Sports Bettor Sets 'Jeopardy!' Winnings Records

A professional sports bettor is on a huge roll and has won nearly $500,000 — not at the sportsbooks, but on the “Jeopardy!" TV quiz show.

James Holzhauer, a 34-year-old gambler in Las Vegas, broke his own "Jeopardy!" one-day record for winnings Wednesday when he ended the show for the day with $131,127, beating the one-day record of $110,914 he’d set a week earlier. He now holds the top three single-day performances in the history of the show.

Holzhauer, originally from the Chicago suburbs, is also now in second place in all-time regular-season earnings on the quiz show behind Ken Jennings, who raked in $2,520,700 over 74 games in 2004, still a length-of-stay record on a show in which daily winners continue to play and losers go home.

Gambler's Touch

Holzhauer has said that, being a professional gambler, he knows there’s a certain amount of luck in his run. He's tried to maximize his chances by studying the nuances of buzzing in before other contestants and by randomly bouncing around the board in search of higher-value Daily Doubles rather than going straight down the categories.

“I feel that I prepared for 'Jeopardy!' as well as I could have, but I also know that one bad bounce is all it takes to lose a great bet,” Holzhauer told the gaming website US Bets.

But it's the gambler in Holzhauer — who has made huge wagers on Daily Doubles — that's allowed him to climb the all-time winnings chart so quickly, according to the show. 

Dave Madden, who had held the No. 2 spot behind Jennings, earned $430,400 over 19 games, according to "Jeopardy!" officials. Holzhauer passed that amount in just eight games thanks to the big bets.

“When I watch at home, I always root for the contestants to bet big on Daily Doubles," Holzhauer said in a statement released by the show. "They get them right most of the time, and it can give them a big leg up on the competition. I’m proud of myself for sticking to that attitude when it was my money on the line.”

US Bets also reported that Holzhauer isn’t the first professional gambler to find success on "Jeopardy!" Former poker pro Alex Jacob won more than $150,000 in 2015. Jacob also won the show’s Tournament of Champions that year, picking up another $250,000.

Related Links:

'Jeopardy' Contestant Dominates IRA Category

They're In The Hole! Sportsbooks Lose Big On Tiger's Masters Win

Photo via Wikimedia.