A Wheel of Fortune contestant might have had the worst luck ever in the Bonus Round when none of the letters that he chose appeared in the puzzle, leaving him with only two to solve for the whole puzzle. He spoke out about his time on the game show after missing out on $89,000 on a prickly puzzle that was just too hard to solve.

Chad Benner, a minister and teacher from Wheelersburg, Ohio, played against Darlene Campisano, from Brockton, Massachusetts, and Reuben Cheatem, from Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, May 20. They continued with Change Your Lattitude Week, which gave the contestant the chance to win a new home.  Benner is a minister and DJ and advertises himself as “one-stop shopping for weddings.”

Cheatem, a stage 3 colon cancer survivor, won the first toss-up, but landed on Bankrupt during the first puzzle, making it an even playing field. Benner landed on the Home Renovation wedge and solved the puzzle — “This Time It’s Going to Be Different” — giving him $8,650.

During the Mystery Round, he got the Wild Card after calling an “S.” Benner sadly had to give up the Wild Card and the House wedge when he landed on Bankrupt, but, he wound up solving the puzzle — I’m Not Lazy, I’m Just Very Relaxed” — for $11,000.

Campisano, who grew up in a dancing school, finally got on the board when she solved the Prize Puzzle and won a trip to Mexico, putting $9,605 in her bank and in second place.

Cheatem solved two of the three Triple Toss Ups for $4,000. Campisano solved the last one for $2,000. She jumped into the lead by $150. Benner solved the final puzzle — “Taking the Next Step” — for $3,000, guaranteeing his spot in the Bonus Round. His total was $14,450. Campsiano was in second with $11,605. Cheatem left with $6,000.

For the Bonus Round, Benner chose “Living Things.” Wheel of Fortune gave him “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” He chose “M,C,P, and I.”

“I don’t think we can reveal much more or anything,” host Ryan Seacrest said. Benner’s puzzle then looked like “_ _ _ _   _E_ _E _ _ _.” As the clock counted down, he guessed “Dead Heathens.” The puzzle turned out to be “Baby Hedgehog.” Benner lost out on an additional $75,000 thanks to the prickly critter. This was the 17th Bonus Round loss in a row.

Benner talked to his local news station, WSAZ3, about his time on the game show. “Once in a lifetime experience, I really can’t, I can’t put it into words. Like, I’m a word guy, but I can’t put it into words. It was just an incredible experience,” he said.

He made the trek from Ohio to California after keeping the secret for five or six months. “I’ve been keeping a secret and I’m about to explode,” Benner shared.

His kids grew up watching Wheel of Fortune with him, she they were excited to see their dad on the show. Benner’s daughter, Caleigh told the outlet, “It’s a show I grew up watching here at my Mamaw’s and Papaw’s and just like the fact that he was on it was like, whoa this is mind-blowing.”

Benner threw a watch party at his house on Tuesday night and said that his sister was the only one who knew the results ahead of time and she gave out baby hedgehogs to all of the attendees. They had a cake for him with baby hedgehogs on it and his Bonus Round puzzle. Benner was supposed to film his episode in January, but due to the fires in California, it was pushed back to March 21.