Viewers Can't Believe 'Crazy' and 'Insane' String of Bad Luck on 'Wheel of Fortune' Episode: 'What Are the Odds'

Wheel of Fortune viewers couldn’t believe the string of bad luck that three contestants experienced during an episode of the show that aired on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Occasional spins ending on the “bankrupt” or “lose a turn” wedges are to be expected. But Brent, Tanijah and Melissa found themselves hitting those markers again and again during one segment of Wednesday’s show. The three contestants landed on “bankrupt” in three consecutive spins, prompting co-host Ryan Seacrest to ask, “Should we have a conversation with this wheel?” Seacrest looked down at the wheel and jokingly asked, “What are you doing to us?”

Brent was next to spin, and landed on “lose a turn.” While Tanijah’s following spin enabled her to guess a letter, she immediately after landed again on “bankrupt,” as did Melissa on her subsequent spin.

“So, I’m new here,” said Seacrest, who celebrated his first episode co-hosting the long-running game show last week following Pat Sajak’s retirement. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

The former American Idol host then urged Brent to “break this curse,” though the spin that followed ended again on “lose a turn.”

Related: 'Wheel of Fortune' Fans Cast Blame on Ryan Seacrest After Contestant's Loss

“What is going on?” Seacrest asked co-host Vanna White. “Please help me.” After yet another “bankrupt” spin, Seacrest briefly rested his head in his arms and laughed.

The long string of “bankrupt” and “lose a turn” spins generated chatter online as viewers wondered why it was happening.

“That had to be the biggest run of bad luck on the wheel I've seen in a long time!” one viewer wrote on Reddit.

One Reddit user described the contestants’ bad luck as “crazy,” while another agreed, “That was insane!! What are the odds of that happening so many times in a row?”

“It’s not even Friday the 13th and the wheel is cursed,” one person tweeted on X (formerly Twitter), while another X user suggested the game show “is rigged tonight !!”

The wheel “is the Wheel of MISFORTUNE tonight,” one viewer declared.

“What a messy first round, my goodness,” another viewer observed.

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