It had to happen eventually, but why so soon?

[tpir04]

Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer loses after amassing $2,466,216 over the course of 33 games.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/arts/television/james-holzhauer-jeopardy.html

I don't usually subscribe to conspiracy theories, but just one game away from toppling Ken Jennings just seems too strange. I'm not accusing anybody of anything, but rather, I'm opening it up for discussion.

A couple initial points here:

1) Why did James wager only $1399 when he was in second place? His wagers are always upwards of $10,000, so such a paltry wager seems peculiar.

2) Rigging Jeopardy! would cause a heck of an S&P issue.

3) Jeopardy! and Sony have a lot to lose if they were found guilty.

Discuss away!

[NickintheATL]

Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer loses after amassing $2,466,216 over the course of 33 games.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/arts/television/james-holzhauer-jeopardy.html

I don't usually subscribe to conspiracy theories, but just one game away from toppling Ken Jennings just seems too strange. I'm not accusing anybody of anything, but rather, I'm opening it up for discussion.

A couple initial points here:

1) Why did James wager only $1399 when he was in second place? His wagers are always upwards of $10,000, so such a paltry wager seems peculiar.

2) Rigging Jeopardy! would cause a heck of an S&P issue.

3) Jeopardy! and Sony have a lot to lose if they were found guilty.

Discuss away!

I think any insinuation that there was rigging going on is totally preposterous. I think he just got flat out beat at his own strategy and outplayed by a great new champion. End of discussion.

[blozier2006]

Actually, there is an explanation for the $1,399 wager...

http://j-archive.com/wageringcalculator.php?a=26600&b=23400&c=11000&player_a=Emma&player_b=James&player_c=Jay

[PatrickRox80]

The show isn't fixed. He got beat, plain and simple. It was only a matter of time before someone else caught onto how James was playing and used his skills against him.

[ooboh]

I personally think he threw the game because he was getting tired, in addition to a player who used his strategy.

I only wish he hadn’t quit before the record.

[Ccook]

That he'll be back for the Tournament of Champions is a no-brainer. But how will he wager on Daily Doubles and Final seeing as how money scores in Tournament play are really just virtual points?

[JayC]

Emma just did a phenomenal job tonight and beat James at his own game. James getting the first round Daily Double on the first selection and then Emma getting both of the round 2 Daily Doubles and Jay getting enough correct to keep James in second place sealed it provided Emma got the Final correct. What James was able to do was incredible, we'll see how long it takes for another similar run to happen.

[gamesurf]

Not trying to jinx him, but James is on pace to better Ken Jennings’ $2.52 million mark in a total of 37 appearances.

If he can last that long. Players that live by the Daily Doubles die by the Daily Doubles.

Called it a month and a half ago! Though he did come darn close

I personally think he threw the game because he was getting tired, in addition to a player who used his strategy.

I only wish he hadn’t quit before the record.

"Yeah, I have a part-time job that pays $150,000 an hour... but I'm just so tired of it! Better quit."

[mechamind]

I personally think he threw the game because he was getting tired, in addition to a player who used his strategy.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't getting tired. The $1399 wager was an advantageous strategy based on him being in 2nd place before Final. A $1399 loss would still lock out the contestant behind him, and his wager was low enough to beat the leader if everyone got it wrong.

How much has the Bob Barker studio been averaging per show? I don't think it's as high as the Holzhauer, and Price is a 60-minute show!

[mellongraig]

It was just unfortunate that the outcome was given by a leak on Sunday night when many of us watching on station affiliates didn't see it yet, and I think they need to be more careful from now on when everyone has seen it to reveal the outcome for that night. If anything I think the person who leaked the outcome should be fired.

[htmlcc92]

I had been curious how it was even leaked? Wouldn't the only people who have access be television station employees of the stations that air Jeopardy! or Sony employees? I did see Jeopardy! posted the episode in its entirety on YouTube tonight (luckily since my affiliate is airing hockey tonight and therefore Jeopardy! isn't on until 9:30 p.m. Pacific, when I'm getting ready for bed.)


I really enjoyed James' run and looked forward to seeing how much he would add to his total day after day.

[gamesurf]

Just one more thing, I know this probably wasn't your intention but I can't let this pass without comment

I don't usually subscribe to conspiracy theories, but just one game away from toppling Ken Jennings just seems too strange. I'm not accusing anybody of anything, but rather, I'm opening it up for discussion.

If nobody is accusing anybody of anything, there is no discussion to be had. By bringing it up for discussion, you're kind of accusing it. That may not be your intention, but framing the conversation that way is going to imply that there is evidence that he threw his game.

Ken came "just one game away" of beating an international game show record held by guy that won 75 games on a British show. Also, the new Avengers movie is the only movie in a decade to even come close to threatening Avatar's box office record, but it's projected to come less than 2% short.

There's roughly the same amount of evidence that Holzhauer threw his game, as there is of Ken taking a payout from Ian Lygo to take a dive, or of James Cameron paying off theaters to keep his record safe.

That's just the way the cookie crumbled. They came close to the record but couldn't pull it across the finish line. That doesn't mean they aren't worthy of celebration. They're still once-in-a-generation events that are incredibly noteworthy in their fields. Instead of choosing to come up with nefarious reasons why they "almost" were #1, let's choose to celebrate amazing achievements for what they are.

[gamesurf]

I had been curious how it was even leaked? Wouldn't the only people who have access be television station employees of the stations that air Jeopardy! or Sony employees? I did see Jeopardy! posted the episode in its entirety on YouTube tonight (luckily since my affiliate is airing hockey tonight and therefore Jeopardy! isn't on until 9:30 p.m. Pacific, when I'm getting ready for bed.)


I really enjoyed James' run and looked forward to seeing how much he would add to his total day after day.

Contestants have to sign NDA's, but audience members don't.

With the intense media attention he's been getting, it just takes two or three people in the audience to blab on social media "Hey, I was a part of history! Here's a hot tip--watch Monday, he loses", and then a media outlet picks up the story and the cat's out of the bag.

If it were possible for TPIR to have an event that attracted the sort of continuous media attention as Holzhauer's run, it would have the same issue.

[ooboh]

"Yeah, I have a part-time job that pays $150,000 an hour... but I'm just so tired of it! Better quit."

Well, seeing as he’s made enough money to be set for life, even after taxes, not to mention the fact that he’ll have the Tournament of Champions and other opportunities after this, I’d guess that it would be hard for him to be entertained. He was either burned out or didn’t go 100%

[bluedevil]

The videos of final jeopardy on the June 3rd, 2019 episode first appeared on YouTube late Saturday night.