'Wheel of Fortune' Prize Puzzle Slammed—'Poor Guy'

Wheel of Fortune viewers were less than impressed after seeing what a recent contestant won after solving a prize puzzle.

During Tuesday's episode of the game show, the contestant won a trip to Chicago, Illinois—and people were not satisfied with that prize. Frustrated viewers took to X, formerly Twitter, to support the "poor guy" who wasn't quite getting a dream vacation.

"Let me find out you're from a small town in Mississippi and you go on Wheel Of Fortune, and win a big prize puzzle, get excited and find out... you going toooooooooo: Chicago," one person wrote alongside an unimpressed emoji.

Another fan retweeted a post from Representative Jim Jordan that stated that 19 people were shot and two were killed in one weekend in the city. "Great place to send
@WheelofFortune contestants," they wrote in response to the quoted post.

Others pointed out the fact that people are often gifted luxurious overseas holidays.

"Watching Wheel of Fortune and a contestant won the prize puzzle, which is a trip. Usually it's to the Caribbean, Hawaii or maybe some place in Europe. Tonight it was a vacation to Chicago," a viewer wrote on X.

"I'll take the cash value Pat!!!!!" an X user joked.

Newsweek reached out to Sony Pictures Television, which owns Wheel of Fortune, via email on Thursday.

Host Pat Sajak has helmed the long-running game show since 1981, but 43 years later, the program is set for some major changes. The 77-year-old announced in June 2023 in a post on X that he would be retiring at the end of Season 41, which started in September.

"Well, the time has come. I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it'll keep the clickbait sites busy!)" Sajak wrote at the time.

Just days after Sajak made his announcement and after much speculation about his replacement, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest was named as Wheel of Fortune's next host.

Seacrest revealed his new role in an Instagram post where he praised longtime host Sajak and shared his excitement about joining "the great" Vanna White on the game show.

White, who has co-hosted Wheel of Fortune since 1982, recently extended her contract to remain on the show through the 2025-26 season after negotiating for her first pay raise in 18 years, according to Deadline.