'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Raul Lopez Returned for a Second Chance Round

It's rare for Wheel of Fortune to feature a returning contestant, so when Raul Lopez of Texas returned after his first episode to compete again and hopefully take home the bonus round prize, it was a bit of a surprise for some viewers. It left some wondering why Raul is back on Wheel of Fortune and what made his story so compelling that he was asked to return for the following night's episode.

During his Wheel of Fortune debut on April 6, 2026, Raul made it to the bonus round but lost out on the Ford as the prize. Apparently, the game show gods had mercy on him, though, because he was asked back for the April 7 episode. Altogether, he walked home and back to college with a decent total prize, but why was Raul asked back in the first place?

Although it's more customary for contestants to have one shot at the longtime game show and then head home, either a few thousand dollars richer or totally empty-handed, according to CBS 19 News, there is a new format that Raul just so happened to be part of that enabled him to return the following episode.

Per the outlet, the winner from an episode gets to return for the next evening's game and continue to do so if they keep winning. The phase of the show was set to progress until the end of April 2026, so Raul made it on during the start of this promotion and got his own second chance. Although he didn't win the bonus round in his first episode, he got to come back because he solved the toss-up.

Raul explains on the show that he is a student at Texas A&M and, at just 19, he's pretty young by Wheel of Fortune standards. He admits that he skipped class to go on the show, and it's probably a good thing he did, since he got a little bit of internet fame from the experience, too. Following his second episode of Wheel of Fortune, Raul made some videos about his experience on Instagram, and people in the comments joked that he's "an influencer now."

It also helps Raul that his story of a young college kid with a charming personality appeared on the show. Naturally, people wanted him to come back, even if he hadn't won the toss-up at the end of his first episode.

After the first episode aired, one fan wrote on Reddit, "I want Raul to play every game. He was great and a pleasant kid. Too bad he missed the bonus round but looks like we will see him again tomorrow."

In total, Raul left Wheel of Fortune with a trip to Switzerland and Rome and more than $18,000. It's possible that if some kind of all-stars season ever happens, he could return again, given his two-episode streak and apparent fan love. But for now, Raul's time on Wheel of Fortune is ever, even if some viewers were a little shook at seeing him for a second night in a row.