‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Will Yancey Reveals He Lived in RV Before Winning Game Show
What is… living a better life? Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament contestant revealed that he used to live in an RV until appearing on the show allowed him to buy a house.
During the last quarterfinals episode of the JIT on February 12, Yancey, from Gadsden, Alabama, played against Adriana Harmeyer and Long Nguyen. Although Long beat out Yancey for a place in the semifinals, he did share a story about how Jeopardy! helped him get back on his feet.
The segment was posted to Jeopardy!’s Instagram page on the night of his game. “A home and a riding lawnmower. What else could you need?” it was captioned.
Host Ken Jennings asked the history lecturer during the interviews what he did with his winnings from his previous games. Yancey lost his initial game, taking home $2,000 for third place in September 2024. However, he got to compete in the Second Chance Tournament that year and won the game and $35,000. Yancey then advanced to the Champions Wildcard Tournament, where he won $40,000 for second place. He then received $5,000 for coming in third during the JIT. This gave him a total of $82,000 before taxes.
While that might not seem like much compared to other Jeopardy! players, it allowed him to buy a house for himself and his wife. “You were a Second Chance winner, second runner-up in Champions Wildcard that year,” Jennings said.
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“What did you do with the winnings, now that you’re a Jeopardy! cash winner?”
“I bought a house,” Yancey revealed.
“Congratulations! That’s great,” the host replied.
Yancey thanked the crowd as they clapped for him, but then he revealed a shocking part of his story. “My wife and I have been living in an RV.”
“Really?” Jennings asked.
“We’ve been trying to save money, pay off some debt, and so I was able to put a down payment on a house,” Yancey revealed. “We’ve got a big enough yard that I had to justify me getting a riding lawnmower.”
“A riding lawnmower!” Jennings said. “The American dream!”
“I’m proud of that,” Yancey revealed.
“Truly the American dream,” a fan commented.
“You dropped this, Will 👑,” Jeopardy! contestant Geoff Barnes commented.
Love ya, brother!” Yancey replied.
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