"Wheel of Fortune" 9/18

Tonight's intro flashback moment is from an Endless Summer Week in '99 when Pat & Vanna asked each other what they usually wear; the bonus puzzle that night was NIGHTGOWN. Also, Pat's monitor is displaying the round logo instead of the two-row one from last night.

$1K T-U: Thing

M _ S S A _ E

_ _ _ _ E

Mattie guesses MASSAGE TABLE...right she is. Tuesday's trio:

Mattie Jefferson (Moncks Corner, SC)- A rural transportation worker engaged to Jason w/ two kids
Tony Morris (Palm Springs, CA; originally from Enterprise, AL)- An intuitive counselor who's trying to get his first book published
Nicole Penrod (San Dimas, CA)- A part-time P.E. teacher married to a firefighter named Ryan w/ two boys

$2K T-U: Show Biz

_ O L D - O U T

_ O N C E _ T

Tony solves SOLD-OUT CONCERT.

Tuesday's Spa Trip: El Conquistador Resort (all of these trips this week are provided by Spa Finder Wellness unless otherwise noted)($6,700)
Tues./Thurs. Gift Tag: Shari's Berries

IHOP Jackpot Round: What Are You Doing?

He starts w/ two G's for eight bills, five I's, four N's for another $2,400 & three O's, but he then loses $2,700 to the Bankrupt in between $650 & $900. Secondly, Nicole takes two T's at $900 each & an A at the end of the second line, but she then Bankrupts on the left side of the Million Dollar Wedge to lose $650. Third, Mattie calls for four S's on the new $650 wedge, buys the last valid vowel of E & finds the pair of L's at the end for another C-note & the trip...

T O S S I N G

_ O I N S / I N T O / A

_ I S _ I N G / _ E L L

...she'll be TOSSING COINS INTO A WISHING WELL, if there is one, in The Caribbean w/ another $3,350.

(AIRED) BANKRUPTS: 2 (Tony & Mattie)
LEFT BEHIND IN JACKPOT: $8,050

Current Scores:

Nicole: $0/Mattie: $11,050 in cash & Caribbean/Tony: $2K

Mystery Round: Same Letter

Nicole leads the way by calling three $900 R's, purchasing five E's, getting a $550 T, a $3.5K S & that SL of four C's at $550 a pop...

C R E _ _

C _ E E S E

C _ R R _ T

C _ _ E

...this falls under Food & Drink and she identifies CREAM CHEESE CARROT CAKE for $8,700 (but if she had called the C's one turn sooner, she might've had at least $17K & the lead).

TECHNICAL PERFECT ROUND

Current Scores:

Nicole: $8,700/Mattie: $11,050 in cash & travel/Tony: $2K

Bonus Puzzle Blast from the Past #2 ('89)(Thing)(she called DGMI):

M _ L E  _ _ L E

A: MOLECULE (it wasn't solved)

Prize Puzzle Round: Song Lyrics

Our current leader Mattie first picks up a $300 R, that MDW w/ a T pairing & an O, followed by two S's for another grand & the 1/2 CAR in between $350 & $900, triple U's but then a critical dud of J. Second for Tony are a $1.5K Y set for the Wild Card, a $600 M duo to presumably lessen the chances of having that J repeated a lot, the other two vowels (A & E), a $500 B but he then duds out w/ F. Right after that...

Y O U / M U S T / B E

M Y / _ U _ _ Y / S T A R

...Nicole steals first place w/ Madonna's "YOU MUST BE MY LUCKY STAR" to add to her cash winnings a trip to Las Vegas sponsored by the Blu-Ray re-release of "Titanic" (including a visit to "Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition") worth $6,045.

DUDS: $700 F (Tony), $800 J (Mattie)
 
(Note: There may have been a third null cycle edited out of this round.)

Current Scores:

Nicole: $14,745 in cash & Vegas/Mattie: $11,050 in cash & Caribbean/Tony: $2K WC

$3K T-U: Living Things (Megaword alert):

N I G H _ _ N G A L _ S

Tony says NIGHTENGALES to be upped to $5K.

R4: The 90's (remember, they're bringing back the decades topics for at least this season)

Tony begins w/ a $500 T but he then says S for sorry. Second, Nicole has lit a $1,400 H couple, trip I's & a $450 W before we go to Speed-Up Mode...

_ _ _ _ I _ _ / W I T H

_ H I _ _ _ _ _

...& consonants left over are worth $1,900 per appearance. She next calls the R's but blanks. Following Mattie's double D's...

_ _ R R I _ D / W I T H

_ H I _ D R _ _

...she won't be going for the million, but she's still going to Bonusland w/ a $3,800 solve of "MARRIED WITH CHILDREN"!

SOLE DUD (before final bell): $700 S (Tony)

Final Scores:

Nicole: $14,745 in cash & Vegas/Mattie: $14,850 in cash & vacation (wins by $105)/Tony: $5K
GT: $34,595

TONIGHT'S AIRED BANKRUPT TRASH: $3,350

Maxwell House BR #2: After we get a shot of her finacee in the audience, Mattie spins up the triple-star.

Category: Phrase

This should look familiar to some of you who were at a taping late last season:

E _ _ _ T L _

_ L _ _ E

HYMO gives her just...

E _ _ _ T L Y

_ L _ _ E

...well, she needed the A's- the landed BR envelopes from last night & tonight turn out to be EXACTLY ALIKE (this was originally used for one episode, but it was thrown out because Pat mistakenly thought the given guess of EXACTLY ALIVE was correct instead), so she loses the $30K & the $1M wasn't meant to be for her. In any event, she leaves w/ $14,850 in cash & travel.

$5K SPIN ID #2: BB0028089

EPISODE RATING: 6