‘Jeopardy!’ champ wins again; second to top $1M
Jeopardy! contestant and professional sports better James Holzhauer joins SVP to break down his success on the show. (1:55)
Las Vegas sports bettor James Holzhauer is the second “Jeopardy!” contestant ever to win more than $1 million during a daily run on the iconic game show.
Holzhauer won $118,816 during Tuesday’s episode, the second-largest single-day total in the show’s 35 seasons. That brought his 14-day total to $1,061,554.
In just 14 episodes, Holzhauer is already second on the show’s all-time regular-play winnings list, behind Ken Jennings, who racked up more than $2.5 million during a record 74-game winning streak in 2004. Jennings eclipsed $1 million in winnings in 33 games, according to community website thejeopardyfan.com. Holzhauer has done it in 14 games.
Holzhauer is on pace to surpass Jennings’ record winnings in 33 games. Including Tuesday’s episode, he has authored the top seven single-day performances and is averaging more than $75,000 per day.
His current high mark of $131,127 came in his 10th appearance. Before Holzhauer, no other contestant had won more than $77,000 during a single episode. And Tuesday’s performance was one of his best yet.
Holzhauer, 34, went into Final Jeopardy! on Tuesday with $68,816. Second-place contestant Claudia Waters had $8,400. Holzhauer wagered $50,000 and had the correct response for “On May 1, 1869, these men met at the White House, four years and three weeks after a more historic meeting between them.”
“Who are Grant and Lee?” Holzhauer wrote in his response.
Holzhauer, who is a respected sports bettor at multiple Las Vegas sportsbooks, gave 41 correct responses and only one incorrect response during Tuesday’s episode.
“The guy is amazing,” “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek said of Holzhauer to close the show.