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‘Wheel of Fortune’ fan favorite calls himself the worst player after tossing mystery wedge in frustration

"The way Brian has embarrassed Hoboken/Jersey City/New Jersey proper. SIR with a face palm emoji," a fan reacted.

Brian Davis of Hoboken, New Jersey, thought his longtime dream was finally coming true when he landed a spot on 'Wheel of Fortune' in January 2020. However, he didn’t solve a single puzzle and walked away with only the courtesy cash prize of $1,000. His luck finally changed in May 2024, when he returned to the popular game show as a fan favorite. During one of the Triple Toss-Up rounds, Davis failed to guess the correct letters on the board. After losing all his winnings in a single spin, he got so frustrated that he took a dramatic step, which drew harsh criticism from fans, as per Newsweek. 

Davis guessed "C" when the wheel landed on the $600 wedge. Which was unfortunately wrong, and his savings came down to $2,150 from $4,050. Then the wheel landed on $1,000, and Davis guessed “S,” which was also incorrect. To his misfortune, when he picked up the wedge, it turned out to be 'Bankrupt.' In frustration, Davis tossed the wedge across the set, shocking both the contestants and host Pat Sajak. Fans remained divided on his behavior, some found it amusing, while others outright slammed it. "Boy, it’s only Tuesday & this week’s gone LOONEY! Let Tuesday’s #wheeloffortune Fan Favorites explain why. PS, we love you, Brian!" a viewer wrote in jest. 

Another fan remarked in a now-deleted tweet, "The way Brian has embarrassed Hoboken/Jersey City/New Jersey proper. SIR with a face palm emoji." An online user slammed, "@patsajak said they were happy to see it happen to Brian. [rolling on the floor laughing emoji] HOW did he become a fan favorite? Were the entire cast of Jersey Shore and their families watching when he played last?!?!?!?" A netizen chimed, "Ok, Brian. Let's represent NJ in a good way. Not a Jersey Shore way!" In a backstage interview with Maggie Sajak, Davis called himself “one of the worst players.”

"I'm very accustomed to being bankrupt now. That's part of my family at this point," Brian confessed to the social correspondent, as per The Sun. "I think that's the third or fourth time I've had it on this show. Might go down as the worst contestant in history, but at the end of the day I was here twice [and] playing for the people," he reacted after a clip replayed his bizarre body language and aggression displayed on the show. To lighten up the atmosphere, Davis expressed his gratitude about being part of the show while presenting Maggie with a t-shirt from his hometown, "From the people of Hoboken, I just want to give you this shirt and let you know you are now family in the Hoboken community forever." In another video, Davis revealed that he had auditioned thrice to land a place on the show, and that explains his inner frustration after losing out for the second time.