'Wheel of Fortune' fans think they're 'scamming us' by giving the same car away — 5 nights in a row

Luxury cars, alongside trips, are among the most popular prizes on "Wheel of Fortune," given away mostly during the bonus round. However, a contestant has to be very lucky to drive home with one, as there is a one in 24 chance of getting the golden envelope. Thus, when five players in a row got the same car in the same week, viewers grew a little suspicious. Some even said that the show rigged the odds to make someone win the BMW SUV as the odds of it happening so many times were “astronomically bad.”

The statistical anomaly occurred back in 2023 when Pat Sajak was still hosting the show. In the week, four players got a chance to win a $44,000 BMW SUV in their respective bonus round before the fifth player won it. However, the first four players failed to crack the puzzle, and the BMW remained on the set until Lavonda from University Park, Illinois, won it.

In the final episode of the week, Lavonda successfully made it to the Bonus Round and picked out her Golden Envelope from the wheel. She then went on to unravel the puzzle, "Make A Wise Choice," and when Sajak opened the prize card, it had BMW written all over it. While it seemed a bit odd for Lavonda to land on the same prize, Sajak's comment made it a little obvious. "This is Friday, for four nights we have tried to give this car away and we did it!" the host noted in the end. 

Fans who previously joked that no one could win the BMW had now become suspicious. Many believed that the show "conspired" to keep the prize all week and give it away at the very end, to provide it the maximum air time. One viewer broke down the odds of the prize wheel landing on the same wedge five nights in a row to further explain how bizarre the occurrence was.

"The final wheel has 24 prizes. If we assume one card contains the car, the odds of hitting that spot 5 times in a row is 1/7.96 million," @CdubbyaHarris wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

“Those odds are astronomically bad,” the user added, before explaining that it could only be possible if the show was deliberately trying to give the car away and it may have removed other prizes from the wheel to make it happen. One commentator added: "OK is Wheel of Fortune scamming us? How are they spinning the BMW 5 nights in a row?”

" So let's assume they're putting more BMW cards on the wheel. Let's say they make half the cards say BMW. At 50% of the wheel, the odds are still only 1/32 to hit 5 in a row. You need to have 21 out of 24 cards be the car before you even make 50/50 odds. SOMETHING IS UP!" the user suggested. 

Nevertheless, the suspicion did not lead to a response from the show. Turns out "Wheel Of Fortune" doubled down on showcasing the particular car by sharing another exclusive post about it. 

In a social media clip, the makers shared how the big cars are brought and rolled into the starry set of the show.