'Wheel Of Fortune' Audience Goes Silent After Player Makes One Suspicious Move

Competitors on game shows are generally in it to win it — especially when there’s a big cash prize on offer. So when contestant Nura Fountano started acting strangely on Wheel of Fortune, her behavior left its viewers stumped. People wondered why she would seemingly sabotage her own game despite proving herself to be a skilled player. Did she not know the rules? Had something happened to her behind the scenes? All was revealed when Nura did something no one had ever seen before...

Strange games unlike any other

And you’d really have thought that Pat Sajak had seen it all before. After all, he’s been the host of Wheel of Fortune for more than four decades. And, over the years that Wheel of Fortune has been on the air, the show has seen its fair share of strange guesses — much like Nura made.

Shocking guesses

In many cases, these odd guesses have become highlights of the series. On one show, a contestant faced an almost complete board and the art-based conundrum "S_LF-PO_T___T." Instead of going for the obvious answer of "self-portrait," the contestant blurted out the puzzling "self-potato." You can imagine the audience's reaction to that!

Contestant gone rogue

Sometimes it's not even a case of a guest saying the first thing that comes into their head. For example, during one Wheel of Fortune episode, a contestant mispronounced the Arthurian figure "Merlin the Magician" as "Marvin the Magician." Then, minutes later, their competitor gave the same answer — even though it had been called wrong not long before. But the strangest game of all has to be Nura Fountano's during Veterans Week.

A special week

That week’s episodes featured only current and former members of the armed forces as guests. And it was a cause that may have been dear to the heart of the host. That's because Sajak had served in the U.S. Army before rising to small-screen fame. During the Vietnam War, he’d spent time as an Armed Forces Radio DJ. He was happy, therefore, to welcome Nura to the show.

It started so well

The special Veterans Week shows received Sajak’s full support, and the host said as much in a promo video leading up to the event. The presenter told reporter Krista Knaus, “I think our audience appreciates the fact that these people come on and have a chance to supplement their income.” But neither Sajak nor co-host Vanna White could have anticipated what would happen during that show run.

Let the strangeness begin

The audience had no clue, either — and they certainly couldn't have guessed from how the show started out. You see, the episode began much like any other. Sajak started off by introducing the contestants — Steve Jostes, Troy Smith, and Nura Fountano — and the game proceeded as normal. Viewers at home also got to know a little about the veterans.

Getting to know you

Troy — who hailed from Mount Zion, Illinois — had previously been a member of an armored division that had seen combat in the First Gulf War. Steve, meanwhile, had spent almost 25 years in the Air Force, and now his son was training to follow in his footsteps. And Nura had similarly seen combat during her six years in service.

Wise words before the game

As a system maintainer of Bradley fighting vehicles, the veteran had been deployed to Iraq twice. Since then, she’d moved on from maintaining tanks to providing medical care and had even moonlighted as a makeup artist. Speaking in the build-up to her appearance on the show, she told interviewer Knaus, “Veterans do so much for this country, and you don’t realize it. I’m grateful to [have been a part of] that.”

On a roll

And Nura seemed to be a good Wheel of Fortune player to boot. At the episode’s start, Sajak and White introduced the first Toss-Up challenge for a prize of $1,000. Then, one by one, the letters on the board began lighting up: _ _UR-_T_R _ _ _E_A_ became visible. Catching on to the military theme, Nura buzzed in and correctly guessed “four-star general.”

The going gets tough

Next up came another Toss-Up round — this time for double the amount of the last. Once more, the board began to fill out until Nura again pushed down on her buzzer before her fellow contestants. Making her guess from the letters _ORL_ H_S_ _RY, the combatant cried out “world history” and added $2,000 to her pot.

Top of the leaderboard

With $3,000 already locked down, Nura was sitting pretty in the game’s opening moments. And as the wheel round started in earnest, she seemed all set to continue her winning streak. The medical assistant struck out with her letter choices, though, and this led Troy to win the round with the guess “doing a double loop-the-loop.”

A slight setback

And yet Nura would overcome this slight setback and go on to win the next couple of rounds. With her successful guesses “wind tunnel of love” and “ideal spot for a getaway,” the guest regained her killer game. She even earned a special prize along the way — a spa vacation in Belize. Nice! The audience had no reason to suspect that anything strange would happen.

Sitting pretty

Within a few rounds, then, it became clear who was going to win the show. Just before the episode’s penultimate round, Nura had swept the board and secured $13,970 in the bank. In contrast, Troy had bagged $4,300, while poor Steve hadn’t managed to win anything at all. Steve was probably hoping Nura would soon win and put him out of his misery!

One last round

So, as the episode entered its last speed round, Nura was the definite fan favorite. And after Smith correctly guessed “T” in the two-letter clue word, audiences turned their attention to Nura — expecting another sensible play. What she said next, though, left folks at home more than a little confused. That was a feeling they were going to have to get used to.

