Warning: This page contains spoilers for the June 16, 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 American Geography) for Friday, June 16, 2023 (Season 39, Game 200):
Native Americans called it Okwa-ta, or “wide water”; Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville would rename it for a countryman
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Erica Rapheal, an epidemiologist from St. Paul, Minnesota |
Ben Goldstein, a content marketing specialist from Dexter, Michigan |
Suzanne Goldlust, a marketing manager from Reston, Virginia (1-day total: $18,700) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
People representing Reston, Virginia, have traditionally done very well on Jeopardy!; three players from Battle of the Decades—Mark Lowenthal, Leslie Miller, and Eddie Timanus—all represented that part of Fairfax County during their initial runs. Suzanne Goldlust joined that line of champions with a decisive victory in last night’s game. Will she be able to continue? Minnesota’s Erica Rapheal and Michigan’s Ben Goldstein will have something to say about that, I’m sure.
PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to get their vaccinations as soon as they can, including any boosters as recommended. When wearing a mask, please ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is Lake Pontchartrain?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Lake Pontchartrain is the wide estuary near New Orleans, Louisiana; it’s also crossed by the longest continuous bridge over water in the world, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville named the lake after a French government official during the reign of Louis XIV, Louis Phélypeaux, the comte de Pontchartrain.
I personally found this to be a very difficult Final Jeopardy clue, though, that might just be because I’m Canadian. However, it does become easier if you know that Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville is the founder of Louisiana. I just don’t know how many home viewers or contestants will know who founded Louisiana. (I know, for one, guessed Lake Champlain; it would not surprise me if my guess was matched by at least one player on stage.)
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, June 16, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Continental Geography; Birthstones; 3-Letter Words Ending In X; Grease & Roam; Night Skies; Finish Last)
Missing a True Daily Double early on didn’t faze Suzanne; she rebounded to $400 off the lead within six clues! The second half of the round went well for Ben, but a late incorrect response brought him back to Suzanne and Erica.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Ben 4 correct 1 incorrect
Erica 3 correct 2 incorrect
Suzanne 5 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Erica got to meet Barack & Michelle Obama as part of an acapella group.
Ben went to the ER the day after his wedding.
Suzanne has three cats and a parrot.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ben 10 correct 2 incorrect
Erica 5 correct 3 incorrect
Suzanne 8 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ben $3,800
Erica $2,000
Suzanne $1,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Historic Groups; Oppositional Book Titles; Go Tell It On The Fountain; That European Language; Cuffing Season; This Is All A Bit Much)
Double Jeopardy! saw both challengers play well, but Ben dropped $4,000 on his Daily Double. Erica, on the other hand, got hers correct to jump into the lead going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Erica 12 correct 3 incorrect
Ben 21 correct 4 incorrect
Suzanne 11 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 34 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Erica $11,000
Ben $8,600
Suzanne $3,000
As expected, Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Ben made a small bet and ended up champion! He’ll return Monday to defend.
Tonight’s results:
Suzanne $3,000 – $0 = $3,000 (What is Lake Huron?)
Ben $8,600 – $2,402 = $6,198 (What’s Lake Champlain?) (1-day total: $6,198)
Erica $11,000 – $6,201 = $4,799 (What is St Lawrence River)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) CONTINENTAL GEOGRAPHY $800 (clue #9)
Suzanne 1600 -1600 (Ben 400 Erica 600)
2) THIS IS ALL A BIT MUCH $1600 (clue #9)
Ben 8600 -4000 (Suzanne 600 Erica 3600)
3) THAT EUROPEAN LANGUAGE $1200 (clue #23, $9600 left on board)
Erica 7600 +2600 (Suzanne 2600 Ben 9000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -112
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Suzanne 1 4 3 4*
Ben 2 5
Erica 3 1 2
DJ! Round:
Suzanne 1 3 4
Ben 2 3 4 2 3 4* 5† 2 3 5 1† 2 5
Erica 5 1 4 1 1 2 3*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ben 3.20
Erica 2.30
Suzanne 2.86
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 34 (0.17 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ben $12,600 Coryat, 21 correct, 4 incorrect, 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Erica $9,600 Coryat, 12 correct, 3 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Suzanne $4,600 Coryat, 11 correct, 3 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $26,800
Lach Trash: $17,600 (on 14 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,600
Player Statistics:
Suzanne Goldlust, career statistics:
33 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (32/114)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,900)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,000
Ben Goldstein, career statistics:
21 correct, 5 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,600
Erica Rapheal, career statistics:
12 correct, 4 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,600)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,600
Ben Goldstein, to win:
2 games: 31.421%
3: 9.873%
4: 3.102%
5: 0.975%
6: 0.306%
Avg. streak: 1.458 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Ben seemed very happy to have won; I’m happy for him.
