Nighttime Wheel Recap: 12/17/2007

It's days away before Christmas and these contestants could use some shopping money, let's see if a lot of it will be won.



A quick $1,000 can be given away, but only if a Things puzzle is solved.



*Melanie rings in*



Melanie solves THE FIVE SENSES for a quick grand!

Candace:
Melanie: $1,000
Matt:

Missolves: 0



Let's meet our three players competing today. And starting this recap, I'm going in order, starting with the player that won the first tossup.

Melanie Espathia: Technical sales representative and a military wife.
Matt Billets: Chemistry teacher at a high school in Wisconsin.
Candace (sp?) Clarke: Software specialist and traveler.

Three players looking to win a fortune, but first, a $2,000 tossup must be played!



Living Things is what must be solved for the $2,000, so here we go.



*Candace pushes buzzer*



Candace would probably see some of those HANGING FERNS in the great outdoors, she has $2,000!

Candace: $2,000
Melanie: $1,000
Matt:

Missolves: 0

And before we go into Round 1, the trip on the wheel looks good, it's a vacation to Montana valued at $7,419!



The $10,000 golden third is the top dollar amount this round, $2,500 is the top non-flat rate dollar amount on the wheel. Everything has been covered, I think, so here's the Round 1 puzzle, let's try a Phrase.



Candace has earned the right to start and she puts up three Ts at $600 a piece before dudding with an S on the red $900. Melanie also lands on a $600 wedge (not the same as Candace's) and puts up FOUR Hs, but then she duds with an M on the Wild Card. Matt gets two Ns up there before buying a dud, an E. Candace does a bit more spinning and buying...



She's ready to solve, THROUGH THICK AND THIN for $2,700 more.

Candace: $4,700
Melanie: $1,000
Matt:

Bankrupts: 0
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 3 (Candace - S - $1,800), (Melanie - M - $2,400), (Matt - E - $950)
Missolves: 0

Wheel Flashback Clip: The last air time of the old puzzleboard and the reveal of the newer puzzleboard. Pat, you owe me a dollar.



Tonight's Jackpot Round is sposored by Swanson Broth, claiming that their stuff will bring flavor to your food! The 25 wedge is now on the wheel as well. We could have a potential big win now that the Jackpot wedge and $3,500 are on the wheel. Take a look at this On the Map puzzle... and it's also a Prize Puzzle!



Some big money can be won this round and Melanie starts. She earns some good money, but after racking up $3,750, she duds with a C on the red $800. Matt gets a chance to spin and he grabs the Free Spin & gets $300 by putting up the N. After burning $500 on the As and U...



He might be going to THE AUSTRIAN ALPS since he solved it for $100! This trip to Vienna, Austria from VacationCompare.com is valued at $5,000!

Candace: $4,700
Melanie: $1,000
Matt: $5,100 (Free Spin)

Bankrupts: 0
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 1 (Melanie - C - $3,750)
Missolves: 0
Jackpot Not Won: $8,600



It's a close game so far, but that all could change very fast with the Big Money Wedge, which may be worth up to $25,000 with one spin of the wheel, and the mystery wedges! The category for this big round is Same Name.



Matt is the person to start this round and immediately takes the eBags.com gift tag off the wheel with a pair of Ss. His next spin hits the top dollar, and he gets THREE Ts for $10,500! He buys the E next, but also buys a dud A. However, he does have that Free Spin, which is useful at a time like this and of course he's using it! After buying the Is, he barely hangs on to the Big Money Wedge, which is at $7,500! He calls an R, which puts $7,500 in his bank! Matt buys every last vowel and then he hits the mystery wedge on the green $500, he lights up two Hs and obviously declines the chance to go for $10,000 (very good move, it had Bankrupt). After putting up the Bs, though, his $19,950 and the Gift Tag is on the line when he DUDS with a D, ouch. Candace fills in the rest of the consonants, including a J on the Wild Card...



Now, this is very interesting since the puzzle is completely filled in and her last spin was on the mystery wedge covering the green $500. She called a Y, obviously there, and she goes for what's underneath the mystery wedge, which is a Bankrupt! She loses $600 and the Wild Card, which makes things really easy for Melanie...



She earns the house minimum of $1,000 with BRITISH & TOUCHY SUBJECT!

Candace: $4,700
Melanie: $2,000
Matt: $5,100

Bankrupts: 1 (Candace - $600 + Wild Card - Mystery Wedge Bankrupt)
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 2 (Matt (2) - A, D - $10,000 + Gift Tag, $19,950 + Gift Tag)
Missolves: 0
Big Money Wedge $$ Won/Lost: $7,500 Gained/$0 Lost because of it.
Mystery Wedge Placements: The $10,000 mystery wedge was placed on the blue $500 and Bankrupt was on the green $500.



Let's see if $3,000 can be given away with Around the House!



*Matt presses the ringer*



Matt solves FLICKERING CANDLES for $3,000 more!

Candace: $4,700
Melanie: $2,000
Matt: $8,100

Missolves: 0



Now thee's a $5,000 wedge out there on the wheel, it's anyone's game as we head into Round 4. People is the category for this one and it contains a hyphen.



Matt puts up a pair of Ts and an S before Speedup begins.



Time for Pat to give the wheel a final spin!



Candace:
Melanie:
Matt: $1,500

Final Spin Result:
$900

Looks like a nice, big amount! Vowels are freely valued at zero and consonants are $1,900 a piece, when you add the $1,000.



Matt is in control, the category is People, and here's the table.





Matt racks up $9,100 more by solving PART-TIME EMPLOYEES!

Candace: $4,700
Melanie: $2,000
Matt: $17,200

Bankrupts: 0
Lose a Turns: 0
Duds: 3 (Candace (2) - G, N - both with $0), (Melanie - C - $0)
Missolves: 0

Medium-High Maingame Winnings: $23,900



So far, Matt's racked up over $17,000 in cash and prizes, now he will play the Bonus Round for up to $100,000 in cash! To see what he's playing for, he'll give the Bonus Wheel a spin.



The S envelope is what he'll be playing for.



The puzzle he has to figure out is a Phrase and he gets RSTLNE to start.



Not that helpful and he probably needs some more letters, so he goes for CHFI.



His help is limited to just that. Let's see if he can solve it...



Even before the timer starts, he says OH MY GOSH! For that, he wins $30,000, giving him a grand total of $47,200 cash and trip to Brazil!