Sign Up For Card Player's Newsletter And Free Bi-Monthly Online Magazine

Jeopardy Streak Ends At 32 Games For Las Vegas Sports Bettor

James Holzhauer Finished Just Shy Of Ken Jennings' All-Time Earnings Record, Finished With $2.46 Million

Print-icon
 

James Holzhauer’s epic Jeopardy! run ended on Monday’s episode, finishing just shy of Ken Jennings’ all-time earnings record.

Over his 32-game winning streak, Holzhauer won $2.46 million and set the record for the most money won in a single game. He also holds the next 14 spots on that leaderboard, but will finish just $58,484 short of Jennings’ all-time earnings mark of $2.52 million.

In his 33rd consecutive game, the professional sports bettor from Las Vegas lost to Emma Boettcher, a librarian from Chicago.

Heading into Final Jeopardy! Holzhauer was in uncharted territory. For the first time during his winning streak, Holzhauer was trailing. Holzhauer won $23,400 heading into the last round of the game, while Boettcher compiled $26,600.

The answer was “The line ‘a great reckoning in a little room’ in ‘As You Like It’ is usually taken to refer to this author’s premature death.”

Both Holzhauer and Boettcher correctly answered, “Who is Kit Marlowe?”

Holzhauer, who is known for his aggressive betting strategies, only wagered $1,399. Boettcher, on the other hand, wagered a whopping $20,201, ending Holzhauer’s streak with a $46,801 victory.

Regardless of what Holzhauer wagered on the last question, Boettcher would have won the match. She bet the exact amount that would keep Holzhauer from overtaking her with two correct responses. Had Holzhauer wagered it all, he would have fallen $1 shy of Boettcher’s total for the game.

“I lost to a really top-level competitor,” Holzhauer told media outlets after his loss. “She played a perfect game. And that was what it took to beat me.”

Holzhauer kept his sense of humor despite falling short of both Jennings’ all-time earnings record and his 74-game win streak.

Having hit the milestone in just 27 games, Holzhauer was the quickest player to hit $2 million in earnings. He reached seven-figures in winnings in just 14 games. He averaged a win of $77,000 per game.

According to The Jeopardy! Fan, Holzhauer answered 1,154 questions correctly out of 1,186 total answers. Jennings was the only player to answer more questions correctly.