A Key Stat Shows Why Holzhauer Is Winning So Much

His average daily-double wager is a whopping $9K
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 28, 2019 6:54 AM CDT

He's not slowing down. James Holzhauer nabbed $130,222—just shy of his one-day record of $131,127—in his 28th consecutive Jeopardy! win Monday, bringing his total earnings to $2,195,557, per USA Today. That means he's within $325,143 of Ken Jennings' legendary $2,520,700 haul following a 74-game run in 2004. Holzhauer is a professional gambler averaging more than $77,000 per episode, meaning he could beat the record in five games, per Deadline. The show itself provided a video comparing Holzhauer and Jennings, and one key stat explains why the current champ is racking up so much money so quickly: His average daily-double bet is $9,004, compared to Jennings' $3,810.

Holzhauer is just the second contestant after Jennings to pass the $2 million mark, but Jennings isn't worried about having his record smashed. In fact, he anticipates it. A bold better, Holzhaurer is "maximizing money" and "can make two or three times what any other player ever has with that same level of play," Jennings told Wired earlier this month. "I've always wanted to see somebody play that way." (Holzhauer was something of a math whiz even before kindergarten.)

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