Here are today’s contestants:
– Sapana Vora, a Congressional staffer from Arlington, Virginia;
– Tim Swankey, a retired actuary from Marcellus, New York; and
– James Denison, a college professor and museum curator originally from Alexandria, Virginia. James is a two-day champ with winnings of $81,798.
Jeopardy!
SUB, READ IT // WATCH OUT FOR THAT TEAM! // CITIES AROUND EUROPE // THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC // “UM” // THIS IS AWKWARD
DD1 – $600 – SUB, READ IT – Ronald Reagan called this 1984 book, the first novel published by the Naval Institute Press, “the perfect yarn” (James added $1,000 on a true DD.)
Scores at first break: James $1,400, Tim $2,200, Sapana $2,000.
Scores entering DJ: James $3,200, Tim $3,800, Sapana $2,600.
Double Jeopardy!
1926 // AIRPORT CODES // “I” MOVIE // ELEMENT + WORD // MYTH-ELLANEOUS // IT’S IDIOMATIC
DD2 – $1,200 – AIRPORT CODES – One letter deleciously short of the city it serves, YUM has people coming & going in this state (Sapana improved by $3,000 to $12,000 vs. $8,400 for James.)
DD3 – $1,200 – IT’S IDIOMATIC – Used to describe the likelihood of something that’ll never, ever happen, it used to be followed by “with their tails forward” (James added $5,200 up to $16,400 vs. $12,000 for Katie.)
Sapana had a chance to open a sizable lead over James on DD2 but only made a modest wager, then James dominated the rest of the way, entering FJ at $20,000 vs. $13,200 for Sapana and $9,000 for Tim.
Final Jeopardy!
BOOKS & AUTHORS – In this 1897 work, the title character enters an inn with his face almost entirely covered in bandages
Surprisingly, everyone was incorrect on FJ. James dropped $10,999 to win with $9,001 for a three-day total of $90,799.
Final scores: James $9,001, Tim $4,398, Sapana $6,399.
Wagering strategy: On FJ, James chose to bet the most he could while shutting out third-place if Tim missed or wagered $0. By doing so, he took a calculated risk that Sapana would not make a small wager on FJ, given that in most cases with these scores, Sapana would bet enough to cover a double-up by Tim, which she did.
Correct Qs: DD1 – What is “The Hunt for Red October”? DD2 – What is Arizona? DD3 – What is when pigs fly? FJ – What is “The Invisible Man”?