Jeopardy! recap for Tue., Dec. 3

 Here are today's contestants:

- Stevie Ruiz, an assistant front office manager from Montauk, New York;

- Luca Gerace, a chef from Toronto, Ontario; and

- Evan Jones, a software designer from Seattle, Washington. Evan is a one-day champ with winnings of $17,199.

Jeopardy! 

A WALT WHITMAN SAMPLER // SOCIAL MEDIA // BRITSPEAK // OCCUPATIONAL TV // SECTS // "N", THE CITY

DD1 - $1,000 - SECTS - In the 19th century the Namdhari sect of this religion began wearing turbans straight across the forehead--no more jaunty angles (Evan doubled to $4,400.)

Scores at first break: Evan $1,400, Luca $2,600, Stevie $1,200.

Scores entering DJ: Evan $5,200, Luca $2,800, Stevie $2,000.

Double Jeopardy! 

ADMISSIBLE EDIFICE // A MIX OF SCIENCE // ARTIST BY ALBUMS // CAMERAS & PHOTOGRAPHY // ITALIAN EXPLORERS // 6 LETTERS, ENDS IN "Y"

DD2 - $1,200 - ITALIAN EXPLORERS - Last name of Niccolò & Maffeo, who in 1271 were given papal letters to present to Kublai Khan (Evan nearly doubled to $11,900 vs. $12,400 for Stevie.)

DD3 - $1,200 - CAMERAS & PHOTOGRAPHY - His first roll of pictures from a Brownie camera was developed at Pillsbury's Pictures in Old Yosemite Village (Evan lost $4,000 from his total of $14,300 vs. $12,400 for Stevie.)

There were several lead changes between Stevie and Evan in DJ, but Stevie had the strongest finish and was on top into FJ at $18,400 vs. $15,100 for Evan and $2,000 for Luca.

Final Jeopardy!

19th CENTURY EUROPEAN LITERATURE - An early version of this novel was first published as a serial under the title "The Year 1805"

Everyone was incorrect on FJ. Evan made a small wager from second and most of the time that strategy would have worked in this situation, but Stevie made a tiny bet of $413 to win with $17,987.

Final scores: Evan $11,799, Luca $1,980, Stevie $17,987.

Wagering strategy: This game illustrates a potential drawback of wagering from second to finish $1 ahead of the leader, assuming you are correct and first place bets $0. Stevie's bet of $413 would have won the game for him if both he and Evan had been correct. So if a player in Evan's situation has room to go bigger while still locking out third place, they probably should.

Triple Stumper of the day: Even with the Plaza and Golden Nugget hotels visible in the background, no one could name the "glitzy city" that's home to a Frank Gehry-designed medical facility, Las Vegas.

Correct Qs: DD1 - What is Sikhism? DD2 - Who was Polo? DD3 - Who was Ansel Adams? FJ - What is "War and Peace"?