View Full Version : REAL Jeopardy: Ken Jennings
JoeXIII'007
29-06-2004, 20:27
Has anyone been watching JEOPARDY lately?
There is this computer software engineer named Ken Jennings who has been bulldozing his competition. He's won 20, count it, 20 days of JEOPARDY, winning $620K+ in cash! Any thoughts, theories, or info on this?
Has anyone been watching JEOPARDY lately?
There is this computer software engineer named Ken Jennings who has been bulldozing his competition. He's won 20, count it, 20 days of JEOPARDY, winning $620K+ in cash! Any thoughts, theories, or info on this?
Yeah i normally watch it daily during dinner with the family, i have seen him there for the past 3+ weeks and now its funny cause as soon as they abolish the 5 day max rule, Ken shows up. He won once again tonight increasing his winnings to over $660K and it seems he cant be stopped. Maybe we should rally to see if a FIRST mentor could get on there and see if they can win anything...
Elgin Clock
29-06-2004, 20:34
Maybe we should rally to see if a FIRST mentor could get on there and see if they can win anything...
Sounds like a perfect fundrasing idea to me!
Joe Matt
29-06-2004, 20:34
Has anyone been watching JEOPARDY lately?
There is this computer software engineer named Ken Jennings who has been bulldozing his competition. He's won 20, count it, 20 days of JEOPARDY, winning $620K+ in cash! Any thoughts, theories, or info on this?
Yes, yes I do Joe.
He's a sentiant program, or an anomoly in The Matrix.....
;)
Clark Gilbert
29-06-2004, 20:55
He's going to be mad rich when this all ends, and the IRS will love him. I also heard that he writes questions for standardized tests. Wonders why Jeopardy got rid of the limit of shows you could win.
JoeXIII'007
29-06-2004, 20:57
Yes, yes I do Joe.
He's a sentiant program, or an anomoly in The Matrix.....
Funny, that's what my mother was thinking.
Jay H 237
29-06-2004, 20:58
Let's just be glad he doesn't know about the Jeopardy Eddie runs on here! :p
Let's just be glad he doesn't know about the Jeopardy Eddie runs on here! :p
You mean people still play that!?!?!?!?!?
Wow...
jonathan lall
30-06-2004, 00:02
If memory serves, it's $662 760 :)
The only time I've watched japardy in years is actually recently, and this guy astounds me. He knows everything, it's scarry.
Joshua May
30-06-2004, 10:44
I haven't watched Jeopardy in a few weeks, I've gotta start again to see this guy. :yikes:
Alex Pelan
30-06-2004, 19:32
He won again, making his total winning >670K. Did anyone else notice he had some pronunciation problems, as if he just went through a book memorizing everything, just as he pronounced it. Scary :ahh:
Billfred
30-06-2004, 20:25
Not to raise any alarms, but didn't some dude who pwned a game show day after day after day cause the whole quiz show scandal of the 1950s?
Joshua May
30-06-2004, 21:00
Not to raise any alarms, but didn't some dude who pwned a game show day after day after day cause the whole quiz show scandal of the 1950s?
I've never heard about that before. Can you elaborate at all (what show, etc)
Jeopardy comes on an hour from now on the West Coast, i'm going to try to watch it.
Jay H 237
30-06-2004, 22:14
I've never heard about that before. Can you elaborate at all (what show, etc)
The show was called "The 10 Thousand Dollar Question" or something like that. I heard of the scandal before. It had something to do with the show being rigged and the host was in on it. I don't have much more information so I don't want to speculate.
Billfred
30-06-2004, 22:19
Alright, I found some info...
http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/twentyOne.html
The show was Twenty-One, and ran from 1956-58. (Apparently, it's the same twenty-one that ran a few years back on NBC, although adding in Maury Povich probably didn't help the latter edition that much, IMHO.)
<Edit>I went back and checked--a show called "The $64,000 Question" was also rigged in the same era.</edit>
Joshua May
01-07-2004, 11:09
Yeah, I saw the Joepardy last night, he's made almost $698,000! That's just amazing. And I noticed the pronunciation problems that someone had cited before.