Stranger things

With complete assuredness, Nura uttered the least likely letter possible: “Z.” Naturally, audience members and fellow contestants alike were baffled. For example, Steve — smiling for the cameras just a minute earlier — furrowed his brow and stared at Nura in utter disbelief. He perhaps wondered just what was going on at the other end of the podium.

The host lost for words

Sajak also couldn’t believe his ears, asking, “Say that again for me.” But rather than realize her apparent mistake, Nura instead repeated her original answer. The host asked once again, “Did you say ‘Z?’” But the contestant remained completely unfazed. Nura said firmly, “As in Zulu: ‘Z.’” It really seemed to come out of nowhere.

Catching Zs

“You did say ‘Z.’ Okay,” the host said. Still visibly shocked, Sajak turned to face the board. Then — to nobody’s surprise — the board failed to light up any Zs. Brushing off this answer as a momentary lapse of reason, the host turned to Troy, who rightly guessed the letter “R.” Troy also correctly called “S” before it was Nura’s turn again.

Curiouser and curiouser

This time, instead of offering up another bizarre letter, Nura simply declined to answer at all. However, she was at least able to come up with a letter in the next round. As a bemused Sajak turned to face her, Nura decided upon another bewildering choice. The contestant cried out, “Q.” That was another blackout, of course.

Puzzled viewers

By now, Nura’s antics had started to catch on with viewers, and the Twittersphere was full of fans expressing their disbelief. One user wondered, “Is Nura drunk?” Meanwhile, after the contestant made another weird choice, a confused Breanna Sooter asked, “Why is this lady guessing ‘Z,’ ‘X’ and ‘Q’ for this puzzle?” It was a puzzle in itself.

A classic Sajak putdown

However, the best quotes of all were reserved for host Sajak, who responded to Nura’s strange guesses with barely contained mock-frustration. Before the guest’s penultimate round, the seemingly exasperated host muttered, “I wonder what letter Nura will call?” And she certainly didn’t disappoint, answering with the unlikely “X.” Yes, Nura had guessed with Z, Q, and X.

A dramatic fall from grace

As with her previous guesses, Nura subsequently failed to see a single letter light up this time around. Her final turn yielded nothing either, as she stood awkwardly in silence waiting for the timer to run out. All in all, it was a curious performance from someone who had been playing so well just moments earlier.

An unlikely victor

In the end, it was Steve who walked away as the round’s victor. Having correctly guessing the phrase “following footprints,” he claimed his first win of the night as well as $6,400 to take home. But while Steve may have been the eventual winner of the round, it was Nura who gained the biggest reaction. And it wasn't for the reason you might think.

Getting to the truth

Following the eventful segment, Sajak grilled his guest about her intriguing picks. And Nura cryptically replied, “That’s what I saw.” However, the host was clearly unconvinced by her explanation, stating, “That was an unsatisfactory answer, but she’s not under oath.” But Nura wasn't done surprising Sajak, the live audience, or the audience eagerly watching at home.

The final round

Though she’d lost the round, Nura had still done well enough in the early parts of the game to proceed to the final. Her poor performance in the previous round had also allowed Steve to leave the show with some sort of consolation prize. And fans began to wonder if she had been playing a different game entirely.

The game becomes clear

While she didn’t confirm anybody’s suspicions, Nura — knowing that she had already won — seemed to be playing tactically. Yes, in the spirit of Veterans Week, she appeared to be sharing the spoils with her fellow service people. By stepping back from the round, she had let another contestant go home with money in his pocket.

A legion of fans

Almost immediately, those who’d been following the show expressed their admiration via social media. One user tweeted, “Just saw the classiest move on Wheel of Fortune. Nura threw the final puzzle to let a fellow military person win it. Much respect.” As a result, the episode turned into a particularly memorable installment of the long-running show — and the surprises weren't over yet.

A charitable act

And for many viewers, this was the first time that they’d witnessed such a charitable act on a game show. Another well-wisher tweeted, “Way to go Nura! Never saw someone throw a round so everyone could win some money.” Yet even though Nura had seemingly allowed her fellow contestants to win some cash, it was she who was in with a shot at the big prize.

The final puzzle

Despite her sketchy performance in the preceding segment, Nura was back to her best when it came time for the last round. To some people's surprise, however, even with her full attention, the veteran was unable to guess the final puzzle: “by appointment.” Consequently, she lost out on the $33,000 grand prize. But the star player was happy with the near $14,000 she’d already won.

Sajak's reactions

Clapping and smiling, Nura exclaimed, “I’m going to Belize!” Sajak congratulated his guest before saying, “You made us all happy.” Nura’s unselfish actions resulted in one of the most surprising episodes in the show's history.