Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Pat Sajak Hilariously Mocks The Most Unlucky Contestant In 'Wheel Of Fortune' History—And Fans Are Loving It

(L) Pat Sajak; (R) Contestant, Justin
@WheelofFortune/Twitter

A school principal from Kansas City, Missouri, experienced a string of bad luck on the hit game show after the wheel kept landing on 'Bankrupt' or other losing slots six different times.

Oh, what a whirl.

A contestant on a recent episode of Wheel of Fortune became dubbed the most unlucky to ever participate in the popular word puzzle TV game show.


Introducing Justin Orscheln.

He is an assistant school principal at Eagle Heights Elementary School outside of Kansas City, Missouri, who revealed he and his "patient" husband Ben had recently adopted two boys.

He also admitted to having a collection of $2,000 worth of candles he affectionately calls his "girls."

While his infectious charisma won over the studio audience, he failed miserably at the wheel when he repeatedly spun what turned out to be a wheel of misfortune.

Whenever Orscheln spun during Tuesday's game, the needle landed on either "bankrupt" or "lose a turn" every single time.

On his first attempt, he landed on the bankrupt slice of the wheel pie–which is fairly common.

But he brushed it off, saying:

"It's fine."

In the next word puzzle, he was more ambitious.

"Come on wheel," said Orscheln while clapping in his dapper burgundy tux.

But the spinning disk on a mean streak was not going to cooperate in the contestant's favor.

Luck was not on Jutin's side as the flicking needle slowed to a stop in the bankrupt zone a second and third time.

Orscheln's enthusiasm waned with every turn, and even host Pat Sajak lost hope and humorously remarked:

"Justin! Justin! Justin! Go to the principal's office."

You can watch Orscheln's game play literally taking a turn for the worse in the clip below.


When the fifth puzzle spin landed him in familiar territory, he dramatically collapsed behind the giant turntable.

An empathetic Sajak assured him that the next round involved:

“No spinning in the triple toss-ups."

But during the Final Spin, things didn't turn out any better.



He got another chance to twirl since a money wedge was needed to determine the value of each letter.

“Just make it $5000, Pat, we’ve got this. This is dark-sided," remarked Orscheln, maintaining a sense of humor.

When the needle clicked to a dead stop on "Lose a Turn," he joked to Sajak:

“You're doing this on purpose at this point.”

But because a dollar value was still required, he spun the wheel again and it finally stopped at $650.

And just like that, the recurring nightmare was over–but it would be one he wouldn't soon forget.

People felt bad for Orscheln.






The game show's Twitter account even weighed in, saying:

“Don’t worry, we spoke to the wheel after the show and asked it to apologize to Justin for its behavior today




By the end of the game, Orscheln managed to walk away with $2,000 and the hearts of viewers.






Recalling his whirlwind of a time on his Wheel of Fortune debut, Orscheln told the New York Post:

“The first bankruptcy or two didn’t bother me — it’s all part of the game."
"However, the subsequent bankruptcies and Lose a Turns were a blow to the ego for sure.”

When he knew the odds were not in his favor, he said he chose to make light of the situation and set a positive example in a stressful moment.

“I had to make the conscious choice to model good sportsmanship for my students and my own boys and have fun even when things weren’t happening favorably—which led to ‘the faint."
“At that point, [with] the final spin having both a bankruptcy and Lose a Turn, I figured to have as much fun as possible and not let them see me sweat.”

He was even worried at one point that Sajak was not amused by his antics.

The host quipped "We love your acting" before asking him to spin the wheel again.

Orscheln continued:

“After the bankruptcy, I wasn’t sure if Pat was annoyed [with my] pulling focus to me, but my intention was to just make light of an irritating situation."
"It was during the following Lose a Turn after that when he said, ‘Get ready to fall again, Justin,’ that I knew he was in on it too.”

He hopes to one day return to play the game or even fill in for Sajak when he eventually retires from hosting duties.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

bedazzled MAGA hat
Timothy Hurst/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Threads User's Epic Rant Ripping MAGA Fans Who Now Claim They 'Always Had Doubts' About Trump Has The Internet Applauding

As prominent MAGA minions, like QAnon conspiracy peddler and former Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, have come out against MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, so too are some lesser known individuals.

Whether it's his Iran War, his continuing saga with the Epstein files, his utter failure to keep any of his campaign promises that they banked on helping them, or the abject incompetence of his hand-picked personnel, some members of MAGA are distancing themselves from the cult.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump Ripped For Somehow Making His 'Happy Mother's Day' Post All About Himself Without Any Mention Of Melania

President Donald Trump was criticized after he "honored" mothers on Mother's Day by attacking Democrats in a self-absorbed post on Truth Social, never mentioning his wife, First Lady Melania, who is the mother of his youngest son Barron.

Instead of acknowledging her and mothers around the country, Trump gloated about the economy and accused critics of having "Trump Derangement Syndrome," targeting Democrats and Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair he's been trying to push out of his administration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Zach Galifianakis; Donald Trump
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Zach Galifianakis Expertly Lays Into Comedians Who Refuse To 'Challenge' Trump When He's A Guest On Their Podcasts

Actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis called out comedians who have had President Donald Trump on their podcasts and didn't "challenge" him, noting that they've effectively abdicated their role by not making jokes at Trump's expense or pushing back against things he says.

Galifianakis made that argument during a recent episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, where host Conan O'Brien remarked that few, if any, people have challenged a sitting president the way Galifianakis did when he interviewed then-President Barack Obama in 2014 on his satirical series Between Two Ferns.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Sean Duffy
Fox News

Sean Duffy Ripped After Encouraging Americans To Take 'Road Trips' As Gas Prices Continue To Soar

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was called out after he encouraged Americans to take "road trips" as gas prices continue to rise as a result of President Donald Trump's war in Iran.

Republicans have faced pressure from constituents nationwide to address the rising cost of living, but Americans are feeling pain at the pump now that the Iran war, which the Trump administration kicked off in late February, has prompted a spike in gas prices.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crossing guard Jamele Ransom went viral after eating ice cream during a live TV interview.
@nbcphiladelphia/TikTok

Philadelphia Crossing Guard Goes To Town On Ice Cream Cone While Describing Truck Crash On TV—And Becomes An Instant Icon

I scream, you scream, and apparently, Philadelphia crossing guards scream for ice cream during breaking news interviews. Crossing guard Jamele Ransom became an instant internet favorite after casually eating a cone while recounting a chaotic playground crash near S. Weir Mitchell Elementary School on live TV.

The now-viral moment came after police said Robert Littlepage, 18, of Douglasville, Georgia, allegedly attempted a carjacking last Tuesday before stealing a white utility truck and crashing near the school.

Keep ReadingShow less