Wheel of Fortune contestant misses out on $1.5 million with painfully bad guess

It might seem strikingly obvious, but a bad move when trying to solve this puzzle has cost a game show contestant a whopping $1.5 million and an overseas trip.

Fans of the US game show Wheel of Fortune have been left astounded by a player’s unfortunate puzzle-solving skills that stopped her from winning life-changing money.

Contestant Micki was only three letters away from completing a puzzle on the long-running game show on Friday — and she had already landed on the $US1 million ($1.52 million) wedge, as well as a holiday to Croatia, the New York Post reports.

The Louisiana native had the live studio audience’s support as she was instructed by longtime host Pat Sajak to pick another letter.

The board read: “A ROARING FIRE IN THE FIRE _ _ A _ E”.

The unsolved word was “FIREPLACE”, requiring her to guess the letters “P”, “L” or “C”.

Micki had $US1 million and a trip to Croatia riding on this clue. Picture: ABC

She was all lined up to take home a massive win. Picture: ABC

But Micki audibly disappointed the live studio audience when she asked Sajak to put an “S” on the board, which sounded off the incorrect-answer buzzer.

“You got the reaction. No ‘S,’ I’m sorry,” Sajak said of the crowd’s dismay.

The correct letters to guess would have been ‘P’, ‘L’, and ‘C’. Picture: ABC

Oh, Micki. Picture: ABC

Micki’s mess-up had one Wheel of Fortune fan wondering on Twitter whether hers was better or worse than other recent blunders.

“Wheel of Fortune poll … Worse flub in recent memory,” one user surveyed the internet, referring to an incorrect guess during Teen Week.

On that episode, contestant Khushi was one letter away from a trip to Antigua when she incorrectly solved the board that read “FRE_H TROPICAL FRUIT.”

Twitter users accused the teen of “zoning out” and missing the seemingly obvious “FRESH.” Instead, they opted for “G” — “FREGH”.

Sadly the correct answer was not ‘FREGH’. Picture: ABC

“A) Fregh … B) Fireplace … I’d go B since it changed the entire game,” the Twitter user said.

“The fregh tropical fruit one also changed the game. It was a prize puzzle, so she also missed out on a vacation,” another fan replied.

A contestant can compete for $1 million in the bonus round if they land on the $1 million wedge during regular gameplay, solve the puzzle and win the game.

That amount is placed in one of the bonus round envelopes.

The show’s official TikTok page revealed last week that only three contestants have ever won the $1 million prize.

The current version of the US series has aired since 1983.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission