A “brutal” sequence of events had The Price Is Right fans calling it “tough to watch” for a hopeful contestant.
Viewers often watch contestants struggle with games like Hole in One and the Dice Game, which require some skills or techniques.
Some fans believe the same is true for the popular longtime game Plinko.
Contestants can win a significant cash prize by placing their Plinko chips atop the gameboard and letting them fall to the money spots below.
A contestant typically leaves with all the money accumulated after dropping their chips.
In one recent The Price Is Right contestant’s situation, viewers may have believed she had terrible luck and might walk away with nothing.
TPIR featured a contestant’s ‘brutal’ game luck
A contestant was excited to start playing Plinko, and the crowd encouraged her on the first drop. However, her face soon turned from excitement to disappointment as her first chip landed in the $0 spot next to $10,000.
“Awwww,” host Drew Carey said after the buzzer sounded to indicate a loss.
“Just forget that ever happened,” he told the contestant before she dropped her second Plinko chip.
The woman said she wouldn’t “go over there” again, referring to where she dropped her first chip. Despite the second chip looking like it might land on $10,000, it also hit a $0 spot next to it.
“Come on, y’all, give me some good luck!” she yelled to the crowd as she held up her remaining chips.
“Here we go!” Drew said before watching it plummet to the $0 spot again.
“What in the heck?” he asked after her third chip resulted in no money.
She tried a new technique for dropping her fourth chip, and Drew called it “some mojo going on.” However, that, too, landed on $0.
“What is going on?” the contestant asked, perplexed over her terrible luck.
“A thousand bucks, thank god!” Drew said.
He shook the woman’s hand before advising her, “Don’t leave the house without an umbrella today.”
The contestant seemed to have a good sense of humor and appeared fine with getting to leave with $1,000 from Plinko.
Fans called contestant’s TPIR game ‘tough to watch’
Fans flooded the Instagram comment section to share their thoughts about the contestant’s moments playing Plinko.
One fan reminisced over the Bob Barker era, suggesting the late, great host would’ve asked, “Have we ever had a contestant play Plinko and hit the Zero 4 times in a row?”
“Man, they did her wrong!” another commenter said, suggesting it was the game show’s fault.
“How? She was the ones dropping the chips,” someone replied.
“This was tough to watch. She had all those chips, and hit zero four times in a row. I’m glad she ended up with something. Never seen it and like that,” an individual commented.
Another commenter said it was “brutal” and added, “at least she wasn’t empty-handed.”
Plinko debuted during the Bob Barker era
Plinko has been part of The Price Is Right for over 40 years. According to the game show’s Fandom Wiki, it initially appeared on the televised game show on January 3, 1983, when Bob Barker was host.
The main changes the game has undergone involve the amount of money contestants can win. During the Barker era, and up until October 1998, contestants could only win up to $25,000 since the center slot was worth $5,000.
The current version of Plinko has that $10,000 center spot, allowing contestants to win up to $50,000 if all five chips land on that spot.
The current primetime show, The Price Is Right at Night, gives contestants a chance at even more money. The center slot is worth $20,000, and contestants can win up to $100,000 from Plinko.
Some fans maintain that there are specific spots to drop Plinko chips to increase one’s chances of winning money. However, the contestant on the recent episode seemed to try just about everything and had four unlucky drops.