Wheel of Fortune fans, and contestants have rarely, if ever, seen a puzzle solved as quickly as Matt DeSanto nailed this one on the game show December 26.
Here was the clue and what he had to work with …
Exactly. Pretty hard to guess it without more help.
Unless you’re Matt. With nothing more than an “E” on the board, and knowing only that it was a “Character,” DeSanto somehow came up with the answer:
“The Lone Ranger!” Obviously. Why didn’t we think of that.
Asked how he did it, the Malvern, Pa., resident said luck.
“The wheel definitely worked in my favor,” DeSanto said.
“I was extremely fortunate.”
It couldn’t have been all luck, as the father of two ended up solving every other puzzle during the main game, earning a record $91,892 for the main game!
It was the show’s first sweep since 2011, and DeSanto became the first to top $70,000 before the bonus round, which is ironically when his Fortune reversed.
He was unable to get the bonus round clue (“Wooden Gavel”), which limited his ultimate winnings and stumped him for the first time all episode.
“I was pretty exhausted [by the bonus round],” recalled DeSanto, who guessed “gavel” but couldn’t get the first word. “I should have picked better letters.”
Still, he has more than $90K to show for his efforts, and instantly made our Great Moments in Game Show History video hall of fame, which is just as important: