‘Jeopardy!’: Risky Daily Double Wager Leads to Contestant’s Big Win

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Sometimes taking a chance and going all in on Daily Doubles is worth it. It paid off for one Jeopardy! contestant, and it led to a big win.

Emily Burnham, from Bangor, Maine, went into her second game with a total of $17,201. In game two, she played against Carolyn Langton, from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and Nikolas Polsinelli, from Winter Park, Florida. Warning: Spoilers for the Thursday, September 24 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

Polsinelli, a student, had the lead of $3,200 when he found the Daily Double on clue eight. He wagered all of his money in “Organizations.”

The clue read, “Rex Stout, Mary Higgins Clark & Lisa Scottoline have all been president of this, the MWA.” He didn’t have a response. Polsinellie dropped to $0 since the response was The Mystery Writers.

By the end of the round, Langton, an application developer, had the lead with $3,200. Burnham, a writer and editor, had $2,400. Poslinelli was in third place with $1,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Poslinelli found the DD on clue two. He had $2,600 and wagered $1,800. The clue in “Ancient ‘H’istory” was “One in London & one in NYC, the obelisks known as Cleopatra’s Needles once stood in this Egyptian ‘city of the sun’.”

“What is Heliopolis?” Poslinelli correctly answered. This gave him the lead with  $4,400.

Burnham took the lead and had it for most of the round. When she found the second DD on clue 16, she was in second place with $9,600.

The game show contestant wagered $3,400 in “Quasi-Related Paris.” The clue read, “Acronym for nuke-limiting agreements from the 1970s & to beat with repeated punches.”

“What is to pummel?” Burnham answered incorrectly. The correct response was salt and pepper. She dropped down to $6,200.

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At the end of the round, Polsinelli took the lead with $13,200. Langton had $8,800. Burnham was not too far behind with $8,200.

“U.S. Geography” was the Final Jeopardy category. The clue read, “Meaning ‘endless’ & ‘grassy open place’, this name for a region of thousands of square miles first appeared on a map in 1823.”

Only one of the contestants had the correct response. Both Burnham and Langton responded with “What is a prairie?”

Burnham wagered $5,001, giving her $3,199. Langton’s wager was everything, so she ended with $0.

Polsinelli responded with “What is the Everglades?” He wagered $4,401, making his final total $17,601. He will return on Friday for his second game.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock