What do prize puzzles and Hoboken have in common? Brian Davis.

It isn’t often that a person goes on “Wheel of Fortune” once. It’s even less common for someone to appear on the show twice. However, for Davis, a Penn State alum, that’s exactly what happened.

Davis first made waves on the beloved game show in 2020, when his enthusiastic shoutouts to his hometown earned him the unofficial title of “King of Hoboken.” Although he walked away from his first appearance with no winnings, Davis gained a quirky kind of fame after repeating “Hoboken” more than 50 times during the episode.

Fast forward to this past May, Davis found himself back under the bright lights of “Wheel of Fortune” for a second chance at glory. This time around, he faced off against other memorable contestants, winning a total of $2,000, while also being a part of Pat Sajak’s last show filming. Though the stakes were higher, Davis was ready to spin the wheel once again, bringing his signature charm and, of course, his Hoboken and Penn State pride back to the stage.

Davis first stepped foot on Penn State’s campus in the summer of 2008 as an undecided studies student, eventually graduating in 2012 with a degree in accounting. Once he got into the real world post-graduation, Davis started his career as an accountant in Hoboken before switching to pharmaceutical sales roughly six years later.

Growing up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, becoming a local celebrity or making television was never really in Davis’ cards. That was until one fateful night in 2015 when Davis and his roommate were at a bar in Hoboken and “Wheel of Fortune” was playing on TV. After being convinced by his buddies to start making self-audition tapes, Davis realized this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“I made the joke, ‘You want me to get on that TV show?” Davis said. “So, we started making audition tapes, and they just progressively got funnier and funnier. More and more people started to observe it and like it. I got very fortunate.”

Once his tapes started to gain more traction, eventually Davis landed an audition, making what started off as a drunken joke slowly turn into a potential reality. During his initial audition, Davis went to New York, though he admitted that he didn’t perform very well.

In 2016, he again decided to submit a second tape and went to the audition in Brooklyn but didn’t make the cut for a second time. One year later, Davis made yet another audition tape and decided to try his luck for a third time.

He landed another audition but couldn’t attend due to a vacation he already had planned, leading to him pleading to the contestant department of the show and asking if there was another time and place he could audition. Eventually, the show agreed to let him audition in August 2018. Finally, after almost three years worth of auditions, Davis auditioned one more time in Washington, D.C., with two of his Penn State friends housing him.

One month later, Davis received his acceptance letter to be on “Wheel of Fortune” in the mail. He said that he had over 40 people ask if they could join him, however, he could only bring close family and friends.

Due to his progression from his first to his fourth audition tape, the producers loved Davis’ humor and could tell that he would be playing not just for himself, but for the people and city of Hoboken.

“Going out the first time, knowing you’re playing in front of 10 million people, it was nerve-wracking, for sure,” Davis said. “I just went out there and did my thing… Pat Sajak and I were going back and forth with each other — he thought it was funny because I said Hoboken every other word and made jokes about it throughout the episode.”

Although he went home winning nothing, it was clear that Davis’ charm lies in his personality, not his puzzle-solving or gameshow skills. Davis ended up plugging Hoboken nearly 55 times in the span of the 30-minute show.

“I hit bankrupt on every single spin,” Davis said. “But at the end of it, it was just an outstanding experience — it was funny. Everybody had a good time, and even my guys back at Penn State, who said it was going to be the worst game show experience ever, contacted me and said it was the best thing they’ve ever seen. It was just a great experience all the way around.”

Once his episode aired, Davis hosted a watch party, along with residents of Hoboken and several Penn Staters.

“Even the mayor showed up to the watch party,” Davis shared. “We had about 100-150 people show up. Guys from work came and we watched the episode. And you know, after the episode, the mayor mentioned to me, ‘Brian, you threw a watch party knowing you won $0.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m just here for the people. It doesn’t matter if I win or lose.'”

Four years after the premiere of his episode, Davis got a call from the producers of the show out of the blue, saying they’d like him to make an appearance on the show’s “Fan Favorites” episode. So, Davis, along with nearly a dozen past contestants who made their marks on the show, were lucky enough to test out their luck one more time.

“There were contestants on the show from the ’90s and early 2000s that were fan favorites, as well,” Davis said. “So, it was great to be a part of the history of the show… No one’s ever been on it twice, besides the fan favorites, so that’s an honor in itself.”

During the Fan Favorites episode, Davis entertained the audience and host Sajak with anecdotes about his time in Hoboken and his love for Penn State. Due to his popularity and comedic bits, he’s become a bit of a local celebrity thanks to his first appearance on the show — even more so his second time around.

Davis got back in the groove of the game show life, joined by a handful of his close friends and family, who he says were the loudest out of everyone in the crowd on filming day. This time, he went out with more than $0.

“[The producers] said to me, ‘We want you to keep doing the Hoboken bit,” Davis said. “At that point, they got me back on the show, I said Hoboken a bunch, and threw another watch party. The mayor showed up again, and this time I actually won $2,000 on one puzzle… I got the phrase ‘cold pool plunge.'”

Davis said he had the pleasure and honor of working with Sajak twice, right before he retired from the show before being replaced by current host Ryan Seacrest. Having been a part of the show’s history in that capacity is something that Davis says he will never forget.

After the show aired, Davis used that money to create a new dating app called “Greenlight” with one of his best friends. The app allows users to use geolocation at specific bars, giving other users the “greenlight” to approach them, talk to them, or buy them a drink.

As for Davis’ game show era, he wants to move on from it and focus on improving and monetizing his app.

“I’m hanging up ‘Wheel of Fortune,'” Davis said. “It’s time to move on from that. I got my two times of 15 minutes of fame. As for other game shows, if someone calls, obviously I’ll entertain it, but I don’t know — that’s not really where I want to be. It was just a great experience, and I’m glad I got to do it twice, but I’m putting the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ thing to bed.”