The game of Wheel of Fortune hasn’t changed much in the past 40-plus years it’s been on the air, with its strong premise making it one of the best game shows of all time. However, different elements have been added over time to keep things fresh, including the Million-Dollar Wedge and the Toss-Up rounds. Now, a new bonus round is about to be introduced that’s worth up to $500,000, but there’s a catch — it will be for one night only.
Wheel of Fortune will kick off a special DraftKings Casino Multiplier Tournament when it airs on the 2025 TV schedule from November 24 to 28. The top three players from the Monday-Thursday episodes will return on Friday and face off in a championship for the chance to compete in a special Toss-Up Bonus Round, where they could win a half-million dollars. Let’s break down how this new bonus round is going to work, per TV Insider.
While the first four episodes of the week will feature the typical Bonus Round puzzle, Friday’s puzzle will be replaced by five Toss-Up puzzles, all in the same category. The winner of the championship who advances to that round will have 45 seconds to solve all five, winning $10,000 per correctly solved Toss-Up. The contestant can move on to the next puzzle after an incorrect solve, but the clock won’t stop.
The player will still choose their category, have “RSTLNE” given to them and spin the bonus wheel, but for one night only, instead of dollar amounts and prizes, the envelopes will contain multipliers to increase winnings by 2, 3 or 4 times. That means if they get all five Toss-Up puzzles correct for $50,000 and pull the 4x multiplier, they win $200,000.
But here’s the big twist. During Friday’s championship, a special DraftKingsCasino 10X Multiplier Wild Wedge will be added to the Big Wheel in the regular rounds. If someone lands on it, they can choose to use it like a typical Wild Card or hold onto it for the Toss-Up Bonus Round. If that happens, a 10x envelope will be added to the bonus wheel, and the $50,000 possible for solving all five puzzles would increase to $500,000 if that envelope is chosen.
Wheel of Fortune definitely isn’t making it easy to win that maximum amount of money. It's a lot like how the million-dollar prize seemed unattainable until Christina Derevjanik gave Ryan Seacrest his first seven-digit winner on September 30, 2025, which was a milestone he’d been looking forward to since taking over for Pat Sajak as the game show’s host a year earlier.
One other addition will be made when Wheel of Fortune pairs with DraftKings Casino next week: Two multiplier wedges will be added to the wheel throughout the tournament. Contestants who land on these spaces will receive $1,000 for each of their chosen consonant on the board, which will be multiplied by 2, 3, 4 or 5, depending on the number on the other side of the wedge.
I’m really intrigued to see how this Toss-Up Bonus Round is going to work, and it’s kind of a bummer that we’ll only get to see it in one episode. However, if everything goes well, perhaps that will leave the door open for other sponsored tournaments to follow suit.
Check your local listings to see when to catch the game show in your area, or you can now stream Wheel of Fortune (and Jeopardy!) episodes the next day with either a Hulu subscription or Peacock subscription.
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