Wheel of Fortune Contestant Myles Jenkins Dominates the Game Before Missing Out on $50,000 Bonus Round Prize

A Wheel of Fortune contestant came close to delivering a nearly perfect performance before a difficult Bonus Round puzzle cost him an additional $50,000.

Myles Jenkins, from Rogers, Arkansas, dominated much of the October 20 episode, solving multiple puzzles and collecting an impressive $38,780 in cash and prizes.

However, his winning streak came to an abrupt halt during the final challenge, leaving host Ryan Seacrest to offer some encouragement after the disappointing result.

Myles Jenkins Builds an Impressive Lead on Wheel of Fortune

Jenkins competed against Anju Prakash of Fremont, California, and Joy White of Conroe, Texas.

The Arkansas contestant, who volunteered at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, earlier in the year, started strongly by solving three Fortune Frenzy puzzles.

He also secured the Wild Card during the opening round.

Jenkins correctly solved Baseball, Backgammon, & Boggle, bringing his winnings to $7,150.

His momentum continued when he landed on the special Hit It Rich coin and solved Lights, Camera, Action!

Although the twist allowed him to claim his opponents’ accumulated money, neither competitor had built a bank at that point, so Jenkins collected his own $2,500.

He then solved the prize puzzle, Whale Watching at Sunset, earning a trip to Cabo and increasing his total to $28,630.

Jenkins Wins Nearly $39,000 Before the Bonus Round

Prakash managed to gain ground during the Triple Toss-Up round, correctly solving two puzzles to earn $5,000.

White also secured a victory in the round, adding $2,000 to her score.

However, Jenkins remained firmly in control.

He later solved Fine Art Collection, pushing his total to $38,780.

Prakash finished the main game by solving Go the Extra Mile, bringing her final winnings to $6,700.

White ended the episode with $2,000.

Jenkins advanced to the Bonus Round as the night’s champion with $38,780 in cash and prizes.

Bonus Round Puzzle Costs Jenkins an Additional $50,000

For his final challenge, Jenkins selected the Phrase category.

After receiving the standard letters R, S, T, L, N and E, he chose C, M, D and A, along with G using his Wild Card.

The puzzle appeared as:

_ _ L L _ _ _ A L _ _ _ E D

With the countdown underway, Jenkins struggled to identify the opening word.

He tried guesses including Valley and Rally but could not complete the phrase before time expired.

The correct answer was Fully Qualified.

Seacrest then revealed that the envelope contained $50,000, meaning Jenkins had missed the opportunity to finish with $88,780.

Despite the disappointment, the contestant remained positive about his performance.

Seacrest reassured him that his winnings were still an impressive achievement.

Wheel of Fortune Viewers Praise Jenkins’ Strong Performance

Following the episode, viewers discussed Jenkins’ commanding game on Reddit.

Several praised his ability to solve puzzles quickly and consistently throughout the competition.

One commenter highlighted how frequently he found the correct answers, noting that he had performed exceptionally well before the final challenge.

Although Jenkins missed the $50,000 Bonus Round prize, he still walked away with $38,780, including his trip to Cabo.

His performance demonstrated how a contestant can dominate nearly an entire episode of Wheel of Fortune yet still face a challenging final puzzle that changes the outcome of the night.