Holzhauer Nearly Blows It

But the 'Jeopardy!' phenom fixed it just in time
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2019 4:06 PM CDT

James Holzhauer nearly made a rare gaffe Friday on Jeopardy!—or so it seemed—and just as he approached the elite $2 million mark, USA Today reports. The trivia phenom's Final Jeopardy clue was, "Astronomy buffs visit Idaho for the USA’s first Dark Sky Reserve. Oddly, part of it is this resort area with a bright name." The 27-time winner wagered $35,000 of his $39,400 as he wrote, "Las Vegas Strip." But he crossed that out and replaced it with, "What is Sun Valley?"

Granted, he did smirk while writing the first answer, but looked a little nervous when he later said he "didn't think that was in Idaho." The winnings brought him to $2,065,535 and cemented his place in Jeopardy! lore, per CNN. And he would have won the round regardless of his answer because his top competitor had just $1,800. Of course, he'll be back on Monday. (More Jeopardy stories.)

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