'Jeopardy' player shares wild story of how one mistake almost cost him a chance on 'Wheel of Fortune'

“Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” are two of the most popular game shows in the history of American television, and generations have grown up watching them. It's natural for people to be elated about making it to either one of them, and many express disappointment when they're denied a chance to participate. In an earlier episode of "Jeopardy!", the contestant revealed one of the reasons why the showrunners of "Wheel of Fortune" did not let him compete. It was simply because it wasn’t his favorite game show at the time.

The contestant named Sam Nguyen said, “About six years ago, I tried out for Wheel of Fortune and I made the grave mistake of saying that I was actually more of a Jeopardy fan in a room full of Wheel of Fortune enthusiasts, obviously.” Jennings seemed amused by this story and asked, “It didn’t go over well?” He clearly wanted more information about what exactly went down over there. You can watch the video here.

“It didn’t go over well, but then I saved myself, and when the contestant coordinators asked if I had ever been on Jeopardy, I said no, but after I get on Wheel of Fortune, I’ll try out for Jeopardy,” Nguyen added. According to a report in the US Sun, Nguyen did end up appearing on “Wheel of Fortune” in 2019. He got to be on both of the shows that he loved.

Nguyen had a cool story, but his performance on the show wasn’t as memorable. He was up against Bill McKinney and Molly LeBlanc. In the end, it was McKinney who won on the day with $18,100, and Nguyen was in second place with $4001.

This is not the first time “Wheel of Fortune” has received a mention on “Jeopardy!” Jennings has mentioned the show in the past as he was answering questions from the audience, at a time when the TV cameras weren’t rolling. “What’s it like hosting a show that you know all the answers to?” a member from the audience asked, to which the host had the funniest answer.

“It hasn’t happened yet. I don’t know. Like, maybe they’ll let me do Wheel someday, but…no, I’m just kidding,” he said. The crowd erupted in laughter upon hearing this. It was healthy banter about one of his show’s competitors. Fans loved the answer and hailed Jennings for being the perfect host for the show.

“He was born to do this. So natural, smart, and charismatic. No one could replace Alex, but Ken is doing him proud,” one user commented under the clip on YouTube. “Ken jokes about hosting Wheel, but that’s where he would really know all the answers,” mentioned another. “Ken is without a doubt the best host ever to replace the late, great Alex Trebek,” one more wrote.