‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Contestant Competes For A Second Time After Game Show Awarded Him The Wrong Vacation Prize Last Year

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. A Wheel of Fortune contestant received a second go at the wheel on Monday night’s (March 11) episode after reportedly receiving the wrong prize last year.

Contestant David Avelsgard first appeared on the beloved game show in 2023, where he came in second place and went home with more than $14,000 and a Mexico vacation, per TV Insider. However, he should’ve been awarded a different trip, worth a potentially higher value, and was only $550 short of coming in first.

According to Newsweek, an alum of the game show named Rob (@WheelRob10) provided some clarity on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), explaining that he heard “the ‘scoring error’ on David’s first episode was that he was accidentally awarded the wrong Prize Puzzle trip.”

“And the value of the trip he should have won might have been enough for him to win, since he had placed a close second,” he added.

Those who caught Avelsgard’s first appearance on the show would have seen him win a trip to Mexico worth $7,350, according to Rob. However, he noted that this very trip was also won on the following episode, which “wasn’t realized until after the episode had already taped.” He also reminded fans that “Prize Puzzle trips start at $7,000, so it’s very likely the intended trip, whatever it was, was worth more.”

From what I have heard, the "scoring error" on David's first episode was that he was accidentally awarded the wrong Prize Puzzle trip, and the value of the trip he should have won might have been enough for him to win, since he had placed a close second. #WheelofFortune pic.twitter.com/1xAS3DCH04

— WheelRob (@WheelRob10) March 11, 2024

“Half the time, they’re over $10K now,” he continued, highlighting that “this wouldn’t have been a problem” if the U.S. iteration of the show followed the U.K.’s version, “where trips won don’t count towards score.”

A user on Reddit reiterated the explanation and said that they had “been exchanging DM’s with David himself on Instagram,” per TV Insider.

“On his first episode (which, coincidentally, reran just nine days ago), they did say he won a trip to Mexico worth $7,350, and it was added to his score correctly,” he wrote. “The show found out about the mistake about a month after the episode taped, but still before it aired. They called him, explained the mistake (they did say how much the Antigua trip was worth, but he forgot how much), and told him they would give him a choice of taking the Mexico trip or Antigua trip (he chose Mexico) and that he would be invited back in the future.”

However, a report from Valley News Live presented the confusion the other way around, with Avelsgard having gone home with a trip to Antigua when he was “actually supposed to get a trip to Mexico, not Antigua.” The outlet reported that he was still presented with the option of choosing his trip and getting to return to the show.

Decider reached out to a Wheel of Fortune representative for clarification, but did not hear back by time of publication.

Nonetheless, despite only taking home $7,650 this time around, per TV Insider, Avelsgard seemed optimistic about the scenario. He took to Instagram to express how he’s “very fortunate and grateful to have had the opportunity to experience something like this twice.”

“Shoutout to Pat [Sajak], @officialvannawhite, Jim, @maggiesajak, all the @wheeloffortune staff, and my fellow contestants for making the experience so amazing!” he added.

When he posted on Feb. 29 to promote his second appearance, WoF‘s Instagram page commented, “We can’t wait!”

Wheel of Fortune airs on weeknights at 7:30/6:30c. Check out their website for local listings.