<Edit>I went back and checked--a show called "The $64,000 Question" was also rigged in the same era.</edit>
how Ironic, "The $64,000 Question" was an answer to one of the questions on Jeopardy last night, or was it a question to one of the answers? :confused: :rolleyes:
from the show last night.
"On the June 30TH edition of JEOPARDY!, champion Ken Jennings made his 21ST victorious appearance. Winning $35,000 during this show, Ken’s total has reached $697,760."
JoeXIII'007
01-07-2004, 21:12
As of his 22nd appearance and victory, Ken is now at $730K+. :D :ahh:
Joshua May
02-07-2004, 00:50
As of his 22nd appearance and victory, Ken is now at $730K+. :D :ahh:
Will the madness ever stop! :eek:
That's just plain crazy.
sanddrag
02-07-2004, 01:16
Will the madness ever stop! I think it will only stop under one of these conditions:
Jeopardy says, "okay, you've played and won enough, you go home now" If this happened, the viewers would be in an uproar to get him back
the other possiblity is that he deliberately quits
The only other ways he will stop is if he really screws up (which he won't) or if someone better than him comes along (in which case that guy would be even MORE incredible.)
I think (and hope) Ken Jennings is here to stay. :)
KyleGilbert45
02-07-2004, 01:19
I do agree that this guy is simply amazing, but I also think that the time will come when Jeopardy says, "Ok, you've had your fun, you got your money, here's some more money for getting us another couple thousand viewers, and now would you please just get off the show. Oh and by the way, would you like to write questions for us as your new job?"
That's just what I think.
Billfred
02-07-2004, 02:46
Well, there was the gentleman who competed on "Press Your Luck" back in the 1980s who took the show for such a ride in one game (which they had to split into two episodes, because he went on for so long) that they retired him after one show, which wasn't the policy.
(If you're wondering what happened, on the show they had this board with a light that jumped around. Players won spins, which then got them chances to hit cash and prizes, or a Whammy, which made them lose all their stuff. One or two squares had cash plus one spin. This dude memorized the sequences of the board, and used it to completely pwn the game.)
Long story short, there is precedent for a game show saying that you've just won too much money.
Jeff Waegelin
02-07-2004, 08:21
One thing to keep in mind with this: these shows were all taped months ago. So, whatever Ken Jennings's fate is, it's already been decided for weeks or months. Granted, everyone who knows is legally forbidden to tell anyone, but it's interesting to know that what seems to be unfolding day by day really happened months ago.
Another interesting Jeopardy fact... most of the time, they tape an entire week's worth of shows in one day. So, when they come back "tomorrow", the winners really just go backstage, change clothes, and come back to tape the next day's show.
JoeXIII'007
02-07-2004, 13:39
One thing to keep in mind with this: these shows were all taped months ago. So, whatever Ken Jennings's fate is, it's already been decided for weeks or months. Granted, everyone who knows is legally forbidden to tell anyone, but it's interesting to know that what seems to be unfolding day by day really happened months ago.
Another interesting Jeopardy fact... most of the time, they tape an entire week's worth of shows in one day. So, when they come back "tomorrow", the winners really just go backstage, change clothes, and come back to tape the next day's show.
So, Ken Jennings could have already won $1 million+? Not to assume anything.
Plus, if they do a week's worth of shows in 1 day, he on average makes $30K a show, $150K in a day! Gee, at this rate, he's doing better than Bill Gates! :D
Joshua May
02-07-2004, 13:40
So, Ken Jennings could have already won $1 million+? Not to assume anything.
Plus, if they do a week's worth of shows in 1 day, he on average makes $30K a show, $150K in a day! Gee, at this rate, he's doing better than Bill Gates! :D
For all we know, he could still be taping for Jeopardy!
Jeff Waegelin
02-07-2004, 16:30
For all we know, he could still be taping for Jeopardy!
Actually, he said that he's already finished taping all his shows. He can't say how many shows he won, or how much money he won, but whatever happened, it's already finished.
