Folks, our favorite Jeopardy! robot was at it again on Tuesday.
After a near slip-up on Monday’s episode where James Holzhauer found himself not guaranteed to win going into Final Jeopardy and, ultimately, won by only $18, he was back to his usual absurdly-dominant self on Tuesday. Holzhauer ran the table on Daily Doubles, winning nearly $23,000 on them, then picked up an additional $40,000 in Final Jeopardy after entering with a preposterous lead over the second-place contestant of more than $48,000.
As Holzhauer encroaches on $1.5 million, which at $1,426,330 for his 19-day total after topping $96,000 on Tuesday, is within reach for him on Wednesday, the attention on Holzhauer’s run has brought some of Jeopardy!‘s greatest champions from yesteryear back into the spotlight.
Ken Jennings, the man Holzhauer is chasing for winnings during regular-season play, has been very active in discussing his thoughts on Holzhauer’s aggressive strategy and impressive run, and he, along with a few others recently spoke with the New York Times about the life-changing aspect of a sustained run on the show.
Money, of course, is the biggest thing, but it’s what that money and fame allows those champions to do that is most interesting. For Jennings, it allowed him to chase his passion for writing and quit his job as a computer programmer.
“The main thing that the show got me, honestly, is that I don’t work a 9-to-5 anymore,” Jennings said. “I’m a freelancer, so I can be here when my kids come home from school, I can drive them to the bus, I can go to the midday middle school choir concert. To me, that means more than the money, honestly.”
Others interviewed cited a similar freedom afforded to them to chase dreams, while Monica Thieu, who won the College Jeopardy tournament, was able to attend Stanford and is on her way to a Ph.D., which may not have been possible without that $100,000 in tuition money.
How Holzhauer’s life will change will be interesting, given that he’s a pro sports gambler. He’ll certainly have a much more robust bankroll, but he doesn’t have a traditional day job to quit. He’ll surely be flooded with offers to write books about his experience and strategy, but other than that, he seems likely to keep on doing his thing — that is, if he ever loses.
