‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Sound off on Contestant Losing $10K on Technicality, Newly Offered Prize

Wheel of Fortune viewers are weighing in after former contestant Kristen Shaw was offered a brand new prize after having lost $10,000 and a trip to Nashville on a technicality. After appearing on the show back in October and being disqualified during the crossword puzzle segment for her addition of the word “and” in her answer, Shaw was recently offered a replacement prize, something that is raising a few eyebrows among fans who deem it unfair to other contestants.

“They opened up a Pandora’s box, everyone that slips up like that will use her as an example if they don’t get something,” one person wrote after learning Shaw had been offered a new prize.

“I am glad she got the trip but rules are rules,” a second commented. “It was unfortunate, but she didn’t play the game according to their rules. It was a fair call, and her mistake.”

“She shouldn’t have been given anything. She answered incorrectly! A rule is a rule,” a third added. “What about all the other contestants that accidentally did the same thing. I guess they’re just shit out of luck!”

“That’s their rule. It was not a technicality. Play by the rules or you don’t win. Simple as that,” another wrote. “I think it’s kind of a silly rule, but it is what it is.”

However, while many seemed to believe that Shaw was awarded by the show despite her slipup, she was actually awarded by the Nashville-based tourism company Adventureworks, who rallied several local vendors to chip in and give Shaw the trip to Nashville she had lost, including a stop by the Grand Ol’ Opry.

“Our hospitality community is so close-knit, and we’d love to show Ms. Shaw and the nation that we’re a lot more than boot-stomping and beer drinking,” L.J. Whalen, a director of Adventureworks, said in a statement. “This is what we do here in Nashville. We give second chances, AND we are not going to make you solve a puzzle to claim it.”

Responding to the generous offer, Shaw said that it nearly left her “speechless.”

“I was honestly so shocked I was almost speechless. There is a lot of negativity in this world, but this shows me we are all human, we make mistakes, and for someone to want to give me a second chance, it just blew me away,” she said, revealing that she intends to take her mother on the trip.