EddieMcD
02-07-2004, 18:25
Well, there was the gentleman who competed on "Press Your Luck" back in the 1980s who took the show for such a ride in one game (which they had to split into two episodes, because he went on for so long) that they retired him after one show, which wasn't the policy.
(If you're wondering what happened, on the show they had this board with a light that jumped around. Players won spins, which then got them chances to hit cash and prizes, or a Whammy, which made them lose all their stuff. One or two squares had cash plus one spin. This dude memorized the sequences of the board, and used it to completely pwn the game.)
Long story short, there is precedent for a game show saying that you've just won too much money.
Gotta pipe in on this one. First, there was always a $40,000 limit on that show, even before the guy took ~$110,000. Second, CBS did not want to pay the guy his money (yeah, they were pissed). Long story short, before this guy was on, The Big Board (then a marvel in the gameshow world), ran through 6 patterns at random. When one was finished, the next one (chosen at random) would start. Well, this guy figured it out, and that there were two spaces that never came up with a Whammy (and in fact, that held true until the end of the show, and even onto it's spinoff show on the Gameshow Network). After the whole thing, they upped the number of patterns, and randomized them even more, and it never happened again. Anyhow, IMO, that is the greatest moment in gameshow history, even topping this current Jeopardy run. I mean, anyone can amass tons of knowledge, but to break the code that ran The Big Board and then use it successfully is just genius. It's essentially breaking an algorithm.
Off my rather large tangent, there was always that monetary limit (and a few people would hit it), and I don't think anyone has ever been told to stop on any game show, short of hitting some sort of established limit (usually one show, or a set amount of shows, or a set amount of money). If you ask me, one person winning draws ratings, so I highly doubt they'd ask him to leave anyway. Especially when a lot of people want to see him lose (Red Sox fans can relate him to the Yankees), and a lot of people want to see him win.
He's up to $755,360 now. 23 day winning streak.
Wow.
This reminds me of Casinos and card counting. It's the best way to win without cheating. Just make sure the Casinos dont catch you counting or else they kick you out.
Corey Balint
06-07-2004, 22:29
This reminds me of Casinos and card counting. It's the best way to win without cheating. Just make sure the Casinos dont catch you counting or else they kick you out.
Speaking of that... does anyone have a good system lol. :D . Wanna enter a few tournies and any lil thing can help. ;)
Joshua May
06-07-2004, 22:48
This reminds me of Casinos and card counting. It's the best way to win without cheating. Just make sure the Casinos dont catch you counting or else they kick you out.
I watched a show the other day on the Discover Channel(?) which was about the MIT blackjack team. It was this group of MIT students and investors known as Strategic Investments, who used card counting and a large group of people to increase their odds of winning. They eventually made ~$880,000 in winnings, but I believe they lost it all after a large losing streak and the casinos started catching on.
Corey Balint
06-07-2004, 22:51
Ya i saw that too. It was really amazing they pulled alot of that off. They might have a book all about that, i cant quite remember. And ya, im pretty sure they lost almost all of it too, cuz there best players started to choke.
Corey Balint
06-07-2004, 22:55
http://www.gregdooley.com/archive%202003/1128MIT.html
Heres a review of it, but if you do want to buy it theres an amazon link on the bottom.
http://www.gregdooley.com/archive%202003/1128MIT.html
Heres a review of it, but if you do want to buy it theres an amazon link on the bottom.It caught my attention after seeing it on the NY Times Bestseller List. I found it in Barnes and Noble, paged through it a bit, and wasn't really impressed. I suppose I was expecting non-fiction when I received fiction with non-fictional elements.
I was over my friends house last night and he made me watch jepoardy...and I saw Ken for the first time. I think his winnings are close to $900,000...that's insane. What's even more creepy is that he really reminds me of my history teacher...haha.
sanddrag
09-07-2004, 20:02
My dad was in the City of LA when he got on a shuttle bus and guess who was on there Ken Jennings! My dad didn't say anything but still it was cool.
I wonder what he was doing on the shuttle bus, you'd think he'd be racing the streets in a new Benz or something.
