James Holzhauer is fast becoming a household name among Jeopardy! enthusiasts, and in just eight nights of winning the game show, he’s already won $460,479.
That puts the professional sports gambler who lives in Las Vegas SECOND on the all-time money list. The title-holder there, of course, is Ken Jennings, who won $2,520,700 while winning a whopping 74 games in a row.
Obviously, Holzhauer — who smashed the one-day total record by winning $110,914 last week — has a looooong way to go if he wants to catch Jennings. But there’s something bigger going on here: What if he changes the way Jeopardy! is played forever?
The way he’s accrued so much cash in so little time is the way he handles Daily Doubles. Holzhauer bets a ton of money on them and usually wins:
I wonder if there are future contestants who will be more willing to risk over $10,000 per Daily Double if they’ve got the money. It gives Holzhauer a lot more cash to work with and more of a cushion to guess at answers instead of sitting back and not buzzing in.
Let’s see if he can keep it going. Only, er, 66 more wins and over $2 million to go to catch Jennings.
