Latest news with #Riccardi
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Jeopardy' season finale ends with a stunning final upset
We have ourselves quite the upset in the Season 41 finale of Jeopardy! Scott Riccardi -- an engineer from New Jersey -- entered Friday's episode on a 16-day win streak, the 10th best of all time. He won $455,000, which is eighth in terms of earnings in the regular season. And he faced Jonathan, who had enough money to challenge Riccardi in Final Jeopardy, which was this clue: "According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, 8 radio stations, 2 movie companies & $56 million in real estate." MORE JEOPARDY: Champions weren't the first married winners The answer? Who is Hearst? But if you had Howard Hughes on the brain -- I did too! -- that's where Riccardi went. And he lost. Streak over. But what a run it was! Check out this super-dramatic moment from the season finale: Congrats on the win streak, Scott. It's been an incredible run.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NJ man qualifies for 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions. How long could his streak last?
A New Jersey man's latest win on "Jeopardy!" ensures he will be back for the quiz show's coveted end-of-season tournament later in the year. Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, claimed his fifth consecutive victory July 9 to qualify him for the Season 41 Tournament of Champions. The annual competition is generally reserved for contestants who earn at least five "Jeopardy!" wins, although the show may invite champions with fewer victories if there are not enough five-game winners. The Tournament of Champions tracker shows Riccardi trails only four people — an eight-game champion and a trio of six-game winners — in the number of victories so far this season. However, his total winnings of $144,902 and counting are already the most of any contestant this year, more than $7,000 ahead of the runner-up. Riccardi earned $12,500 in his most recent win, the lowest payout of his five-game run, after playing it safe for the Final Jeopardy clue to ensure he could not be caught. His $12,000 total after both "Jeopardy!" rounds was more than double the $5,400 accumulated by second-place Sarah Mulligan, resulting in a modest $500 wager for his last guess of the episode. With his victory already assured, Riccardi was the only one of the three contestants to respond correctly in Final Jeopardy, in the category "Ancient Builders." The clue: "A 2nd c. inscription in Northern England records that the gods imposed 'the necessity of keeping intact the empire' on this man." The answer: "Who is Hadrian?" Riccardi will look to continue his "Jeopardy!" reign against two new challengers July 10. The dates of the next Tournament of Champions have not yet been announced. This article originally appeared on Scott Riccardi of Somerville NJ wins fifth 'Jeopardy!' game Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scott Riccardi of New Jersey extends 'Jeopardy!' streak to 15; cracks Top 10 on money list
Scott Riccardi of New Jersey extended his "Jeopardy!" winning streak to 15 games on July 23 and cracked the Top 10 of the regular-season money list on the long-running show. Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville and 2021 Rutgers graduate, began his winning streak on July 3 and has career earnings of $430,910. He is now in eighth place on the all-time regular-season highest money winnings list and one more win would tie him for 10th on the consecutive wins list, according to the "Jeopardy!" website. On the Wednesday, July 23 show, he defeated fellow New Jerseyan, Gerri Budd, an adjunct professor and small business owner from Nutley, and Andrew Crowley, a freelance writer from Henderson, Nevada. As he has done of late, Riccardi had a commanding lead entering Final Jeopardy (more than triple the next closet competitor in this game). The Final Jeopary was: "Opened in 1902, it's 87 feet in width on the 22nd Street side & less than 7 feet wide at its narrowest point on 23rd Street." Both Riccardi and Budd knew the New York City Final Jeopardy answer: "What is the Flatiron Building?" The final money totals were: Riccardi with $40,008, Crowley $9,000 and Budd $6,300. Riccardi is by far the winningest contestant on this season of the long-running game show. According to the show's Tournament of Champions tracker, Riccardi's streak has him ahead of eight-time champ Laura Faddah on this season's leaderboard. The season began Sept. 9, 2024 and three other contestants have reached the six-game threshold. He also has already qualified for the Season 41 Tournament of Champions. The annual competition is generally reserved for contestants who earn at least five "Jeopardy!" wins, although the show may invite champions with fewer victories if there are not enough five-game winners. Staff writer Kyle Morel contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on NJ's Scott Riccardi extends 'Jeopardy!' streak to 15 games Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
By the numbers: How Scott Riccardi compares to Top 10 'Jeopardy!' champions