JoeXIII'007
09-07-2004, 20:09
Total Winnings after 28 appearances = $920K+
Amount of $$$ won on last appearance = $52K (tying the record for a single game.)
Yan Wang
12-07-2004, 22:29
Jennings' streak lasted 29 days.
sanddrag
12-07-2004, 22:46
Jennings' streak lasted 29 days.What do you mean by that? To me, by saying "lasted" you are implying that it is over. Tonight was #29 and he won again, which means he goes on to #30 tomorrow.
Corey Balint
12-07-2004, 22:50
lol-i almost flipped out when i saw that-ive watched like almost all of em, and missed tonites,that wouldve been horrible.
MissInformation
12-07-2004, 23:39
I watched a couple of episodes last week to see him in action. One of the catagories was about comic books and he ran through them like a bandsaw through balsa wood... at the end of that catagory, he made a comment about being a geek paying off... it was very cute. Geeks rule!
Heidi
<===========>
A friend and I once decided that "geek" is really the sound a person makes when a window closes on their neck...
Lisa Rodriguez
13-07-2004, 19:28
30 Days
1,004,960
plutonium83
14-07-2004, 23:37
Did he get beaten? Is he still in? Sorry I didn't have time to watch tonights episode.
Greg Needel
14-07-2004, 23:44
still in but the other players gave him a run for his money
Joshua May
15-07-2004, 11:00
still in but the other players gave him a run for his money
I saw something about him on the ticker on CNN Headline News, after 31 days he has made $1,022,460! He only made $17,500 on day 31, though (I never thought I'd hear myself say only $17,500.
Joe Ross
15-07-2004, 19:49
He seemed kind of off last night. He definetly wasn't hitting the
buzzer as fast as he usually does, and I don't think he was getting
the same percentage correct as he usually does. He also took a risk
with his wager on the second daily double of double jeopardy, which is something he doesn't tend to do.
Of course, Ken Jennings on an off night is still better then 99.9% of us ;)
Ricky Q.
19-07-2004, 17:01
Just saw today's-34 days now, won with $35000.....I forgot his total winnings...
David Kelly
20-07-2004, 10:08
According to my sources,Ken Jennings will lose this Thursday 22 July. Anybody want to make a $5 paypal bet?? :]
Jeff Waegelin
20-07-2004, 10:31
According to my sources,Ken Jennings will lose this Thursday 22 July. Anybody want to make a $5 paypal bet?? :]
Would I win if he loses any day other than Thursday? :p
David Kelly
20-07-2004, 11:12
Would I win if he loses any day other than Thursday? :p
Nope, only Thursday :]
Jeff Waegelin
20-07-2004, 11:19
Nope, only Thursday :]
I meant, is this a "will he lose thursday?, yes/no?" bet, or "what day will he lose?" type of bet?
David Kelly
20-07-2004, 11:45
I meant, is this a "will he lose thursday?, yes/no?" bet, or "what day will he lose?" type of bet?
It is a "will he lose thursday?, yes/no?" bet.
Disclaimer: I'm only making a bet with 1 person. It looks like Jeff is going to bet me here. Whoever I bet: winner will recieve $5 in their paypal account.
Joe Ross
21-07-2004, 00:21
What if he doesn't lose, per se, but resigns or steps down. Thus he wouldn't lose and David Kelly will lose.
That's odd I heard the exact opposite on the news. Consider the fact that an audience must have seen him loose. There would have been a ton of leaks to the media saying that he lost. The only possible alternative is that he won so much that he will be invited back another season.
David Hoff
21-07-2004, 12:58
It's probable that Jeopardy doesn't tape in front of a live audience. Have you ever heard an audience clapping, or even seen an audience on the show? There could be audience like you said, but I find it unlikely.
Greg Needel
21-07-2004, 13:40
i know that there is an audience as that my parents visited the set and there are audiences there. Here is how jeopardy works..they tape 2 days a week 5 shows per day. i agree that there would be leaks if he lost but from what i have read he wins through the end of the season. The question will be if he will be back next season. I personally am getting bored with him because he seems to have no personality. oh well we will find out as time goes on
i find it interesting that the same year they get rid of the 5-day limit, ken comes along and remains champion for an insane number of shows. this makes me wonder how long some of the people that were stopped after 5 days in the past would have stayed on the show if they had gotten rid of the limit sooner.