- Today’s box score: June 16, 2023 Box Score
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Erica $11,000 Ben $8,600 Suzanne $3,000)
Suzanne: You need to bet at least $1,801, get Final correct, and hope Erica is incorrect to have any chance of winning. Betting at least $1,801 is step 1 of the process. (Actual bet: $0)
Ben: Limit your bet to $2,599 to stay ahead of anything Suzanne might do. (Actual bet: $2,402)
Erica: Standard cover bet over Ben is $6,201. (Actual bet: $6,201)
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If you know that there is an Iberville Street in New Orleans, this is easy. Hard otherwise.
It really came down to two good guesses. Yours is best. The other was Champlain
Speaking of Iberville St…My favorite restaurant and ususally the first place we go when in NOLA is Acme Oyster on Iberville
Thanks! I’ll try it the next time I’m there.
Felix’s is on Iberville too a few blocks away. Also outstanding if you like oysters.( which I do)
For the contestants who get the right body of water, it will be interesting to see what spellings are accepted. Depending on who is saying it, the first “t” and the first “r” in Pontchartrain may or may not be pronounced. I wonder if it will be accepted if someone puts Ponchatrain.
Most of the locals will call it PAHN-chuh-train not PAHN- char-Train
mebs 🙁 Couldn’t get as close as Andy’s guess of Lake Champlain. I ended up guessing Huron😳🤦
Current FJ! streak: 1L
If “Okwa” is the native term water, I find it amazingly similar to our language usage of “Aqua.”
I’m embarrased, I thought Lake Poncetrain
Ugh. If my slowly fading “Reach for the Top” memory serves me correctly, Mount D’Iberville is the highest point in Quebec. And Lake Champlain extends into Quebec. And Champlain is one of the most famous Frenchmen in the history of the New World. And Lake Champlain is not that far from Ottawa (relatively speaking) and was either in or at least close to the Algonquin territory, as far as I recall–enough to make me wonder if that might have been part of the “Okwa-ta” hint. That’s a pretty substantial pile of red herrings, especially for Canadians.
I did give some thought to Pontchartrain on the grounds that it also “sounded French and Americans are aware of it”, but without the New Orleans connection, Champlain seemed like the much safer bet.
Not only that, Canada’s only F1 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, is from Iberville, Quebec.
Wow–while it didn’t factor into my thought process, it looks like Iberville, QC–which is named in honour of the same Iberville who named Pontchartrain–is only a 20 minute drive from Lake Champlain. So many ways to confidently get this one. Brutal.
My guess was Lake Champlain, too. Nice to know I had some company there.
Makes sense to me to pronounce it PAHN-chuh-train…I’m not local but that is how I would pronounce it.
And even if yo wrote “PAHN-chuh-train” as an answer it should be accepted under normal rules.
Figuring Louisiana because of the ‘frenchness’, I guess correctly, but don’t know if I could have spelled it.
You went the right direction for “frenchness” and I did not [I went north], but there was a lot of French exploring and naming occurring besides in Louisiana, such as a Sault Ste. Marie in both Michigan and Ontario.
With a triple stumper, we’ll never know how any of the three players would have spelled it. Or how the judges would have ruled on their spelling. Oh well.
On his best day, Drew Brees could stand on my roof and throw a football into Lake Pontchartrain. And even I would tell you that this is a not a good clue for Final Jeopardy! for the reasons stated above (obscurity, a plausible wrong response, spelling issues).
I’ve written puzzles and trivia questions in the past and I would err on the side of easy but solvable rather than difficult/tricky and not solvable. It’s about the interaction. I would feel like I failed in some way if everyone were unable to provide an answer. I wonder if the writers of Jeopardy! feel the same way when their final clue is a triple stumper.
I was thinking similarly (about not a good choice for a Final Jeopardy!) after reading what Andy and others had written, though I had not known any of those good reasonable alternate responses. [My first thought was the Mississippi but immediately knew the name wasn’t French-related, so then decided to think through the Great Lakes and picked Ontario as sounding vaguely French. I KNEW that Huron was a native name, now I know Ontario was, too.]
I don’t think this question was half as hard as the silly one earlier this week about ST (where the clue provided ZERO “extra” hints). This clumsily-worded clue (“native Americans” indicated to me they would NOT be calling out something that’s partially or wholly in Canada) at least should send one in the direction of US-only (not that I AGREE with that wording!) And, of course, Lake Pontchartrain is VERY wide (almost twice as wide as Champlain)! As for whether one could’ve spelled it to the satisfaction of the judges? Too bad nobody got it!
True. The category was AMERICAN geography not NORTH AMERICAN geography and presumably excludes Mexico or Canada
The contestant from Reston, Virginia on show #3037 did not fare so well.
One would think that being from the neighboring state of Texas, one would remember there’s an Iberville Parish in Louisiana and one would get this final correct. One would also guess Lake Champlain.
With all due respect, Enos, she did make the semifinals as a wild card. 😉