New Jersey public relations worker Alicia St. Angelo secured $30,173 in total winnings on the September 16 episode of Wheel of Fortune despite missing out on a $75,000 bonus round puzzle.
St. Angelo, who works for the Westminster Dog Show, defeated competitors Anthony Shockley of Searcy, Arkansas, and Taylor Malloy of Chicago, Illinois. Shockley initially took the lead with $15,050 after solving early puzzles, while Malloy finished with $1,000.
St. Angelo took control of the game by solving three Fortune Frenzys and riding the Express Train to solve “You Gotta Go Snorkeling,” which awarded her a trip to Belize and placed her in the lead with $17,273. She built on her lead by solving two Triple Toss-ups and the final puzzle, “Pulling Off an Upset,” to reach her winning total of $30,173.
During the contestant introductions, host Ryan Seacrest misheard St. Angelo when she introduced her husband and referenced their pet Chihuahua, Boo.
“That’s our Chihuahua,” said St. Angelo.
Seacrest misheard the dog’s name during the broadcast exchange.
“Your Booze Daddy? Is Booze your dog’s name?” said Seacrest.
St. Angelo clarified the pet’s name on air.
“Boo,” said St. Angelo.
Seacrest responded to the clarification before moving forward with the game show.
“Booze Daddy. Sure. Why not?” said Seacrest. “It’s evening time.”
Moving into the Bonus Round under the category “What Are You Doing?”, St. Angelo selected the letters G, D, M, and I to supplement the given letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. Confronted with the board displaying “I’M _I_ _TING,” she guessed “I’m Lightning” and “I’m Yelling” as the timer expired.
She was unable to solve the final puzzle, “I’m Pivoting,” which held a $75,000 prize that would have raised her total earnings to $105,173.
