Longtime 'Wheel of Fortune' host Pat Sajak was like a lucky rabbit's foot for students at one of Central Michigan University's residence halls back in the 1980s.

'Wheel' Contestant Shares Cute Pat Sajak Story

Nina Lance got to take home $11,500 on the iconic game show 'Wheel of Fortune' and during the contestant introduction portion of the show, shared a delightful story about Pat Sajak's role as a good luck charm.

Lance is a resident of Denver, North Carolina, about an hour north of Charlotte. She made her appearance on 'Wheel' last night and noted that her father was a student at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant during the 1980s.

"Now this is a weird story," Sajak said as he introduced Lance. "There's something about me, my picture up at Central Michigan, explain."

Lance explained that her father was a CMU student back in the 1980s, studying with a group of friends at the (since demolished) Barnard Hall. Many of those students looked to the game show host for good luck.

"There was a group of students at Barnard Hall that worshiped you," Nina explained. "To the extent that they put a portrait of you at Barnard Hall and they even deemed it a symbol of good luck to touch the portrait of Pat Sajak whenever walking through."

"I'm like a rabbit's foot," quipped Sajak, as he noted that it was her good fortune to get chosen for the show.

Startled by Sajak

In the end, Lance was edged out by contestant Courtney Tam from California who went on to win $15,700. Nina was startled when Mr. Sajak approached her during the goodbye portion of the show.

Realizing he'd made her jump a bit, Sajak made another reference to the CMU anecdote.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he started to say. "Your father once touched my face."

Take a look at the clip below. Nina's introductory story begins at the 2:00 mark (we've cued it up for you) and the goodbye portion starts at 16:40.

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