Scott Riccardi's "Jeopardy!" winning streak has reached 15 games, moving the New Jersey native closer to a place among the long-running quiz show's all-time greats. Riccardi, an engineer Somerville, won $40,008 on the July 23 episode, earning him a 15th consecutive win that has resulted in $430,910 and counting. He already has the longest run of Season 41, ahead of eight-time champ Laura Faddah, and has accrued the most money, more than two-and-a-half times the previous high mark of $137,804. Riccardi is averaging about $28,000 per victory. The lofty total is due not only to his trivia prowess but also for his repeated willingness to bet big, and often correctly, despite insurmountable leads heading into Final Jeopardy. If his streak runs through the end of the week, Riccardi will be among the Top 10 "Jeopardy!" contestants all time in terms of consecutive games won during the regular season. He is currently behind Ryan Long, who won 16 straight games during Season 38 in 2022. How does Riccardi's pace stack up to some of the "Jeopardy!" legends? Here is how the Top 10 so-called "superchampions" performed through 13 games, courtesy of the show's archive website. Longest 'Jeopardy!' winning streaks Ken Jennings: The current "Jeopardy!" host holds the record for most consecutive wins, by far, with 74 across Seasons 20 and 21 in 2004. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Jennings was already on an impressive run by his 13th game, earning $440,158 in that time. Amy Schneider: The runner-up on the all-time leaderboard with 40 wins, Schneider got off to an even hotter start than Jennings in Season 38. Her winnings after her 13th game totaled $536,400. Matt Amodio: The eventual 38-game champ in Seasons 37 and 38 had a pace slightly below Jennings by game 13, earning $430,200. James Holzhauer: No surprise for a contestant who has the 10 highest single-game scores in "Jeopardy!" history, Holzhauer had accrued a whopping $942,738 after his 13th win during Season 35 in 2019. Holzhauer's streak stretched to 32 games and more than $2.4 million before he finally lost. Mattea Roach: The contestant with the fifth-longest win streak is also the first whose pace is below Riccardi's. Roach, who would go on to win 23 games in Season 38, had earned $286,081 following game 13. Cris Pannullo: A fellow New Jerseyan, Ocean City native Pannullo is the highest-grossing champion from the Garden State. He had already earned $416,102 after his 13th win in Season 39 and would run his streak to 21 games. Julia Collins: Collins' 20-game run in Season 30 made her the winningest female contestant in "Jeopardy!" history at the time. She won $261,410 over her first 13 games, more than $100,000 behind Riccardi's total over the same time span. Jason Zuffranieri: Zuffranieri won 19 consecutive games across Seasons 35 and 36. He earned $361,943 following his 13th win, narrowly trailing Riccardi's pace by less than $1,000. David Madden: Another 19-game winner, Madden compiled his wins in Seasons 21 and 22. His earnings at the time of his 13th game totaled $305,101, more than $50,000 less than Riccardi. Ryan Long: After 13 wins of his aforementioned 16-game streak in Season 38, Long had won $252,700, the lowest total of any champion in the top 10. This article originally appeared on By the numbers: How Scott Riccardi compares to top 'Jeopardy!' champs Solve the daily Crossword
Indianapolis Star
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
How did Fishers firefighter Jeff Hague do on Jeopardy! Monday night?
Captain Jeff Hague, a firefighter with the City of Fishers, got to live out a "lifelong dream" Monday when he appeared on the popular quiz show "Jeopardy!" The Carmel resident competed against Anna Ciamporcero, a stay-at-home mom from Connecticut, and 12-time defending champion, Scott Riccardi, an engineer from New Jersey. Hague made a valiant effort but the firefighter's hopes of moving on to Tuesday's game were extinguished after a third place finish. Here's what happened. Hague has served the City of Fishers as a firefighter for more than 20 years and was recently promoted in late April to the rank of Captain. The firefighter and paramedic kindled a long burning ambition to appear on "Jeopardy!," according to a social media post the department put out Sunday. "We're proud to cheer on one of our own," a spokesperson said, calling Hague's appearance on the hit quiz show "living a lifelong dream." Hague buzzed in a total of 10 times in the first round and four times in Double Jeopardy, according to data from the show, answering 12 questions correctly. At the end of the first round, Hague was in second place with $2,200 to Riccardi's $5,400. The New Jersey engineer managed to pull much further ahead in the Double Jeopardy round, ending with $35,400 against Ciamporcero and Hague, who had $4,600. The Final Jeopardy question stumped two of the three contestants. The category was "Mythological Places" and the clue was: "A 17th Century English Translation of the 'Aeneid' rhymes 'My Soul Remains' and 'Perpetual Pains' with this two-word place." The answer: "What are the Elysian Plains?" Only Riccardi answered correctly, wagering $15,000 to end the night in first place with $50,400. His total 13-day winnings as of Monday are $362,901. Hague entered Final Jeopardy with $4,600. He wagered $4,400 but didn't know the answer, ending the night with $200. "Jeopardy!" airs nightly at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday on WTHR in Indianapolis. Visit to see when and where the show airs in your area. You can stream episodes of "Jeopardy!" online with a subscription to Philo. Watch 'Jeopardy!' on Philo "Jeopardy!" doesn't stream on Peacock, but with a premium subscription, you can watch the broadcast live. Watch 'Jeopardy!' on Peacock Contestant Brad Rutter won $4,938,436 — including tournaments — on "Jeopardy!," the all-time record amount of money awarded, according to the show's website. Ken Jennings is second on the list with $4,370,700. Ken Jennings won a record 74 consecutive games, according to the "Jeopardy!" website. James Holzhauer won $131,127 in a single game on April 17, 2019, according to the show's website. Holzhauer holds each of the top 10 single-game winning totals with No. 10 checking in at $89,229. His total earnings rank third all-time at $3,612,216. Potential contestants are invited to audition by taking the show's online test, which can be found here: Adult contestants must be age 18 or older.
