A 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant almost had her $6,750 'vanish' mid-game in bizarre TV moment

"Wheel of Fortune" has been entertaining people and giving them hope of winning big consistently for more than four decades now. Although participants come to the show with expectations of walking away with a large amount of cash, they also realize they could lose. One of them lost all her winnings in one go, while a glitch left viewers scratching their heads. The player named Carla had racked up $6,750 when suddenly the amount on her screen was reset to $0 without any explanation.

A Scary Moment

The bizarre moment occurred during an episode in 2022 when Carla was solving a puzzle in the category "Thing," and landed on the $3500 wedge before making the right guess to win $7,000, according to The US Sun.

She then bought a vowel A for $250 and was left with $6750. Carla then guessed a D which was missing on the board, so she gave up her turn.

When host Pat Sajak, returned to Carla, he implied that she had lost all her money, without explaining how or why. The contestant continued to play the game and guessed "g" for another puzzle to get $700. "Well, you got some money back, $700," Sajak assured her according to Newsweek. 

When the camera focused on her score after a few correct guesses, it showed that she had amassed $5200, but her original $6750 was still missing. This confused the viewers who took to social media to find an explanation.

Bankruptcy on Air?

The glitch was only fixed when the game show aired the episode again later in the year as part of its summer re-runs. A viewer @WheelRob on X (formerly Twitter), spotted that the show's editors had noticed the mistake and fixed the glitch. In the rerun, it was clear that Carla had lost her $6750 after landing on a "Bankrupt" wedge in the next round and had to start from $0.

The Twitter user speculated that the part where Carla got the wedge must have been accidentally edited out and was noticed after the episode originally went on air.

Glitch Galore on Wheel Of Fortune

It seems like "Wheel of Fortune" is plagued by glitches despite going through major changes such as Ryan Seacrest replacing Pat Sajak as the host of the game show and the face of the franchise. The beloved show also debuted a new set that sparked mixed reactions among fans.

It seems like the change is causing some issues for the show's producers too, since an apparent glitch showed veteran co-host Vanna White’s reflection moving in a different direction on its own. During an episode, the contestants solved a puzzle when the camera cut from White to the players and then back to the board. That’s when the reflection of White’s legs seemed detached from her body and as it started walking across the board.

Adding to the confusion was the way in which the category suddenly changed from “LIVING THINGS” to “SAME LETTER," as pointed out by TV Insider.