Stephanie Jass of Milan sees her 'Jeopardy!' streak come to an end
Stephanie Jass with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek
photo courtesy of Jeopardy Productions
Note: this post has been corrected; the "Final Jeopardy" clue initially had a word missing.
Milan resident Stephanie Jass' memorable run on the TV game show "Jeopardy!" came to an end on Wednesday's episode.
Jass left the game after seven consecutive victories—the only woman ever to accomplish that—and total winnings of $147,570. That puts her among the top 15 all-time winners.
Jass largely performed well enough to win again. After the first round she was in the lead, $6,400 ro $2,600 for her second-place competitor. At the end of "Double Jeopardy," she led $16,400 to $9,000—but that gap was small enough to allow her competition an opening.
The "Final Jeopardy" category was Countries and Populations. The clue read, "If it were a nation, a state with a two-word name in this country would be the world's sixth most populous, with two hundred million."
The correct response was "What is India?," and the second-place challenger came up with it. She had wagered $7,000, taking her total to $16,000.
Jass incorrectly responded "What is Outer Mongolia?," and her $2,400 wager took her down to $14,000 for the day and her first second-place finish in eight tries.
“The money seems imaginary at this point!” Jass said in a press release issued by the show Wednesday evening. “It was unbelievable to see the numbers get bigger and bigger on screen.”
"Jeopardy!" fans very likely have not seen the last of Jass, however. The show periodically runs a "Tournament of Champions," and with a Top 15 all-time finish, it seems very likely that she'll be invited back.
Want to hear directly from the champ? Our friends at the Jackson Citizen Patriot are conducting an live online chat with Jass on Thursday; find the details here.
Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.
Comments
Peter Eckstein
Fri, Oct 19, 2012 : 12:29 a.m.
Missed the show, but when the question appeared in the NY Times yesterday I did guess India (which does have states, China doesn't)--but maybe not in the few seconds alloted. I am quite sure that the state is what used to be called Uttar Pradesh, though many of the names have been modified over the years.
Linda Peck
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 4:57 p.m.
Congratulations to Ms Jass! What a great run!
michal poe
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 1:50 p.m.
I really didn't quite understand that final question either. I was thinking you needed a state with 2 words in it. I think it is wonderful that she did so well. It would be interesting to know if she practiced reading encyclopedias or pushing on imaginary button to see how her response time held up. Also do they film several shows in one day?
Bob Needham
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 2:07 p.m.
Yes, she told me they tape a week's worth of shows in one day.
a2miguy
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 1:29 p.m.
Typo in the final jeopardy question... it's two HUNDRED million.
Bob Needham
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 1:58 p.m.
Argh, yes, of course. thanks.
Goodneighbor
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 2:06 a.m.
You say: The "Final Jeopardy" category was Countries and Populations. The clue read, "If it were a nation, a state with a two-word name in this country would be the world's sixth most populous, with two million." ... "What is India?"...?????
Macabre Sunset
Thu, Oct 18, 2012 : 1:38 a.m.
I didn't like that final question. Took too long to parse, and ultimately it came down to whether you knew China has provinces and India has states. Stephanie apparently thought (and watching at home, I wondered at first as well) you had to name the state or province. Heck of a run, though. There's no question she'll be invited back for the Tournament of Champions. She's in second place for the year with seven wins (the leader has nine), and taping will almost certainly begin in about 7-8 weeks. Add in a teacher's tournament and they'd have to have about seven other people pass her in what will amount to maybe 30 more shows. Not exactly mathematically possible.