Few gameshows have had as long of a run as Wheel of Fortune. The iconic program first aired in 1975 and has since given us plenty of memorable television moments. However, one episode in 2015 featuring contestant Nura Fountano stands out as perhaps one of the most mysterious in gameshow history. Fountano's actions left the audience and even the legendary host, Pat Sajak, wondering what in the world they had just witnessed.
A Long History of Memorable Moments
Wheel of Fortune first debuted all the way back in 1975. Today, it's probably one of the most iconic gameshows ever, right up there with Jeopardy and The Price is Right. Its longest-running host, Pat Sajak, was one of the most iconic game show hosts ever. Audiences have been treated to a lot of memorable and sometimes weird moments on the show since it first aired back in the 1970s.
However, audiences had never seen anything quite like what took place when contestant Nura Fountano and other military veterans joined the show for a special program honoring veterans.
Weird Guesses on the Show
Most of the memorable moments on Wheel of Fortune have had to do with contestants making some weird or out-there guesses. For example, one contestant once guessed "self-potato" on a board that read "s_lf-po_t___t." Obviously, that wasn't the answer, but when a show is on television pretty much every night of the week with different contestants, then you're going to get some memorable guesses you'd never imagine you'd get.
Host Pat Sajak is also known for sometimes not mincing words, which might be why he was one of the most memorable game show hosts in history before he retired from the show.
A Special Edition of Wheel of Fortune
When a gameshow has been running as long as Wheel of Fortune has, they tend to have some special episodes every now and then to mix things up a bit. This particular episode was going to be one that honored military veterans by having veterans on the show as contestants. Not many people know this, but the show's host, Pat Sajak, was a veteran himself, having served during the Vietnam War.
So, the special episode made total sense. Not only would the show be able to honor service men and women, but it was totally something that was right up Sajak's alley.
The Lead up to the Special Episode
Before the show aired, Pat Sajak went out of his way to make it clear that he thought the special episode was important. It would end up airing during Veteran's Week, and during a special promotion and interview with a reporter, Sajak said, "I think our audience appreciates the fact that these people come on and have a chance to supplement their income," referring to those who served in the armed forces.
While the show was set to be a special one, neither Sajak nor his co-host could've guessed just how memorable a moment of television the program would produce.
The Show Begins
That night's episode of Wheel of Fortune began like countless shows before it. Pat Sajak started off by introducing the guests and asking them to tell the audience a little bit about themselves. The three contestants and veterans were Steve Jostes, Troy Smith, and Nura Fountano. Jostes said that he had served for almost 25 years in the Air Force, while Smith told the audience about his time serving in an armored unit during the first Gulf War.
However, it was the final contestant, Fountano, who would go on to wow and confuse both the live audience and the millions watching on television and who would later see clips of the show.
Nura Fountano's Talks to the Audience
Contestant Nura Fountano began to tell the audience about her time in the military when Pat Sajak came to ask her about her service. She said that she worked to maintain Bradley military vehicles during her time in the armed forces and that she'd been on deployment to Iraq twice. Since her time in the military, she'd worked in the medical field and earned extra money on the side as a makeup artist.
During the show's special promo, she told a reporter, "Veterans do so much for this country, and you don't realize it. I'm grateful to [have been a part of] that."
Let the Games Finally Begin
As soon as the game began, it became pretty obvious that Nura Fountano had a knack for it. It didn't take long for her to guess the first puzzle after Pat Sajak and Vanna White introduced it. In line with the night's special theme, the first puzzle revolved around the military. Nura quickly hit the buzzer and guessed that they spelled "Four-Star General," and it turned out that she was right.
It looked like it was going to be a long night for the rest of the contestants if it kept up like this. The next Toss-Up challenge would play out in a similar fashion.
Nura Adds to Her Winnings
The next Toss-Up round played out just like the last. It didn't take long for Nura Fountano to guess the correct phrase and bag some more winnings. However, this challenge was worth double the last at $2,000. The win brought her total up to $3,000, and it was still early in the game. The other contestants were probably sweating at that point. Or, they were at least a little bit worried.
However, the game would take a slight turn in the next round when she missed a couple of letters, opening the round-up for Troy Smith to guess the correct phrase.
