Sometimes gambling pays off. One Jeopardy! contestant made a bold wager during a tough game and spoke out about it. Did Dan Laine, who took down six-day champion Peter McFerrin, win his second game, or was his Jeopardy! career over?
Laine, from Jersey City, New Jersey, won the game with just $2,193, which was the lowest this season. During his second game on June 10, the software engineer played against AJ Maroney, from Boston, Massachusetts, and Katelyn Mueller-McLean, from San Francisco, California.Warning: Spoilers for the June 10 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
Muller-McLean, an accessibility audio producer, had the lead at the beginning of the round with $1,600. Maroney, a beverage manager, answered one clue correctly and then found the Daily Double on clue eight.
He had $600 and wagered the allotted $1,000. In “Greek Mythology,” the clue read, “This god tried to give a gift to humans, but the spring he made produced salt water, his natural element.”
“Who is Poseidon?” Maroney answered correctly. This tied him with Mueller-McLean. By the first break, Maroney had the lead with $3,200.
Maroney led the round by the end with $5,200. Mueller-McLane had $2,200. Laine was in third place with $400.
In Double Jeopardy, Laine moved into second place after Mueller-McLane answered a few clues wrong. Maroney found the first DD on clue 12.
He had the lead with $4,400 and wagered $2,000 in “That’s 2 Hours of My Life…” The clue read, “A one-man show about this man who defended Leopold & Loeb, among others, is titled ‘A Passion for Justice.’”
Maroney did not know the answer, so he dropped to $2,400, which moved him to second place. Laine had $2,800. The correct response was Clarence Darrow.
Laine had $400 when he found the last DD on clue 24. He wagered the allotted $2,000 in “News Agencies.”
The clue read, “Meaning ‘the island,’ this news network is based in Doha, Qatar.” Laine correctly responded with “What is Al Jazeera?” This gave him $2,400, only $200 away from tying Mueller-McLane in second place.
Maroney still had the lead at the end of the round with $4,400. Laine was in second place with $3,600. Mueller-McLane had $3,400.
“Heading North: was the category for Final Jeopardy. The clue read, “If you want to visit the world’s northernmost town, know that most flights are 3 hours to or from this national capital.” The correct response was Oslo, but none of the game show contestants knew the correct answer.
Mueller-McLane answered, “What is Reykjavik?” She wagered $0, ending with $3,400. Laine’s response was “What is Helsinki?” He wagered $807, making his total $2,793. Maroney wrote, “What is Moscow?” He wagered $2,801, giving him $1,599.
By a bold wager of $0, Mueller-McLane became the new champion. She will return on Thursday for her second game.
Mueller-McLane spoke out about her game and wager on Reddit. “This was such a close game, and it really could have gone to any one of us in the end. I know I’m biased, but this was a tough board,” she said.
“Once it was time for FJ, the wagering was tripping me out. Even though I did practice a wagering strategy during my prep, I was not ready for such a close three-way game scenario. That 5-minute time limit goes by quicker than you’d expect. I didn’t necessarily want to bet against myself, but in the end, I figured that I had no hope of winning unless both AJ and Dan were incorrect, so I bet $0. And it’s just as well, because I stupidly talked myself out of Oslo. It was the first city that came to mind, but I assumed it was too obvious. So I wrote down Reykjavik because the J writers favor Iceland a LOT, and I wondered if there might be some obscure Icelandic territory deep in the Arctic Ocean or something. Nope! Lesson learned: don’t second-guess your gut.”
“Once my response was ruled incorrect, I knew it had to be Oslo, and I assumed that at least one of them would get it right. But as it turns out, I wasn’t the only one to talk myself out of it. I felt a little numb in the moment, and it took me a bit to absorb that I’d won. To be honest, I’m kind of still absorbing it. A surreal cherry on top of one of the best days of my life,” the contestant ended.
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