Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, December 20, 2024

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Movies & The Law) for Friday, December 20, 2024 (Season 41, Game 75):

“Drafters…have to have a little fun sometimes”, said the author of this law when asked if he was inspired by 1931’s “Little Caesar”

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Maria Lauro, a contract specialist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Joe Asaminew, an ER physician from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Laura Faddah, a manager from Memphis, Tennessee (1-day total: $11,200)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Yesterday’s 61-clue battle saw Memphis manager Laura Faddah dispatch Neal Bowling and Eric Weldon-Schilling with the assistance of a football clue in Final Jeopardy that fell—as football clues often do on this program—for a Triple Stumper. Today, she gets to defend her title against Winnipeg ER physician Joe Asaminew and Pittsburgh contract specialist Maria Lauro.

Correct response: What is the RICO Act?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act for short) was drafted in the early 1970s to combat organized crime in the United States. Law professor G. Robert Blakey drafted the legislation, and many—especially in the Italian-American community—suspected that Blakey intentionally used the acronym RICO because it was the main character’s name in the 1931 film Little Caesar. The famous quote from that film and Rico’s last line, “Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?” is #73 on the AFI’s “100 Years 100 Movie Quotes” list.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, December 20, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Fountains; TV; Smooth As Silk; Business Names; Science Bookshelf; Numeric Phrases)

While Joe found the Daily Double and picked up $1,000 from it, Maria had the best opening segment, picking up 6 correct responses to lead after 15 clues. At the interviews, the scores were Maria $4,000 Laura $2,400 Joe $2,000.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Maria 6 correct 0 incorrect
Laura 4 correct 0 incorrect
Joe 5 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Maria is a quiz bowl mom and history bowl mom who wants to thank (and shout out) her husband.
Joe punched a doctor at the age of 5.
Laura celebrates a dip-mas over the holidays.

Things stayed very close in this part of the round, with all three players within $1,400 at the end of thirty clues.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Maria 9 correct 0 incorrect
Laura 9 correct 0 incorrect
Joe 8 correct 1 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Maria $5,200
Laura $4,800
Joe $3,800

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Historic Songs Of The Brits; Computer Tech; World Religion; Mr. & Mrs. Lit; Pop Culture Physics; “Hog” Calling)

Both Laura and Joe lost $2,000 on Daily Doubles. Close to the end of the round, Laura and Maria were tied for a long while as Joe mounted a comeback and came close to the lead; Maria got clue #29 correct to lead by $400 going into Final.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Maria 16 correct 0 incorrect
Laura 16 correct 1 incorrect
Joe 16 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 17 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Maria $10,800
Laura $10,400
Joe $9,000

Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper, and things came down to the wagers again. Laura went just conservative enough to end up with the most money and is now a 2-day champion! She’ll return on Monday to defend.

Tonight’s results:

Joe $9,000 – $4,000 = $5,000 (What is the Taft-Hartley Act)
Laura $10,400 – $4,600 = $5,800 (What is ?) (2-day total: $17,000)
Maria $10,800 – $10,001 = $799 (What is Jackie The Child ar)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) SCIENCE BOOKSHELF $1000 (clue #8)
Joe 800 +1000 (Laura 600 Maria 2000)
2) WORLD RELIGION $1600 (clue #3)
Laura 6000 -2000 (Joe 3800 Maria 5200)
3) MR. & MRS. LIT $1200 (clue #7, $26800 left on board)
Joe 7000 -2000 (Laura 4000 Maria 6000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 38

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Laura 1 4
Joe 3 4 5*
Maria 2 5 3

DJ! Round:
Laura 4* 5†
Joe 3 3 2 3*
Maria 3

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Laura 3.50
Joe 3.29
Maria 3.25

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 17 (0.23 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Laura $12,400 Coryat, 16 correct, 1 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Joe $11,000 Coryat, 16 correct, 4 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
Maria $10,800 Coryat, 16 correct, 0 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $34,200
Lach Trash: $13,200 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,600
Lead Changes: 13
Times Tied: 7

Player Statistics:

Laura Faddah, career statistics:

31 correct, 3 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
24.56% in first on buzzer (28/114)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,000

Joe Asaminew, career statistics:

16 correct, 5 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,000

Maria Lauro, career statistics:

16 correct, 1 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,800

Laura Faddah, to win:

3 games: 39.011%
4: 15.219%
5: 5.937%
6: 2.316%
7: 0.904%
Avg. streak: 2.640 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Maria’s interview became more poignant with the news that she broke on Reddit this morning that her husband passed away suddenly three weeks ago; while Maria did tell her husband how she did, she did not tell him about the interview; it was intended to be a surprise for him. The Jeopardy! Fan wishes to express condolences toward Maria and her family.

• I can’t really criticize Joe’s or Maria’s bets today—there would have been no way of really knowing if yesterday’s bet from Laura stemmed from a supreme dislike of sports or if she would use a strategy of betting up to round numbers.
• Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Maria $10,800 Laura $10,400 Joe $9,000)

Laura: Standard cover bet over Joe is $7,601. (Actual bet: $4,600)

Joe: Being that Maria’s low range tops out at $399, it’s probably safe to bet as little as $2,201 here. Your maximum bet should be $6,200, falling to $2,800 and staying ahead of a cover bet from Laura. (Actual bet: $4,000)

Maria: Standard cover bet over Laura is $10,001. (Actual bet: $10,001)

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