Jeopardy champ wins again

[superstar]

J'PARDY JENNINGS HIS #18

By MICHAEL STARR


June 26, 2004 -- ANSWER: He has been an unstoppable "Jeopardy!" champion.
Question: Who is Ken Jennings?

Jennings fought to another victory — but just barely — last night, bringing his consecutive-night "Jeopardy!" winning streak to 18 and his total winnings to $601,760.

Unlike his past victories, however, Jennings had some trouble with competitor Michael Cudahy, a Los Angeles musician, battling tooth-and-nail and beating Cudahy by the slim margin of $4,800. Third competitor Chris Edwards, a project manager, wasn't a factor.

Both Jennings and Cudahy answered the Final Jeopardy question correctly: "In 1901, U.S. Surgeon General Walter Wyman helped establish a hospital in Hawaii for this disease" ("What is leprosy?")

Jennings, who develops software for a healthcare company, is married with a young son. He's a graduate of Brigham Young University — and says he'll donate 10 percent of his winnings to the Mormon Church.

 

[charliepeete]

rumor has him winning a bunch more if u want to know just ask.

 

[picasso]

CNN had an article on it the other day:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/23/jeopardy.winner.ap/index.html

 

[bucsfan67]

I hadnt watched the show in a long time, didnt they used to have to retire after 5 wins?

and i noticed that now the money is double in the first round, then doubled what it used to be in the second round...alot more up for grabs now...used to be good to win 20,000 on a day, now that should be pretty easy....

still impressive feat, anyway u look at it..

 

[RobFunk]

'...Two "Jeopardy!" rule changes over the years have helped Jennings set the record.

"Jeopardy!" recently dropped a restriction that limits champions to only five days on the show. The value of the questions are also worth double what they used to be...'


I know there have been a ton of champs to go 5 days in the past, tough to say if this guy would be looking at a record had the rules been the same all along.

 

[RobFunk]

bucsfan, exactly

 

[mickj]

27 & counting...He's won over 800,000

 

[SportSavant]

Is he still going? when is the next show?

 

[trytrytry]

Cant ESPN add him in Record Breaking category next year for an ESPY??? Amazing guy!

 

[mickj]

It's a syndicated show on every weekday SS.

 

[UncleMoneybags]

On average I watch Jeopardy! 2-3 times a week. While his run is impressive, I find him to be guessing quite a bit as the producers put little hints in most of the clues to help you if you don't know that category too well. A couple of weeks back he struggled with a boxing category that I'm sure most Rx'ers would ace. That said, it's sad to see him pistol-whipping some of the other contestants with his signaling speed. You need to be aggressive to have a shot as was the case in the original post.

 

[MondoMan]

I havent missed a jeopardy in 3 weeks.

This guy is amazing. I dont even get a baseball score or watch a game until after Jeopardy.

I dont even watch the 7:00 Seinfeld, which i watch religously even thoough ive seen them all 8 times at least

 

[aawied]

Wins much more they will have to bar him.

 

[silver7]

They won`t bar him! The little bit he wins is multiplied meny times over by the interest created and thus increased ratings. He IS quick and has a wide range of knowledge. But he also has run into some poor competition, they won`t pull the trigger when they get a chance @ dbl jep. Women are the worst afraid to take a chance even when it`s the only chance. I saw a gal one time the leader had 35 grand or so she had about 10 and on the last question which was a dbl jep only bet 5??? DUH!

 

[Royler]

"They won`t bar him! The little bit he wins is multiplied meny times over by the interest created and thus increased ratings."

Agreed: I haven't watched Jeopardy in years, but I'm fascinated by this guy.

"I saw a gal one time the leader had 35 grand or so she had about 10 and on the last question which was a dbl jep only bet 5??? DUH!"

Uh, maybe she wanted to keep some money? LOL! Sounds like she had no chance of winning the game anyway, so you might as well go home with something.

What some people don't realize is that Jeopardy tapes five shows a DAY. Ken has really only been on the show for a week, but he's had to face TEN fresh contestants in a row each day. Anyone can see how easy it would be to screw up simply out of mental fatigue at that point, especially when the guy next to you just woke up from his power nap.

IMO, that makes Ken's accomplishment all that much more impressive.

And I'm REALLY glad to see people interested in a phenomenon that's centered around intelligence, as opposed to worshipping idiot athletes who couldn't spell their home state without help.

 

[mickj]

Silver is saying in his example if she bet enough to have more than half of the leaders balance she would have a shot if she got the questions right.

 

[max1234]

what is his dollar total up to now?

 

[mickj]

850 something

 

[silver7]

You put it in greater detail than I did. I thought it was self explanatory but thanks. Obvious but I think quickness is almost the most important attribute. The other nite Wed. I think he was wide open to be beat, he had around 12 or so and a gal had about 5 she played 3 on a dbl, an easy question I thought and blew it. The segment ended, he missed the final but she didn`t have enough left to make a difference. So he has been vulnerable!

 

[Royler]

You guys are making me feel like I'm the crazy one.

I understand what you're saying, but you seem to be coming from the angle that trying to win the day is the only goal in mind.

Sure, you can risk a lot of money on a Daily Double or Final Jeopardy to try and close a gap, but if you LOSE, you're out that cash. Some people don't care about winning: they're perfectly happy with five or ten grand to take home. Hell, I would be, too...and I'm not so sure I'd risk it for a chance to win more.

You guys understand the losers keep the money they've made, right? Maybe that's where this conversation is breaking down. Hell, even if the third place finisher has $200, he/she is guaranteed a minimum $1,000 to take home.

If Ken has $18,000 and I have $9,000 late in the game, to hell with risking that 9k just so I can play catch-up. I'm pefectly happy with that money.