Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Physics Terms) for Tuesday, April 9, 2019 (Season 35, Episode 152):
Ironically, it’s a metaphor meaning a huge step forward, but this 2-word process only occurs on a subatomic scale
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s contestants:
Sameer Rai, a freelancer from Los Altos, California
|
Ariana Mikulski, an associate teaching professor from State College, Pennsylvania
|
James Holzhauer, a professional sports gambler from Las Vegas, Nevada (3-day total: $133,451)
|
Online testing is coming up April 9, 10, and 11! Looking to practice? Video of the recent South Florida test is available!
The Jeopardy! Book of Answers is out now! Here’s my review.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is a quantum leap?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
Oh, boy! The physics definition of a quantum leap is “the discontinuous change of the state of an electron in an atom or molecule from one energy level to another” (source). However, it’s best known today as a metaphor meaning a fundamental shift, which also named an early ’90s television series starring Scott Bakula.
Since Alex Trebek’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, many community members have been raising money. The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store is as well! All proceeds from any “Keep The Faith And We’ll Win” shirt sold will be donated to Alex Trebek’s preferred charity. (The de facto alumni association is currently inquiring with the show in order to determine Alex Trebek’s preferred charity; this will be updated when that has been determined. To date, $239.35 has been raised.)
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!
Scores going into Final:
James $72,600
Sameer $7,000
Ariana $6,400
Tonight’s results:
Ariana $6,400 + $700 = $7,100
Sameer $7,000 + $5,801 = $12,801
James $72,600 + $38,314 = $110,914 (4-day total: $244,365) (What is quantum leap Happy Birthday Booger <3)


Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
James $13,000
Sameer $2,600
Ariana $800
Opening break taken after: 14 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) PALE AIL $1000 (2nd pick)
James 1000 +1000 (Ariana 0 Sameer 0)
2) AMERICAN HISTORY $1600 (3rd pick)
James 14600 +14600 (Sameer 3400 Ariana 800)
3) INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN $800 (27th pick, $1,600 left on board)
James 46800 +25000 (Sameer 7000 Ariana 5600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 253.42
Unplayed clues:
J! round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total $ Left On Board: $0
Game Stats:
James $35,400 Coryat, 42 correct, 1 incorrect, 63.16% in first on buzzer, 4/4 on rebound attempts
Sameer $7,000 Coryat, 8 correct, 1 incorrect, 12.28% in first on buzzer, 1/2 on rebound attempts
Ariana $6,400 Coryat, 10 correct, 3 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer
Combined Coryat Score: $48,800
Lach Trash: $2,000 (on 1 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $3,200
James Holzhauer, stats to date:
129 correct, 4 incorrect
8/9 on rebound attempts
49.34% in first on buzzer (112/227)
8/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $85,941)
4/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $27,600
James Holzhauer, to win:
5 games: 96.37%
6: 92.87%
7: 89.50%
8: 86.25%
9: 83.11%
Avg. streak: 30.538 games.
Tournament of Champions projections:
With a projected 98 regular-play games to go prior to the Tournament of Champions cutoff, after 500,000 simulations, our model shows:
An average of 2.528 5+-time champions (standard deviation 1.6756).
An average of 3.9365 4+-time champions (standard deviation 2.42).
An early cutoff took place 3.182% of the time (or a 5-game winner will be left out).
James Holzhauer qualified 99.025% of the time.
Eric R. Backes qualified 87.112% of the time.
Anneke Garcia qualified 58.422% of the time.
Lindsey Shultz qualified 28.532% of the time.
Dave Leffler qualified 8.763% of the time.
Jonathan Dinerstein qualified 0.827% of the time.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- The previous record through 4 days: Roger Craig ($166,801). Roger Craig also held the one-day record, at $77,000, set September 14, 2010.
- James’ winnings of $244,365 place him 8th all time in regular play, 33rd all-time including tournaments.
- No champion has ever won $244,365 or more over their first 5 days. Adjusting for doubled dollar values, Frank Spangenberg held that record ($102,597, adjusted to $205,194). The 6-day record is $257,700, held by Austin Rogers.
- James is believed to be the 16th different player to hold the single-day winnings record on Jeopardy.
- James’ Coryat score of $35,400 is tied for the 11th-highest single-game Coryat of all time. 8 of the top 10 belong to Ken Jennings; the only two that do not belong to Jerome Vered (pre-doubled $17,900 on May 21, 1992) and Wes Ulm (pre-doubled $18,000 on June 4, 1997). The overall record high Coryat score is $39,200.
- $25,000 is the largest amount ever bet on a Daily Double in the history of the show. The previous unadjusted record was held by Philip Tiu ($19,000 on March 15, 2016). The previous adjusted record was held by Bob Beers (pre-doubled $10,000 on April 7, 1988.)
- The previous record for money going into Final Jeopardy was held by Ken Jennings ($51,400 on July 23, 2004). Adjusting for doubled dollar values, Jack Lechner had $27,500 (adjusted to $55,000) going into Final Jeopardy! on December 2, 1988. (Thanks to Mark Barrett for the updated info.)
- Sameer mentioned Chris Fleitas in his interview. Chris won more in his two wins ($82,901) than James did in his first two wins. ($82,606)
- Effective in first on buzzer stats: James 64.29% (36/56), Sameer 12.50% (7/56), Ariana 23.21% (13/56).
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!

Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any statistics from this page or this website, attribution is required.

Roger Craig and Philip Tiu are probably going to have questions looking back at this game, because this James guy is LEGIT! Not only did he do what no contestant has done in many years in the double clue value era; make over $100,000 in one game, made the biggest DD bet (And got it right), broke multiple records by champions who won 4-9 games as champion, broke the record for most money heading into FJ!, and has the highest average ($61,091) by any contestant (Ken Jennings is probably second with $34,063 per game). If James secures his 5th win tomorrow, no doubt that he’ll be a big shoe-in to the ToC. The other contestants surely are going to have their work cut out seeing this guy when they seem him there.
Myron Meyer averaged $50,000 per game. He only won one, but…
Yes, James is incredible…but I wonder abt Alex… did he not want to say “booger” or what was that?! 😉😉😂
If you were Alex, would you want to say “booger”? 😉