Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, March 17, 2023


Warning: This page contains spoilers for the March 17, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Statehood) for Friday, March 17, 2023 (Season 39, Game 135):

Congress relented in 1890 after this prospective state said it would wait 100 years rather than come in without the women

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Kelly Barry, a marketing communications specialist from Seattle, Washington
Kelly Barry on Jeopardy!
Mark Bernstein, a retired solution architect from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Mark Bernstein on Jeopardy!
Stephen Webb, a data scientist from Longmont, Colorado (8-day total: $184,881)
Stephen Webb on Jeopardy!

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Due to the scheduling surrounding the High School Reunion Tournament, Stephen Webb has the opportunity to do something incredibly rare in the annals of Jeopardy!—win six games in a single taping day. (My records aren’t complete enough to know for certain if this would be unprecedented, but it’s certainly rare.) Mark Bernstein and Kelly Barry (not Berry—heaven forbid one get that wrong) are your challengers hoping to stop Stephen today.

Due to March Madness, there is a chance that today’s results will be earlier, as some CBS affiliates air Jeopardy! earlier than usual during the tournament.


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Correct response: What is Wyoming?


You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 15 players, including Matt Amodio, Jonathan Fisher, Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach, Ryan Long, and Cris Pannullo, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!


More information about Final Jeopardy:

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Wyoming Territory, looking to gain settlers in the 19th century, granted women’s suffrage in 1869; however, the U.S. Congress wasn’t entirely impressed; when the territory looked for statehood two decades, later, this law had become an obstacle (and, in fact, Utah repealed its women’s suffrage laws a couple of years earlier in one attempt to gain statehood). Wyoming would not budge, though, and Joseph M. Carey, then-legislator and future state governor, telegrammed to Washington, “We will stay out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without our women.” Wyoming gained statehood in 1890.


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Game Recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: City Of The Premiere; Shoe Know It; Tv, You Say!; “Tri” Me; Out & About The Universe; Speak Your Truth)

Stephen struggled a little bit out of the gate—I’d bet he’s tired thanks to this being game #6 for him on this tape day! Meanwhile, Kelly got four high-valued clue and held onto the lead at the interviews after Mark missed the first Daily Double. After the interviews, Stephen’s struggles with incorrect responses continued, so Kelly led despite being outbuzzed 16–6 in the opening round.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Kelly 4 correct 0 incorrect
Stephen 3 correct 2 incorrect
Mark 4 correct 1 incorrect

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Kelly 8 correct 0 incorrect
Stephen 11 correct 5 incorrect
Mark 6 correct 1 incorrect

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: The Caribbean; Songs From Movies; Etymology; Irish Authors; Shape Up; Ship Out)

Stephen’s Daily Double dry spell continued—Mark found them on back-to-back clues! Unfortunately for him, his attempt to pull himself back in the game was derailed by missing the second one. Meanwhile, a pair of incorrect responses on expensive Caribbean clues for Kelly brought Stephen back into the game, and Stephen took the lead late in the round! Scores going into Final were Stephen at $12,600, Kelly at $11,600, and Mark at $4,000.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Stephen 19 correct 6 incorrect
Kelly 16 correct 2 incorrect
Mark 14 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 16 (0 today).

Kelly was the only player correct in Final, which means Stephen’s run comes to an end and Kelly gets to return on Monday!

Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, March 17, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:

Scores going into Final:

Stephen $12,600
Kelly $11,600
Mark $4,000

Tonight’s results:

Mark $4,000 – $2,000 = $2,000 (What is Wisconsin?)
Kelly $11,600 + $3,000 = $14,600 (What is Wyoming?) (1-day total: $14,600)
Stephen $12,600 – $10,601 = $1,999 (What is Colorado?)


Kelly Barry, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the March 17, 2023 game.)


Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Kelly $5,200
Stephen $3,000
Mark $800


Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:

1) SPEAK YOUR TRUTH $1000 (clue #14)
Mark 2400 -2400 (Stephen 600 Kelly 3200)
2) ETYMOLOGY $1200 (clue #12)
Mark 2400 +2000 (Stephen 6200 Kelly 10400)
3) SHIP OUT $1600 (clue #13, $19600 left on board)
Mark 4400 -4000 (Stephen 6200 Kelly 10400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -108

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Stephen 5 4 5 4
Mark 5 4 1 5 5*
Kelly 4 3 3 3 2

DJ! Round:
Stephen 5 4 1
Mark 4 1 2 3* 4*
Kelly 3 4 5 2 3

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Kelly 3.20
Mark 3.40
Stephen 4.00

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 16 (0.12 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Kelly $11,600 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Mark $9,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 3 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Stephen $12,600 Coryat, 19 correct, 6 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,800
Lach Trash: $10,600 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,600

Stephen Webb, career statistics:

215 correct, 32 incorrect
12/13 on rebound attempts (on 34 rebound opportunities)
42.88% in first on buzzer (220/513)
5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $20,200)
3/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,689

Mark Bernstein, career statistics:

14 correct, 4 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57)
1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,600

Kelly Barry, career statistics:

17 correct, 2 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,600

Kelly Barry, to win:

2 games: 39.366%
3: 15.497%
4: 6.100%
5: 2.401%
6: 0.945%
Avg. streak: 1.649 games.

