$1M Mispronunciation? Not Really, but Still Stings

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant has big 'oops' at clutch moment
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2013 2:13 PM CDT

First step to winning the big $1 million prize on Wheel of Fortune: Land on the million-dollar wedge of the wheel. Second step: Correctly solve the puzzle. Third step: Correctly pronounce the puzzle you've just solved. Sadly, Paul Atkinson completed steps 1 and 2 Tuesday night, but things fell apart when he got to step 3. Instead of "corner curio cabinet," he said something that sounded like "corno curo cabinet," Deadspin reports. Even after a review, the producers didn't count it as a correct answer. But hey, don't feel too for bad for Paul: As Today notes, he would have had to make it to the bonus round without landing on Bankrupt, then land on the $1 million envelope on the bonus-round wheel in order to actually have a shot at winning the million.

"It would have [still] been a five- or six-step process to get the $1 million," Paul himself tells CNN. He also explains the gaffe: He had never seen the word "curio" before and so was stressing about it and staring at the word. That caused him to morph his "corner" into "corno." And no, he's not angry at the show, he adds, only himself. (Click to watch one woman who actually won the big prize.)

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