Posted on 12/01/2004 10:48:49 AM PST by GAGOPSWEEPTOVICTORY
Following his remarkable run as the "Jeopardy!" whiz, Ken Jennings is famous enough to be trailed by a fan in the subway, is penning a book and, of course, has $2,520,700 in winnings to decide how to spend. What he doesn't have anymore, after his 74-game winning streak came to an end in an episode televised Tuesday, is a chance to play his favorite game.
"I miss it quite a bit," Jennings told The Associated Press. "It didn't really hit me that that was going to be the hard part. I thought the hard part would be the loss."
He seemed so invincible that when California real estate agent Nancy Zerg beat him, there was an audible gasp from the audience.
As someone who always has prepared his own tax returns, Jennings was tripped up in Final Jeopardy by this answer: Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.
Zerg had the correct reply: "What is H&R Block?" But Jennings guessed Federal Express, and he was a "Jeopardy!" loser for the first time.
The final score was Zerg $14,001 to Jennings' $8,799.
Even before that, she had needed an unusual display of Jennings fallibility to stay in the game. He twice answered wrong on Daily Double questions, which cost him nearly $10,000.
Maybe that's why he paused, ever so slightly, when asked in the AP interview Tuesday whether he had lost or been beaten. He then graciously gave Zerg credit.
"It was a big relief to me that I lost to someone who played a better game than me," said Jennings, a computer software engineer from Salt Lake City. "There were no recriminations or remorse."
Zerg, a former actress who lives in Ventura, Calif., told the AP that she psyched herself up before the game by repeating to herself: "Someone's got to beat him sometime, it might as well be me."
Hanging out backstage with fellow contestants, she saw some Jennings opponents had essentially lost before the game. She heard one person say that it looked like he was playing for second, and another just wishing not to be humiliated.
"I heard another one say, `It's no great sin to lose to Ken Jennings,' and they went in and lost to Ken Jennings," she said. "I thought, `That's no way to play the game.'"
The loss is actually a distant memory and not really a secret: The show was taped in early September and news leaked right away. Video clips of his loss appeared Monday on the Internet.
Some stats: Jennings' average daily haul was $34,063.51. He toyed with the previous daily record of $52,000 — tying it four times — before shattering it with a $75,000 win in Game 38. He gave more than 2,700 correct responses.
He combined an extraordinary breadth of knowledge, uncanny skill at sensing the precise instant to ring his buzzer, and a sharp competitive instinct hidden behind his grin and polite manner.
It made many of the games boring. But "Jeopardy!" executives aren't complaining; ratings were up 22 percent over the same period last season.
Jennings said he'd been thinking about walking away after some future milestone — 100 wins, perhaps, or $3 million or $4 million in winnings. He said there were about a dozen games where one reply made the difference between winning and losing, and he figured his luck would end soon.
"I'm actually cheering for somebody to beat my record," he said. "How cool would that be? But, realistically, I don't think there's much of a chance ... So many lucky things had to happen. Everything had to fall the right way."
Zerg, who found the whole experience of winning "surreal," scoffed at the false modesty.
"It's not because things fell the right way," she said. "It's because he's that good."
The most rewarding part of his experience, Jennings said, is the number of times he's been approached by young children.
"Maybe it's because they're most awed by disposable celebrity," he said. "But I think there are some kids who got the idea that it may be a little cooler to know stuff and to read and to learn. If watching me on TV convinces some kid that they've got some future in knowledge, that would be very rewarding to me."
Meanwhile, Kansas City, Mo.-based H&R Block Inc. capitalized on the chance for a little publicity by offering him free tax and financial services for life, which Jennings accepted.
"If he had to lose, it was nice that he lost to us and we could offer him something," David Byers, senior vice president for tax operations, said Tuesday.
Jennings will probably owe about $1.04 million in federal and Utah taxes on the winnings, Byers said, citing preliminary calculations by H&R Block.
