'Jeopardy!' Star James Holzhauer Loses After 32 Straight Wins

[left-of-center2012]

After 32 straight wins and over $2.4 million in winnings, Jeopardy! star James Holzhauer has lost. Holzhauer’s final bout will air in most TV markets tonight, Monday June 3rd, though as Deadspin notes, a clip of the “Final Jeopardy!” question leaked Sunday, while the episode has already aired on several television stations.

As Jeopardy! tapes months in advance, Holzhauer had already had plenty of time to process the loss, and on Twitter he acknowledged the end of his remarkable run with some dry humor. Responding to a USA Today article published today that predicted he’d be around for a while, Holzhauer tweeted, “Timing is everything.” Later, he joked, “Knew I shouldn’t have invited Drake to the Jeopardy! taping,” referencing the meme that the musician jinxes any sports team or athlete he supports.

SPOILER ALERT BELOW THIS LINE
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While Holzhauer became known for running up scores and frequently going entire games without answering a question incorrectly, his final episode was a tighter affair that came down to “Final Jeopardy!” (spoilers ahead). The question — “The line ‘A great reckoning in a little room’ in [Shakespeare’s] As You Like It is usually taken to refer to this author’s premature death” — was easy enough that all three contestants answered it correctly (“Who is Christopher Marlowe?”). But Holzhauer wagered a conservative $1,399, bringing his total to $24,799, which allowed new champ Emma Boettcher to fly past him with a $20,201 wager that brought her total to $46,801.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/jeopardy-james-holzhauer-loss-total-winnings-843807/

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Good run. Good luck. Good-bye. Now back to normalcy.

[El Supremo]

6. "normalcy" was a non-word invented by the Coolidge campaign.

The real word is "normality".

[CurtEastPoint]

7. Didn't know that but...

says it was Harding: Return to normalcy, a return to the way of life before World War I, was United States presidential candidate Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan for the election ...

[SixString]

2. Hasn't aired here yet.

Thanks for the spoiler alert.

[left-of-center2012]

3. "will air in most TV markets tonight, Monday June 3rd" n/t

[SixString]

4. It airs here at 7:30 eastern.

You posted at 6:59 eastern.
Hence, spoiler.

[El Supremo]

5. Why only $1399?

Something to do with Richard II?

I think James tanked on purpose because his cheating had been discovered.

[Staph]

8. It was actually a smart bet, and the only choice he had.

Emma had more money than him, so if they both got the answer right (and she bet correctly), she was going to win.

From The Jeopardy! Fan website (https://thejeopardyfan.com/2019/06/final-jeopardy-6-3-2019.html):

There was absolutely nothing wrong with James’ Final Jeopardy bet of $1,399. He knew that Emma was overwhelmingly likely to bet what she did and, thus, his only chance of winning was if Emma did not get Final Jeopardy! correct. $1,399 ensures that his score stays above Jay’s and gives James the best chance of winning the game. Had James gone all-in, he would have finished at $46,800 and lost by $1.

(Edited to add: I was on Jeopardy, and studied betting strategies, as well as all of the usual categories. Curse you, Pitcairn Island! I was leading until Final Jeopardy, and couldn't come up with the island that the Bounty ended up on.)

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. Well boo. Had them all taped and saw your title :(