Wheel of Fortune for 4/14/2014

During this episode of Wheel of Fortune, three contestants battled it out to win cash and prizes, trips and big bonuses. The first Toss Up, worth $1000 dollars was an On The Map category. A Toss Up puzzle pushes out random letters until someone is able to solve it. Traci Short-a park ranger-scored first with a quick and correct answer, The Bahamas. James Lee, the only male contestant on tonight's show, hails from West Hollywood, California. He spent time teaching middle school, and now works at a gym, living the “American Dream.” Joanie Chubius is from the Sacramento area, and works as a realtor.

The next Toss Up was worth $2000 and centered on a Thing. James was quick on the draw for this puzzle with Steam Shower, for the correct answer. After the puzzle Jim-the announcer-had a wonderful Sandals getaway to give away as a prize piece on the wheel. This prize package was worth a nice total of $6,700 dollars.

The category for the first spin round was What Are You Doing? James was doing wonderful with $850 on the board, when he hit the dreaded Bankrupt sign, which then passed the game on to Joanie. After grabbing the ½ Car game piece for a Chevy Spark, as well as, a nice amount of cash; Joanie then hit the Bankrupt piece to start all over at square one. Traci racked up about $500 dollars before solving the puzzle with Searching For Buried Treasure. Leading the way into the break Traci was at $2100 dollars.

The second spin puzzle was Same Letter, which Joanie started. Riding high on a trip to Sandals that sat in front of her, Traci risked it all on the Mystery game piece (a piece that could have either a very nice $10,000 under it, or a Bankrupt if chosen-if not it's worth $1000) she lost it all on the nasty Bankrupt sign. Traci was up next and spun herself to solving the puzzle, which read: Detailed Driving Directions.

Back from a break the Event puzzle category came up, and was also the prize puzzle for the night. Traci started off great, but sputtered out after just one letter. James floundered on a Bankrupt and Joanie finally got her chance to join the game. Landing on an Express $1000, she was able to score a nice payout for every consonant she guessed. She racked up $9950 before solving the puzzle which read: An  Extraordinary Experience. While she didn't score the other ½ car piece, she did win a beautiful trip to Jamaica!

The last Toss Up puzzle of the night was a Food and Drink category worth, $3000 dollars. Traci came out on fire, guessing the right answer with barely any letters on the board: Chocolate Chip Scone. The final spin bell came up on the last puzzle, a Phrase; for which Pat gave the wheel a final spin, and consonants were suddenly worth a very nice, $1700 dollars. A real teaser this one, Joanie guessed the vowel A, and was able to solve the puzzle which read: I Thank My Lucky Stars. Running on a high, Joanie went into the bonus round with $22, 249 dollars.

The Person puzzle didn't offer much help from the R,S,T, L, N, and E that the contestant is always given. Choosing C,D, P and A; Joanie was literally one letter away from winning, when she guessed Healthy Woman. The puzzle was actually Wealthy Woman. She missed out on adding an extra $30,000 to her total cash and prizes.