‘Wheel of Fortune’ amputee contestant breaks unbelievable bankrupt curse — wins big in jaw-dropping comeback
'Wheel of Fortune' hasn't seen so many Bankrupt contestants in one episode as the one that aired back in September 2024. However, a physically challenged legend from St. Louis, Missouri, finally broke the jinx and walked away with a huge amount after winning $40,000 in the Bonus Round. The game show started with Melissa Brickey, an above-knee amputee who manages a nonprofit organization that raises money for disabled girls, pitted against Brent Lau, from Bakersfield, California, and Tanijah Johnson, from Malvern, Pennsylvania. Brickey opened her luck by solving two toss-ups, raising her savings to a total of $2,000. However, she soon went Bankrupt along with her opponents while trying to guess the first Crossword puzzle.
“Shall we have a conversation with this wheel?” host Ryan Seacrest cracked up, trying to ease the tension. “What are you doing to us?!” he added. Lau, a local coffee owner, then spun the wheel only to land on Lose A Turn. “We did something bad before we got here,” Seacrest spoke in jest as the bad streak continued. In the next round, Johnson tried to break the unlucky spell and made $800 by picking the letter H, but she soon landed back in bankruptcy, losing everything. Despite her confidence that she would break the curse with a spin, Brickey unexpectedly became bankrupt again.
Seacrest encouraged Lau to advance to the next round, but the contestant was once again placed on Lose a Turn, which frustrated the seasoned host to no end.“So, I’m new here. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he reacted. “Vanna? What is going on?” Seacrest exclaimed, visibly disappointed, and begged his co-host to explain the bizarre happenings; however, Vanna White chuckled and candidly dismissed Seacrest's pleas. “Please, help me!” he complained again but couldn't evoke any reaction from White. The third contestant then tried to end the dry spell on the wheel but soon landed on Bankrupt. At this point, Seacrest went totally quiet.
Finally, Brickey ended the curse after solving the puzzle — “Eyelashes, Lips, Pupils, Cheeks" and added $600 to her savings. She went on to correctly guess the next puzzle.”Snapshots From Around The Globe,” raising her earnings to $5,200. Brickey's lucky streak didn't end there; she went on to win a lavish cruise trip to Tahiti, putting her in the lead with $16,650. Johnson went on to win one Triple Toss-Up, while Lau won the other two. Brickey advanced to the Bonus Round with total earnings of $20,050; meanwhile, Lau took home $4,000 and Johnson made a total of $2,000.
For the Bonus Round, Brickey chose the “Food & Drink" category, and the puzzle board displayed the standard letters “R, S, T, L, N, and E.” The philanthropist then chose “P, D, C, and O and the puzzle board read: “PO_C_ED S_L_ON.” Brickey didn't wait for the ten-second buzzer to go off and rightly guessed the answer as “Poached Salmon.” She won the Bonus round cash prize of $40,000 and took home a total of $60,050. Fans found the bankruptcy tag during the episode unbelievable. "Nice ending after a rough front game, which, BTW, Ryan showed more personality reacting to all the Bankrupts in Round 1 than Pat has shown in the last decade," a viewer reacted. "She was stomping hard with that wooden foot," another fan gushed. "The first $40,000 win of the season! Well done, Melissa! After all of the bankrupts and lost turns tonight!" an online user chimed in.