Joshua May
23-07-2004, 00:00
Ken just won his 37th day of Jeopardy, totaling $1,226,660 won. Today, he won $52,000 tieing the 1-day high score for the third time.
Oh, and I believe David Kelly just lost his bet.
Jeff Rodriguez
23-07-2004, 11:12
I happened to catch Ken on Leno last night. From how he anserwed the questions it sounds like he's going to be back in September, the beginning of next season. His boss at work knew he was winning and had to make up excuses for him for multiple weeks.
If he wins today it would be his 38th day. They film 5 episodes a day so that's less than 8 days of actually filming. It look slike we might be watching Ken for w long time to come.
EddieMcD
23-07-2004, 21:08
Watched him for the first time today (the season finale). It looks like he'll be back in September, and he also beat the one day scoring mark with $75,000. It was essentially over after the first round. Oh, and who else thought that Final Jeopardy question was too easy?
Corey Balint
23-07-2004, 21:41
Ya-it was incredibly easy, i said it before Alex finished the question, and i havent even read either 2 of the plays.
Joshua May
24-07-2004, 00:17
Watched him for the first time today (the season finale). It looks like he'll be back in September, and he also beat the one day scoring mark with $75,000. It was essentially over after the first round. Oh, and who else thought that Final Jeopardy question was too easy?
Yea, I found it quite easy. I had thought up Richard III, Hamlet, and Macbeth.
Jeff Waegelin
26-07-2004, 09:34
So, he actually broke the one-day total record? I know he'd been tormenting Alex several times by only tying the previous record of $52000.
Joshua May
26-07-2004, 09:43
So, he actually broke the one-day total record? I know he'd been tormenting Alex several times by only tying the previous record of $52000.
Yeah, the night before he only had to wager $10,001 to break the record, instead we wagered $10,000 and laughed when Alex got mad. But Friday he was at around $51,700 or something like that, and he wagered a bit over $23,000 and made it to the $75000 mark, absolutely blowing away the previous record.
Jay H 237
05-09-2004, 14:10
Ken Jennings is coming back! New Jeopardy episodes are starting Monday. Story located here. (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040905/ap_on_en_tv/tv_jennings_returns) So, any guesses on how long he'll continue to be champion?
Billfred
05-09-2004, 14:49
It said on the site that he's won 38 in a row.
50 would be too easy for him, so I'm gonna predict 100 in all.
...and it's official like a referee's whistle.
Corey Balint
07-09-2004, 11:59
Just to let everyone know, he won yesterday but only had $10,001, after getting the final jeopardy question wrong. So hes now up to 39 days in a row.
Corey Balint
08-09-2004, 00:12
I missed tonites episode-Anyone know what happened?
Elgin Clock
08-09-2004, 00:41
I must admit that I have not seen an episode of Jeopardy yet with Ken Jennings as I have not watched much tv this summer.
But.. I'm glad that his name is becoming a household name. Usually only the people who get in trouble with the law, or the worst possible American Idols, for example, are the only people who become a household name in this country.
Melissa Nute
09-09-2004, 11:54
Apparently his run may have ended.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=14&u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_en_tv/tv_jeopardy
But there is still a decent amount of shows before we see that.
David Kelly
09-09-2004, 11:59
Apparently his run may have ended.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=14&u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_en_tv/tv_jeopardy
But there is still a decent amount of shows before we see that.
HA! I told you guys he was going to lose but I just didn't say what episode it was going to be. :p
$2.5 million...Ken Jennings rocks.
Jeff Rodriguez
04-10-2004, 20:21
I tuned into jeopardy the other day, AND HE WASN'T ON!
Did anyone see who beat him?
sanddrag
04-10-2004, 20:25
I tuned into jeopardy the other day, AND HE WASN'T ON!
