Andy here with the first blog of a new week!
This week’s contestants:
Jonathan Couser, Lee, NH
Toby Crew, Natick, MA
Ken Dasher, Raleigh, NC
Donna Hesson, Ellicott City, MD
Jeremy Husen, Omaha, NE
Ben Ingram, Florence, SC
Mark Japinga, Washington, DC
Liz Kelly, Chicago, IL
Stacie Larson, Orlando, FL
Beth Morgan, Palo Alto, CA
Dawn Owens-Nicholson, Champaign, IL
Donna Hesson and Jonathan Couser are the challengers for Ben Ingram today! Will Ben make it 6 wins?
J! round categories:
“UP” WORDS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMERS’ SCHOOLS
LANDS NAMED AFTER PEOPLE
THE ARTS
DOD ABCs (Department of Defense)
RANDOM HOUSE DEFINES IT AS…
Ben hit the first four clues he saw (LANDS 6, 8, 10, and RANDOM HOUSE 6) before finding the Daily Double on his fifth chance at $800 in RANDOM HOUSE DEFINES IT AS… He wagered $2,000 of his $3,000 and saw the following clue: (2 words) “Goal achieved at too great a cost”. His correct response put him at $5,000.
Jonathan did get in a few times before the break to chip into Ben’s lead. The scores at the end of 16 clues:
Ben $6,600
Jonathan $1,400
Donna $-600
Ben claims lineage from Jesse James; considering he works at a bank, he says “that’s why I don’t tell people certain things!”
Coming out of the break, Ben started going top-to-bottom, a surprising strategy for him! I could be wrong on this count, but I don’t think Donna had a correct response the entire round! Ben kept up his strong play, and Jonathan took quite a few negs! Scores at the end of the J! Round:
Ben $11,200
Jonathan $400
Donna -$600
These scores remind me of a number of games I tracked in the summer of 2004!
DJ! round catgories:
LITERARY FLORIDA
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
POISONOUS PLANTS
ROCK & ROLL CALL
DUKE, DUKE
GOOSE
Ben found the first Daily Double under DUKE, DUKE $1600 on the third clue of the round. Scores were at:
Ben $12,800
Jonathan $400
Donna -$600
Ben went very cautiously and bet just $100. His clue: The Duke of Gloucester, better known as this, is seen here in a reconstruction done after he was unearthed in 2012. His correct response put him at $12,900.
Donna got her first clue of the game at TEACH YOUR CHILDREN $1600 and that got her up to 2nd place – it was also cause for a mock celebration for her!
After a few Triple Stumpers in ROCK & ROLL CALL, Donna switched away from it. The Daily Double was in POISONOUS PLANTS $2000, and Ben got to it! Scores now were:
Ben $19,300
Donna $2,200
Jonathan $1,200
Alex said to Ben, “You have a humongous lead, and I’m eagerly awaiting your wager.” Ben, once again, bet $100. His clue: The symptoms from eating this plant, Digitalis purpurea, include blurred vision, irregular heartbeat, & hallucinations. Ben guessed “purple fingers” and his score fell to $19,200.
From there, it was Jonathan doing his best, but taking negs to keep his score down. We did have 3 players in Final, though, but this game was all Ben.
Scores going into Final:
Ben $22,200
Jonathan $2,400
Donna $1,400
FJ! category: AFRICAN-AMERICAN FIRSTS
FJ! clue: Tracing her family to William Hood of 18th century Penn., Karen Batchelor made news as this organization’s first African-American member
Donna 1400 + 1000 = 2400
Jonathan 2400 + 600 = 3000
Ben 22200 + 100 = 22300
Alex: “you could’ve risked about $17,000 without any fear, and you wagered…Another $100! I’ve had you up to here, Ben. You know what I’m saying?”
I think Ben’s just toying with Alex now. Ben’s got a 6-day total of $137,732. He’ll be back tomorrow!
ToC update:
1. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
2. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
3. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
4. Ben Ingram $137,732 (6 wins)
5. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
6. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
7. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
8. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
9. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
10. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
11. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
12. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)