Vamos, Vamsi!

     I’m excited about this one: a Q & A with Vamsi Adusumilli! He played on the first and second days of this new season.

Q: You were introduced as being from Columbia, MO. Are you a Mizzou fan? Why did you move to Los Angeles? 
A: I am a Mizzou fan. I grew up in Columbia. But I left Missouri for college (Stanford), then wandered my way down to L.A. afterwards.  I love L.A. and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon, but I had to give my hometown a shout-out!
Q: I am a Husker fan, but it’s okay because Nebraska’s no longer in the same conference as Mizzou! 😉 
A: I’ve been to plenty of those Mizzou-Nebraska games, we were on the bad side of that rivalry for a very long time!
Q: You’re a regular at O’Brien’s pub quiz. How long have you been going? How did you find out about it? Were any of your pub friends in the audience that day?
A: I’ve been going to O’Brien’s for almost two years.  I found out about it quite randomly. It’s near one of my friend’s houses, and we decided to drop by one day.  It was by far the toughest quiz I’ve ever been to, but the mix-it-up style of forming teams (instead of just showing up with 6 people with redundant knowledge) means you have a fighting chance every time.  I stuck it out and I’m glad I did.  I had 3 or 4 regulars from O’Brien’s among my 15 guests at Jeopardy! (you’re allowed 6, but Indians are really bad at keeping their populations low – I did have some help from J! legend Jerome Vered!)
Q: Can I ask who all  was in the audience from O’Brien’s the day you taped? And you had 15 people there?! Wow! 
A: Let’s see, my audience was Jerome Vered, Mark May, and Brian Fodera from O’Brien’s, my sister, mom, niece, and aunt, another 8 friends that fit into the miscellaneous category of [close friends from LA or Stanford and some of their significant others].  Couple of people came down from SF, and my family was already here visiting, so it worked out quite well…
Q: Did you go to O’Brien’s the week your episodes aired?

A: I did, to a hero’s entrance 🙂
Q: I’ve been wondering: How does the winning team split up the prize ($75 bar credit) if the teams are different each week? Are you there every week? Do you ever host?
A: You just split it on the spot,  just take a chunk out of (or entirely cover) that night’s tab, then the winning team makes sure they tip well.  I’m a regular there, pretty much every week unless I’m out of town.  I do host regularly. There’s about 12-15 hosts on a 3 month cycle.  My next date is October 31, so between Halloween-related questions and election questions I should have some good material.
Q: What day did your episodes tape? Did you stay for the rest of the day’s episodes?
A: I taped on July 24. I didn’t stick around afterwards, though a few of my friends did.  Everyone on the show is ridiculously smart (or good at trivia, which I realize isn’t exactly the same thing), so it’s tough to win a single game, but we also all have our egos, and mine was bruised.  I had sat through the five games when I was a local alternate in February (end of last season), so I was Jeopardy’d out, for the moment at least.
Q: I was lost in Your Best Texas Hold ‘Em Call. Do you play?
A: I wish I had gotten to the Texas Hold ‘Em category sooner! I do play, or at least I used to, so that category was a cinch for me.
Q: Do you wish you’d gotten a Daily Double? Did you study wagering? How many times did you try out for the show?
A: I only tried out the one time, at my aunt’s badgering.  I reviewed wagering techniques with Jerome, but never really had to use it much.  Really, I never (even in the first game) had my timing down, which was unfortunate.  I was constantly locking myself out by buzzing too quickly.  The main difference was that in the first game I managed to capitalize by getting the high value questions that neither other contestant did.
Q: I’d love to listen to Jerome talk about wagering! I got to meet him this year at the unofficial Jeopardy! reunion in Washington, D.C.