Nura Gets Back Into Her Groove
The slight hiccup was short-lived, though, and it wasn't long before Nura Fountano was back to dominating. She won the next two rounds with answers that included "wind tunnel of love" and "ideal spot for a getaway." She also managed to bag a trip to Belize while she continued to rack up money and more wins. At this point, she was the clear favorite to win it all.
While many episodes of Wheel of Fortune are pretty competitive, it was looking like this was not going to be one of them. Audiences watching television at home probably figured they knew what was going to happen next, but they turned out to be wrong.
Nura's Winnings Going Into The Final Round
After the middle rounds were finished, it came time for the final round. This would be the last chance other contestants would have to win a bit of money or try to surpass Nura Fountano. However, the latter seemed insurmountable at this point, as her winnings totaled $13,970. The second closest contestant was Troy Smith with $4,300, and Steve Jostes was in last place with $0.
We can't imagine how the other contestants were feeling at this time. Things probably felt pretty dire at this point, and it looked like there was no way they would be able to catch up.
The Last Round - And the Strangeness Begins
Going into the final round, Nura Fountano had looked unbeatable. She was guessing correctly left and right. The final round opened up with Troy Smith guessing "T" and revealing a couple on the board. Then, it was Fountano's turn. She turned to Pat Sajak, and then she guessed the letter "Z" to the confusion of many. Steve Jostes, who was smiling only moments ago, stopped and looked a bit confused.
He, like so many others in the audience and watching on television at home, was probably wondering why Fountano would guess a letter that she probably knew wasn't on the board.
Pat Sajak Questions Her Answer
Nura Fountano's answer even took the host by surprise, and you have to remember that he'd been doing this for decades at this point. As soon as she gave her answer, Pat Sajak asked her to "Say that again for me." Fountano did just that, but Sajak had to ask again: "Did you say Z?" Fountano replied, "As in Zulu: Z." By this time, pretty much everyone was confused.
Not only that, but Fountano herself looked like a stone wall. She looked completely serious and hard to read, which made the whole thing a bit more confusing for everyone.
More Weird Answers From Nura
Nobody was really super surprised as Pat Sajak turned to Vanna White, and the letter "Z" failed to light up on the board. It is one of the least used letters in the alphabet, and nearly never guessed on The Wheel of Fortune. Sajak then turned to the next contestant, who guessed a couple of right answers before it was eventually Nura Fountano's turn again. At this point, Sajak probably just thought her previous answer was a weird lapse of judgment.
However, this time, Fountano failed to give an answer at all. It was almost like she was thinking about what letter to give before time eventually ran out, and Sajak went on to the next contestant.
Yet Another Unexpected Response
Pat Sajak probably wasn't sure what in the world was going on with Nura Fountano after she failed to even offer up a guess. However, she would eventually have another shot at guessing a couple of letters on the board. When it was her turn, she offered up a guess of the letter "Q." At this point, Sajak just awkwardly smiled, and he seemed like he was starting to understand what was going on.
However, even though the legendary host had begun to understand what was going on, those watching television at home were still bewildered as to what they were watching.
Viewers at Home Start to React
Those watching on television started to suspect something fishy was going on after a couple of awkward guesses from Nura Fountano. Many of them took to what was then still called Twitter to ask others what was happening and to share their astonishment. A user tweeted, “Why is this lady guessing ‘Z,’ ‘X,’ and ‘Q’ for this puzzle?” Another user asked if Fountano was drunk, which would seemingly explain her answers.
However, the host, who is known for his sharp tongue, would end up coming up with the best comment of all when it came time for Fountano to offer another answer.
Pat Sajak Has Something to Say About Her Weird Answers
Pat Sajak hosted The Wheel of Fortune for a very long time. During all of those years, viewers had gotten used to the host's sometimes awkward, sometimes mean-sounding remarks. That's part of the reason Sajak was so memorable. His remarks could sometimes sound sharp, but most of the time, it was clear he didn't mean anything nasty by them. He simply likes to joke and kid around on stage.
When it came time for Nura Fountano to offer up another answer, the host asked himself and the audience, "I wonder what letter Nura will call?" She would end up guessing the letter "X."
