Paul Atkinson landed on the hard-to-reach, $1 million wedge. He knew the missing letter, but got disqualified because he mispronounced one of the words saying "corio" instead of "curio."
"That was my biggest nightmare. I knew I messed up. I knew something awesome could've happened, but I totally goofed it," he recalled.
Fudging the words "corner" and "curio" cost Atkinson big bucks. Instead of taking home $1 million, the firefighter from Oregon collected $2,000.
And despite public outcry on social media, Wheel of Fortune producers say rules are rules and Atkinson blew his big chance at big bucks.