'Wheel Of Fortune' Biggest Blunder Rewarded On 'Ellen Show'

BRUNSWICK, OH — In late March, Brunswick native Kevin Haas starred in a YouTube video that got more than 300,000 views, and not for the best of reasons. Haas was a contestant on TV show "Wheel of Fortune." He was tasked with completing the following title, "A Streetcar Na-ed Desire." He guessed the letter "K" and went through the 15 minutes of ignominy that is now required of those who suffer public embarrassment in the internet age.

Luckily, Haas' tale has a happy ending.

After seeing a clip of Haas' public misstep, daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres invited him to stop by and take a shot at redemption. Before giving him a second shot at solving puzzles, DeGeneres asked how Haas came to be on the show.

He said he had been given a sign from the universe that he was meant to appear. He watched "Wheel of Fortune" every night with his wife and constantly said that he would love to appear on the show. The dream never seemed close to reality for Haas until a fortune cookie intervened.

After ordering Chinese food, he opened a fortune cookie and read the shockingly potent fortune, "The wheel of good fortune is finally turning in your direction."

Taking it as clear direction, Haas applied for the show online that night, was asked to come audition and was in Los Angeles the next moment.

When DeGeneres turned the conversation by asking if A Streetcar Naked Desire made sense in the moment, Haas said it did.

"I zeroed in on just that word," he told her.

DeGeneres then said she would give Haas his chance at redemption in a game called Catapult of Fortune. To see Haas play the game, skip to the 2:45 mark in the clip below.

If you're unable to watch the clip, Haas steps into an apparatus, wearing goggles, and has several small silver catapults facing him. Degeneres then reads a statement and asks Haas to fill in the blank. If he gets the phrase right, he wins a prize. If he misses it, something is catapulted at him.

The first phrase to be completed is, "Phantom of the -"

He quickly replies, "Phantom of the Opera."

After asking Haas to fill in the name of the British/PBS TV show "Downton Abbey," she then asks him to name the 13th vice president of the United States (the imitable William Rufus DeVane King). When he is unable to do so, $5,000 is rocketed at him, courtesy of Shutterfly. Haas buckles over smiling and laughing, visibly thrilled in the moment. DeGeneres quips that it "pays to lose" on her show.

Redemption, thy name is Kevin.

(But just as a reminder, here's the famous botch from Wheel of Fortune.)

Photo Link: Photo Credit: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.