stuttered!” one viewer argued.

“He definitely stumbled on the last guess,” another wrote.

A third insisted, “He basically said it. He knew it. The man deserved the win.”

Another summed it up bluntly: “Cut the old guy some slack — he had it.”

What could have been a $40,000 victory became a near miss, but viewers made one thing clear: in their eyes, the Marine veteran walked away a winner anyway.