Jeopardy contestant James Holzhauer wins 10th night in a row
The Las Vegas resident is a professional sports gambler
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeopardy contestant James Holzhauer has broken his own single-day record on the game show.
On Wednesday, Holzhauer, who has come out on top for 10 straight episodes, won $131,127 - beating his previous record of $110,914 set last week.
But the contestant’s impressive run isn’t just down to luck, as the 34-year-old is actually a professional sports gambler.
His technique relies heavily on going for the Daily Double as well as betting large amounts during Final Jeopardy.
On Wednesday, Holzhauer bet $60,013 for the final category question related to 20th Century Literary Characters: “His first name refers to the ancient district in which you’d find the Greek capital; his surname is a bird.”
The gamble paid off as he won with the correct answer: “Who is Atticus Finch?”
Despite his success so far, Holzhauer is still in second place when it comes to most winnings earned on the show, as first place is held by former contestant Ken Jennings, 44, who won more than $2.5m in 2004 when he won 74 games straight.
While Holzhauer still has a ways to go - he is currently at a total earnings of $697,787 - Jennings himself is impressed with his technique.
“This is absolutely insane,” Jennings wrote on Twitter. “I’ve always wanted to see someone try Jeopardy! Wagering this way who had the skills to back it up.”
Other viewers also had praise for the contestant.
“Holzhauer has totally changed Jeopardy,” one person wrote. “The game won’t be the same again. Exciting stuff.”
Another said: "Thought about taking the Jeopardy online test but decided to wait a couple years until James Holzhauer is no longer on the show."
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