Nura Fountano Loses the Round
What was so puzzling for Pat Sajak, those in the audience, and those watching on television at home was that up until this point, Nura Fountano had looked unbeatable. She'd won nearly every round up until this point, and she'd won them handily. However, she fumbled the final round in a pretty dramatic fashion. When it came time for her to give one final guess, she simply sat there quietly and didn't give an answer.
Steve Jostes, the contestant who moments earlier had failed to win anything, would go on to take the round. In the process, he would bring his winnings up from $0 to $6,400.
The Host Tries to Find Out What Happened
During his long career as the host of The Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak had seen a lot, but he'd never quite seen anything like that. So, naturally, he wanted to know what had happened. After the round had finished and he'd thanked the other contestants for coming on the show, he finally got to Nura Fountano, whom he asked about her guesses. Fountano simply replied, "That's what I saw."
Sajak knew that wasn't all there was to it because he then said, "That was an unsatisfactory answer, but she's not under oath." He was either still confused as to what had happened at this point or simply trying to get her to confess to what had happened.
Nura Fountano Was Still in the Lead
Nura Fountano had lost the final round. However, she'd done so well that her lead was pretty much insurmountable up to this point. Even if she'd lost the final round, there was no chance of either of the other two contestants managing to catch up and overtake her for the bonus round at the very end of The Wheel of Fortune. So, Fountano would go on to try to add to her winnings.
This was probably when a lot of people in the audience and those watching on television began to catch on to what had actually happened and what Fountano was most likely trying to do.
Nura's True Intentions
Nura Fountano never came out right and said what her true intentions were. Even when asked by the host, Pat Sajak, she gave a somewhat cryptic answer. However, to many, it was clear that she was doing what she'd probably done many times before. She was playing winning with class and intentionally guessing wrong in order to allow her fellow veterans a shot at winning some money of their own.
After all, it was Veteran's Week, and up until that weird point in the gameshow, Fountano had been killing it. There was simply no other explanation for her lapse in judgment during the final round.
Fans at Home Catch on
Just as they had before, fans of The Wheel of Fortune took to social media once they started to realize what they had just watched. One person tweeted, "Just saw the classiest move on Wheel of Fortune. Nura threw the final puzzle to let a fellow military person win it. Much respect." And just like that, Nura Fountano delivered one of the most memorable moments in gameshow history.
Another person who'd appreciated what they'd just witnessed tweeted, "Way to go, Nura! Never saw someone throw a round so everyone could win some money." And they were far from the only ones.
Fountano Enters the Bonus Round
Despite her seemingly confused performance during the final round, Nura Fountano returned to shape in her final round. It was almost like the previous round hadn't even happened, and she continued to play just as she had for the rest of the game. Still, despite her stellar performance, she wasn't able to nab the final prize and guessed wrong on the last puzzle. Still, she ended up walking away with a lot of money.
If she'd won the bonus round, she would have added around $33,000 to her total winnings, but she ended up walking away with around $14,000 in total earnings at the end of the game show.
Pat Sajak Gives His Thoughts on What Happened
The beloved Pat Sajak commented and pretty much gave his thoughts on what happened at the end of the bonus round. When everything was over, Nura Fountano expressed her excitement at having won a trip to Belize earlier in the show. Then, Sajak said what pretty much everyone was probably thinking at that point, "You made us all happy." By this time, it was pretty clear that the host knew he'd just witnessed a special moment in gameshow history.
That said, it wasn't the only memorable moment on The Wheel of Fortune. In fact, another special moment happened a bit more recently on the show and surprised everyone, causing Sajak to walk off.
An Eventful Couple of Episodes
Pat Sajak had been hosting The Wheel of Fortune for around four decades before his retirement. That's a show that ran nearly every night of the week. During all of that time, it's safe to say that the host probably thought that he'd seen it all. However, he was wrong. A very normal yet eventful series of shows in 2022 would surprise him so much that he'd end up walking off stage.
We're not sure what the odds of this series of events happening were, but it's definitely safe to say that it was pretty unlikely, and it left nearly everyone surprised.
Winning the Big Prize
Contestants have a chance at winning a couple of big prizes in The Wheel of Fortune's bonus round, and one of those prizes is a $100,000 jackpot. However, it's pretty unlikely that a contestant pick up this prize. There are only usually a couple of jackpot winners every season or none at all. However, during this particular season, a contestant named Lisa Kramer and another one named Mark Baer won the prize on back-to-back nights.
