A Minnesota woman left viewers stunned—and even caught longtime host Ryan Seacrest off guard—when she cracked the Wheel of Fortune Bonus Round almost the instant it appeared, walking away with an impressive $65,650 in total winnings.
A Shaky Beginning Becomes a Night to Remember
Delinda Rood of Rosemount, Minnesota, took the stage on the November 4 episode, competing against Justin Zamora from Palo Alto, California, and Shateria Smith of Chattanooga, Tennessee. From the start, it wasn’t clear the night would belong to her.
Rood, who described herself as an “ambivert,” had a hesitant opening. The game’s first toss-up puzzle, “My Game Face,” went unsolved by all three contestants, setting an unusually quiet tone. For a moment, it looked like nerves—or bad luck—might define the evening.
But then, the momentum shifted.
When the second toss-up appeared—“Practical Joker”—Rood jumped in decisively, solving it cleanly and confidently to pocket $2,000. That single moment seemed to flip a switch. The uncertainty faded, replaced by sharp focus and growing confidence.
From there, Rood settled into a rhythm, reading the board quickly and trusting her instincts. What began as a slow, uncertain start quietly transformed into one of the most memorable performances of the night—culminating in a Bonus Round solve so fast it left the audience buzzing and the host visibly impressed.
By the time the final total was revealed, it was clear: Delinda Rood hadn’t just played the game—she’d owned it.
