A sixth-grade language arts teacher took home a nice paycheck on Wheel of Fortune after correctly solving the Bonus Round puzzle quickly. He became the first $100,000 winner of Season 43, and celebratory wildly his ‘crazy’ win.
Cory Earp, from Taylorsville, North Carolina, played against Alesha Davis, from Chicago, Illinois, and BB Fisher, from Tempe, Arizona, on Friday, September 19. Earp wears a tropical shirt every Tuesday while teaching.
He solved both Toss Ups, putting him in the lead with $3,000. Earp gained a Wild Card during the first puzzle after solving most of it, but had to give it up when he landed on Bankrupt. However, both of his teammates landed on Bankrupt as well, so the turn moved back to him. After a few more letter guesses, he solved “Gorgeous Gown and Golden Crown.” This gave him $4,150.
Davis, a middle school math/science teacher, solved the Mystery Round puzzle — “Wandering Eye of the Tiger” — and won a year’s supply of school supplies and a trip to Mexico. This put her in the lead with $14,184. She also won a trip to France for solving the prize puzzle, which was “Cobblestone Streets.” Davis took a big lead with $25,682.
Earp made Davis sweat a bit when he solved all three Triple Toss Ups for $10,000, giving him $17,150. He earned $9,500 during the final puzzle, which put him ahead and earned him a trip to the Bonus Round. Earp had a total of $26,450.
Davis ended with her total above. Fisher, a high school psychology and US history teacher, didn’t have any money, so Wheel of Fortune gave her $1,000.
Earp chose “What Are You Wearing?” for the Bonus Round. He brought his mom and best friend with him. After Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” he picked “B,F,K, and A” to complete his puzzle.
The puzzle then looked like “FAN_ _ BLA_ER.” Earp nodded his head before Vanna White finished putting up the remainder of the letters. He guessed “Fancy Blazer” as soon as the timer counted down.
“You got it! You got it fast!” host Ryan Seacrest said.
Seacrest showed the game show contestant that he had $100,000 in his envelope, giving him a total of $126,450.
Earp hugged his mom and his friend and said, “That’s crazy!” Seacrest asked him what the moment was like for him, and he said he probably won’t believe it until the episode airs. “I’m speechless. Crazy,” Earp ended.
“You’re a great player!” Ryan Seacrest said. “So happy for you.”
“Finally! A 100k winner,” many YouTube users said.
“Way to go, Cory!” commented others.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock