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Last updated on Tuesday, April 15, 2014
(UNDATED) - An Indiana University student’s appearance on syndicated TV game show “Wheel of Fortune” got a lot of attention over the weekend for all the wrong reasons.
Julian Batts of Carmel was playing well on the show that aired Friday, but his chance to win $1 million, a trip to Jamaica and a car were derailed by a series of unfortunate answers.
All the letters had been filled in for Batts, a freshman at IU, to solve the puzzle "Mythological Hero Achilles," but contestants must pronounce the words correctly to win.
Batts pronounced the hero's name incorrectly, saying "A-chill-is" instead of the proper pronunciation. That mistake may have cost him $1 million.
ABC's "Good Morning America" interviewed Batts, who appeared flustered on the show as he realized his mistake.
"It just kind of hit me like a train, and I really didn't know how to react to it," Batts said. "The game continued on and (another contest from) Texas A&M, she solved it, and it hit me right then and there that it was Achilles."
Batts said he didn't feel like he'd made a mistake.
"I feel like I solved the puzzle entirely and all I had to do was read it, and I just went for it and I did my best," Batts told ABC.
The show's policy dictates that contestants must pronounce the puzzles using a "generally accepted pronunciation."
Batts' troubles on the show didn't end with that puzzle. He was in contention to solve another one in the "person" category with just two letters missing -- "The World's Fastest _a_."
Batts chose the letter "C," but there was no "C" in the winning answer "The World's Fastest Man," and another contestant solved it.
Batts had another puzzle problem later in the show - saying "On The Spot Dice Spin" instead of "On The Spot Decision."
Despite all these issues, Batts won the game, though he missed out on much larger winnings.
"It was a dream and it was one of the greatest experiences I've accomplished so far," Batts told GMA.
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