Jeopardy! recap for Thur., Jul. 2 (encore from Jun. 3, 2019)

Here are today's very well-qualified contestants:

- Emma, a user experience librarian from Illinois, did her master's paper on Jeopardy!;
- Jay, a senior research engineer from Georgia, memorized the entire first edition of Trivial Pursuit; and
- James, a professional sports gambler from Nevada, whose daughter made Alex a get-well card. James is a 32-day champ with winnings of $2,462,216.


Emma scored on both DDs in DJ and as a result, for the first time James found himself out of the lead going into FJ with $23,400 vs. Emma at $26,600 and Jay with $11,000.

DD1, $1,000 - LITERATURE - The title peak of this Thomas Mann novel is home to a Swiss sanitorium (James wagered $1,000 on the first clue of the game.)

DD2, $800 - CAPITAL "A" - It's home to the annual United States Sailboat Show (Emma bet her entire $7,600 to take the lead from James, who had $12,600.)

DD3, $2,000 - POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY - On book covers from GOP lawmakers Jason Chaffetz & Mike Lee is this phrase for the bureaucracy said to be working against democracy (Emma wagered $3,000 from her score of $20,400 vs. $17,400 for James.)

FJ - SHAKESPEARE'S TIME - 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

All three players were correct on FJ, with Emma adding $20,201 to win with $46,801. James departs with $2,464,216, falling short of the regular game earnings record but with much more in Jeopardy! winnings sure to come in the future.

Triple Stumper of the day: As Alex pointed out, the only clue missed in the entire game was one about "paternalistic" Iowa state taxes on cigarettes.

Clue selection strategy: I found it very unusual that with one DD remaining, James went to a TV category with several others still untouched. James lost control and never got it back until after Emma found DD3 several clues later.

Fun with statistics: The probability of James losing any single game was often estimated at around 3 out of 100, so perhaps it's fitting that James lost a game almost exactly one-third of the way to 100 wins.

This day in Trebekistan: Alex got to use his Nixon impression several times, and as he signed off, he seemed almost moved to tears by the end of this legendary champion.

Correct Qs: DD1 - What is "The Magic Mountain"? DD2 - What is Annapolis? DD3 - What is deep state? FJ - Who was Christopher (Kit) Marlowe?