When the second contestant won $100,000, Pat Sajak simply said, “Huh, that’s never happened.” However, the next night would prove to be even weirder for the beloved game show host.
Three in a Row
The lucky contestant that night was Bree Yokouchi, an elementary school teacher. After the gameshow, she said during an interview that she grew up watching The Wheel of Fortune and that it had always been a dream of hers to get onto the show. Well, she did manage to get on to the show, and she also managed to become the third person in a row to win $100,000 that season.
Before Yokouchi's win, Jim Thornton, the show's announcer, said, "Mark, it's like déjà vu; it's all starting again." Pat Sajak replied, "Even after almost 40 years, new things are happening here."
Some People Accuse the Show of Fixing
As with seemingly everything else, nearly as soon as the second contestant won the $100,000 jackpot, some watching from their televisions at home began to make up conspiracy theories. Pat Sajak tweeted, “A quick reminder to conspiracy theorists: thanks to the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, fixing a TV game show is a federal crime. I really like our players, and I’d like them all to win, but I draw the line at serving prison time.”
You'd think that would be enough to put to rest any conspiracy someone may have, but you'd be wrong. For whatever reason, the theories continued to circulate online and on social media.
Pat Sajak Addresses the Accusations
Host Pat Sajak has always seemed like someone who doesn't tolerate a whole lot of nonsense. So, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that he tweeted out as much when people started accusing the show of being rigged. He said, "Anyone silly enough to believe in things like that cannot be convinced of anything. It would be a total waste of time. I love how one day we're 'robbing' players of their winnings, and then we're 'allowing' them to win."
I love how one day we’re ‘robbing’ players of their winnings, and then we’re ‘allowing’ them to win.” And remember, this was all before the third winner in a row emerged a night later.
Bree Yokouchi's Time to Shine
If people were suspicious of two contestants winning the jackpot back to back, then they were about to lose their minds when Bree Yokouchi stepped up to the plate. She was from Portland, Oregon, and as mentioned above, she'd grown up watching The Wheel of Fortune as a kid. When she got onto the show, she said that she hoped to win a little bit of money to help with her wedding.
"All this started in my dining room with my family every night," she said. Luckily, she was picked to go on the show after the show's tour bus came to her area.
Her Performance on the Show
"When I heard about the Wheelmobile event in Lincoln City, I thought, 'This was my chance.'" Bree Yokouchi said at the start of the show. It wasn't long until she won the first Toss-Up. She also went on to win a trip to St. Lucia. By the time the final round ended, she had already racked up around $20,000 worth of winnings. It's safe to say that all those nights spent watching the gameshow with her family were paying off.
However, everybody watching on their televisions and at home had a single question on their mind as the bonus round approached, and that was if someone could win the jackpot for a third night in a row.
Everyone Holds Their Breath
Pat Sajak knew what was on everyone's mind when it came time for the bonus round. Before it began, he said, "After the last two nights, we had to send out an emergency shipment from Confetti R Us in order to film. So we're back; we're reloaded; that $100,000 is back out there." Contestants have to spin the wheel in order to determine what their bonus round prize will be.
They have around a 4% chance of landing on the envelope that contains the $100,000 prize. Of course, they still have to solve the final puzzle in order to win the prize.
The Bonus Round Puzzle
The bonus round on The Wheel of Fortune is pretty unique among gameshows. Contestants are given one final puzzle to solve, and they're given the letters E, L, N, R, S, and T, and they have to pick another vowel and three consonants. On this night, Bree Yokouchi was given a phrase to solve. When the puzzle came on the board, the only letters that were revealed were the letters S and T.
Out of her four guesses, only her vowel showed up on the board. There was now an A, S, and two Ts. It looked like it was going to be a pretty difficult puzzle.
Bree Yokouchi Seems to Know the Answer
Nearly as soon as the puzzle was revealed, Bree Yokouchi's face lit up. She smiled and then stared over at the host, Pat Sajak. "This looks troublesome. But I don't know. With her, who knows? It's a phrase. You have ten seconds," he said. You could hear a fly buzz in the room at this point. Seemingly, everyone was nervous except for Yokouchi. She yelled out, "Just you wait."