Today’s interviews:

Kelly has been winemaking for about 11 years.
Mark called home from the Great Wall of China.
Stephen had trouble finding a corkscrew at CERN.

Andy’s Thoughts:

  • WDBJ in Roanoke aired today’s Jeopardy! earlier than usual due to March Madness; the show aired at 10:30 AM Eastern.
  • Today’s ultimate result renders the Windward/Leeward Islands problem, which has been mentioned on this site before, moot.
  • Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Stephen $12,600 Kelly $11,600 Mark $4,000)

Stephen: Standard cover bet over Kelly is $10,601. (Actual bet: $10,601)

Mark: Limit your bet to $1,999, thereby staying ahead of Stephen by $2 if he makes a cover bet and is incorrect. (Actual bet: $2,000)

Kelly: Bet between $2,001 and $3,599—thereby keeping Mark locked out while defending against any small bet Stephen may make. (Actual bet: $3,000)


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20 Comments on "Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, March 17, 2023"

  1. Marvin Gregory “Greg” Fuller | March 17, 2023 at 9:14 am |

    My son works for the state legislature in Cheyenne so this was an easy get for me.

  2. I did not get this answer, but Andy’s notes did put a smile on my face. Good for “progressive” Wyoming Territory!

  3. Got this one easily, just by knowing that Wyoming was first to allow women’s suffrage. I did not know the rest of the story, which I was fascinated to learn. Good pick for Women’s History Month! Also, happy St. Patrick’s Day to one and all. Even if you’re not Irish, today, you are!

    • Same here!

      • Bill Vollmer | March 18, 2023 at 6:33 pm |

        For me, it was “something I learned someplace.” Somehow when the clue was revealed, I immediately said “what is wyoming?” Becuase, again, I knew from somewhere that Wyoming was (one of) the first US states, and/or, territories to give women the right to vote.

  4. Michael Johnston | March 17, 2023 at 10:15 am |

    Kind of an informed guess on my part, just because I know a bit of Wyoming’s history WRT suffrage.

  5. Wyoming, of course! I won’t be viewing again tonight as the local CBS affiliate has chosen March Madness! But. . .why can’t Jeopardy be shown in the wee hours? Purely rhetorical!

    • Here in central North Carolina, Jeopardy is repeated overnight (or shown for 1st time if it has been preempted at its normal time). Usually shows right after repeat of the late local news.

  6. Wyoming of course. Although I would love to visit that state and check out that park called Grand Teton and yellowstone later on. Still though Stephen had a great 8 game run. I think he will be ready for the tournament of champions. Congrats Kelly!

  7. Should not be surprising that the woman got FJ! right. [Being from a fairly close-by state may have helped, too.] However, I really was surprised at Coloradan Stephen not getting it (being next door to Wyoming), much less writing ‘Colorado’ instead. Colorado passed women’s suffrage in 1893 and he may have only vaguely remembered the date as being around the same time as in the clue, but he surely knew that it had already been a state since 1876 (as that is why it is called the centennial state).

    • Yes, I was surprised Stephen guessed Colorado, too, as “Centennial State” was one of the first things I learned upon moving here. Wyoming was easy for me.

      • Robert Fawkes | March 17, 2023 at 6:30 pm |

        Giving the benefit of the doubt, I think Stephen just answered with Colorado because he didn’t know the correct response so just gave a shoutout to his home state. I choose to believe that he knows Colorado is the “Centennial State” but it is better to write something than to leave it blank.

        • Or, not knowing the correct response but knowing that Colorado is a progressive state that has had women’s suffrage for a LONG time, maybe he didn’t dare to risk getting it wrong if by some quirk IT WAS Colorado.

  8. Marvin Gregory “Greg” Fuller | March 17, 2023 at 3:58 pm |

    I agree with Lisa as being surprised Stephen didn’t know Colorado is the centennial state.

  9. For the 5th day in a row, Stephen did not draw a single Daily Double, something of a statistical rarity. Perhaps even more crucially, he missed FJ for the 4th day in a row. Tough to keep winning without getting FJ. But he is a good player overall, and we will see him again in TOC.

  10. Due to that extra game last week, this would’ve been game 6 of the taping day I believe, which must have been exhausting for Stephen, and if he had won, perhaps a record. I believe Cris Pannullo swept a 4-game tape day earlier in the season.

    • I don’t think I’d mind a long day if it netted me $100K+

      • It’s not a matter of minding, it’s a matter of “the brain doesn’t function as well at the end of the day as it does at the start of it, especially after a long day of continuous stress and thought.”

        • Bill Vollmer | March 18, 2023 at 6:40 pm |

          Agrred, six games over acourse of a taping “day” is a lot. But then becuase of wardrobe changes, maintence, etc., there would be breaks to help one rest their minds. However, how much those breaks would actually help, I’d think depends on the indivual.

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