Did anyone see who beat him?You must have seen the Tournament of Champions - winners from the past year. Jennings should be on again soon. :)
Jay H 237
04-10-2004, 20:52
The new Jeopardy episodes are currently on hiatus due to the Tournament of Champions. They aired some new ones this season with Ken before taking another break. As Sanddrag said, he'll be back after they finish the T.o.C.
The new Jeopardy episodes are currently on hiatus due to the Tournament of Champions. They aired some new ones this season with Ken before taking another break. As Sanddrag said, he'll be back after they finish the T.o.C.
You know they are just doing that so people will watch.
Jeff Waegelin
05-10-2004, 16:14
You know they are just doing that so people will watch.
Of course they are. It's all about marketing. TV is a business, and success is measured in viewership, because viewers = advertising dollars. They know that if they show Ken a bit first, then the T.o.C., more people will watch during the break than if they started the season with the tournament. It's good business sense, plain and simple.
Steve Howland
30-11-2004, 22:34
A while back there was the story that Ken would lose today...and so he did. Ken Jennings lost fair and square today due to a couple of missed daily doubles..and the final...what a shock! (unfortunatley there were technical problems in my area so I missed a bunch of the episode :mad: ) It was quite fun while it lasted but I doubt there will ever be another like him. He ended up with $2.5 million and a little and was on for 75 shows, so it seemed like a good mark for him to finish. Some of his most memorable times (I wouldn't really remember them but the jeopardy site had them...)
JUNE 2: Makes his first appearance on JEOPARDY!, winning $37,201
JUNE 10: Wins $231,000 in his seventh consecutive appearance, a new JEOPARDY! record in non-tournament play.
JULY 13: Breaks the One Million Dollar mark in cash winnings.
JULY 23: Sets new one-day JEOPARDY! record of $75,000.
SEPTEMBER 15: Breaks record for the longest winning streak on any television game show in television game show history.
OCTOBER 25: Crosses the Two Million Dollar mark in cash winnings.
NOVEMBER 3: Makes history as the All-Time Top Game Show Cash Winner, amassing a grand total to date of $2,197,000
And today he finally lost. That record will stand until it is broken (quote Yogi Berra). Their ratings will probably plummet now - they had been very high for the past month or so but without Ken hardly anyone will want to watch. Hope to see him on next year's tournament of champions and see how he does against all the winners before the 5-day win limit was lifted (and anyone who has won up until then). Congratulations, Ken!
I find it hard to believe that he lost and didn't just throw the game... I didn't see the episode, so obviously this is just me pulling things out of nowhere, but he was so thoroughly dominant throughout every episode that it seems a little tough to believe that all the sudden he couldn't beat the other two..
D.J. Fluck
01-12-2004, 14:41
He was actually dominating that game till he missed a double jeopardy question that put him back close to the lady who beat him....
Ironically, his last final jeopardy question involved a company that does taxes....and since he lost, it's time for Uncle Sam to collect his winnings from him :D
The other thing I liked was during the interview part they asked him when he was going to quit his day job....
Jay H 237
01-12-2004, 17:47
It makes you wonder how many others like him have been on Jeopardy but because of the 5 day limit they used to have they were never able to continue.
JoeXIII'007
01-12-2004, 18:27
The other thing I liked was during the interview part they asked him when he was going to quit his day job....
And he answered no. I have to applaud him for that. A true inspiration for future computer software engineers/programmers everywhere, besides his overall intellect.
The final showing of him was pretty dull upto final Jeopardy. A one on one match-up that will be permanently put into the annals of game show history.
The greatest parts:
#1. His opponent answers correctly with a "regular $ amount + $1" wager that puts her $1 over him.
#2. The extremely audible "Oohh!!!" when the audience sees Jennings got it wrong. No one cared about his wager after that.
#3. The huge applause from the audience after the loss plus a congratulatory hug to his opponent.
I also heard that the hardest part about no more Jeopardy to him was the absence of being there, and not losing.
If anything, since he is a software engineer, he could probably take part in Jeopardy's next revamping of the game board, podiums, screens, etc. Plus do some of the answers for future airings.
He was great. Simply put.
('I lost on Jeopardy' playing in my mind)
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