She'd done it. She solved the puzzle, and a difficult puzzle at that. Even the host seemed amazed, but now it was time to reveal exactly what she'd won.
The Bonus Round Reward
When Pat Sajak went to open up the bonus round envelope, Bree Yokouchi was still on the moon. When the show first started, she just seemed happy to have been picked to go on. Now, she seemed like she couldn't believe she'd won. She was jumping up and down, and she wasn't really paying any attention to the envelope in Sajak's hand. Then Sajak asked those in the audience and those watching on television, "Who's going to book my trip to Vegas?"
He opened up the envelope to reveal that Yokouchi was the third contestant in a row to win the $100,000 jackpot. Confetti rained down, and Sajak said, "I'm outta here. That's it; I'm through."
A Memorable Answer
Luckily, Pat Sajak was just joking, and the beloved host came back on stage not long after he walked off. He, like so many others watching on their televisions, was just in disbelief over what he just saw. The host said, “It’s not just landing on that. That’s amazing enough… But that was a heck of a solve. Because I looked at you like, you know, this is daunting — and you’re looking at me like, ‘I got this pal, don’t worry.’”
She certainly did have it. There wasn't a hint of hesitation when it came time for her to answer the final puzzle. We just hope she thanked her parents for all of those family nights spent watching the gameshow as a kid.
Pat Sajak Tries to Explain His Astonishment
Pat Sajak's daughter actually used to work alongside her father as a social correspondent on The Wheel of Fortune. After the historic win, she asked her father what it was like seeing a third contestant win $100,000. "I'm running out of words to describe my reaction," he said, adding, "Stunned, surprised, I don't know. It's all inadequate." His daughter, Maggie, then asked him if it was possible for it to happen again.
“You mean four in a row, Maggie? That would be ridiculous, virtually impossible,” he said.
The Chances of It Happening a Fourth Time Were "virtually Impossible"
At this point, one question begs to be asked, and Maggie was certainly willing to put it to him. She said, “So this leads, dear father, to the following question: could it happen again tomorrow?” Sajak had no doubt what his response would be. He said, “You mean four in a row, Maggie? That would be ridiculous, virtually impossible.” However, he noted that it was technically possible, if still extremely unlikely, to happen.
The fact that it had even happened thrice was enough to shock Pat Sajak and catch him off guard. The iconic host wouldn't imagine such a thing happening again.
The Odds
Maggie quickly shot back, "You mean like three in a row was virtually impossible?" It turns out that she was probably more right than she realized. A contestant's odds of landing on any one square are 23 to 1. We've already mentioned that there are 24 squares in total and that one of them contains the $100,000 prize. So, landing on the same envelope three nights in a row is actually about 12,167 to 1 if you just multiply 23 x 23 x 23.
Those odds might seem pretty low, but you have to remember that The Wheel of Fortune has been running for roughly 40 years, which is plenty of time for something like that to happen.
The Ultimate Grand Prize
The three contestants who won the $100,000 were definitely lucky, but that's actually not the biggest prize someone can win on the show. The largest jackpot is actually $1 million. That jackpot has only ever been won by three people on the gameshow, and the first was Sarah Manchester, who pulled it in 2008. She was pretty ecstatic when she solved the final prize, and Pat Sajak revealed she opened up the envelope.
The highest ever earned on the show was $1.03 million, and it was won by a contestant named Autumn Erhard in 2013. She later said in an interview with NPR that she spent a lot of time watching The Wheel of Fortune on television and shouting out answers on her couch.
Bree Yokouchi Reflects on the Show
Being a contestant on The Wheel of Fortune was obviously a childhood dream for Bree Yokouchi. She probably never would've guessed that she would one day end up being on the show and winning it all when she was a little kid. After she won the third $100,000 in a row, she said in an interview, "I [was just] excited to be right here this morning. However, to be the third $100,000 winner in a row is simply wonderful!"
When the next night rolled around, some people might have been expecting a fourth jackpot winner, but that wasn't meant to be. Contestant Donna Maine would get to the bonus round but wouldn't be able to solve the final puzzle. However, she did go home with a healthy $28,000 worth of prizes.