I really think they should draft Ken Jennings to run for office in Utah. I mean, who would want to debate him, knowing that he could draw out the most obscure fact at any time? : )
There's a good chance that he'd be a Republican in Utah now, wouldn't there be ;)
Unfortunately, most people I know who have great memories for the mundane and trivial, have zero common sense. Keep this dude away from politics.
I don't know, he seems pretty well-grounded.
Well, we know he's Mormon. Seriously, how many Utah Mormon Democrats could there be? LOL
Fed Ex employees are NOT white Collar workers. He was in the tank....imho.
I think he wanted out.
Once you make $2.4M, getting another $20K starts looking like a lot of effort compared to spending it.
Since when is a FED employee *white* collar?
I got the answer and thought it was obvious.
I used to tutor Ken. I am so glad he made something of himself :-)
To paraphrase Ross Perot: "he's all ears". That boy has some panhandles. Better not travel to a windy state like Kansas without some lead ankle weights.
If watching me on TV convinces some kid that they've got some future in knowledge, that would be very rewarding to me.
Seems like a regular, decent guy. Good for him. :)
Oh, it's all about the spin. I can see it now, "He was blessed by God with the unique ability to truly listen to the people!" : )
Ok, you're so much smarter than Ken!
"Jennings will probably owe about $1.04 million in federal and Utah taxes on the winnings, Byers said, citing preliminary calculations by H&R Block"
Wow. There's some irony....
I can only guess she's never heard of the holiday shipping season.
Of course, if she had said, "Everyone knows FedEx's seasonal employees aren't white-collar, and their seasonal period isn't 4-months long," she'd have been right.
Yup, tanked it. Had to. Either he was ready to be done, or it was worth more to leave...
"Jennings will probably owe about $1.04 million in federal and Utah taxes on the winnings"
Figures, Tax maggots get as much of the winnings as the guy who earned.
How is that possible? Bush cut all the taxes for the rich so I'm sure this guy will pay practically nothing. Sarcasm off.
Does he live in the Congressional district that the Dems control?
I think he's saying that Ken threw it. :D
LOL
and i'm glad you did so well after i tutored you.
How come his tax rate is so much higher than T-Rex's? /s
No, I don't think he threw it. People like him don't throw things.
Yeah, I thought the same thing. Then again, Ken answered a heck of a lot of questions just to get to that point.
Questions that would have just left me standing there with a dumb look on my mug.
Thats what I thought too as my wife quickly said its H & R Block. But Ken admitted to doing his own taxes and Nancy, (who had the answer quickly) admitted to having a friend who she could not see for 4 months around tax time. I agree that Fed Ex was a bad answer, it could have just as easily been postal workers, UPS, because they all have a Christmas rush. However, Ken knew his answer was weak. He said he felt the ballgame was over when he saw her write down the answer so quickly.
I don't think he wanted out, he had bet the correct ammount to win if they both knew the answer. As someone already posted, there is something we all don't know. They finally hit something Ken did not know. BTW, I won a jeopardy game on a cruise by being the only one who knew what the 4 H's stand for in the 4 H club. What people know and don't know is strange. But Ken has a board game coming out and a book in the works. He looks like he will go on capitalizing on his fame. (PS, he also still has his job. That will probably last till the boss asks him to do something he does not want to do.)
No kidding. He had something like a 92% accuracy rate when he buzzed in for a question. It was amazing wathing him just rifle through categories like they were nothing. It will be weird to see a show without him on it. I was thinking for a while that they'd have to have a Tournament of Champion this year where Ken would just play himself he was so automatic.
Ditto!
Post 10
To paraphrase Ross Perot: "he's all ears". That boy has some panhandles. Better not travel to a windy state like Kansas without some lead ankle weights.
Today your post are just jealous thoughts, exactly what a whinny, crybaby RINO would say.
Ken Jennings is a solid guy, married with a 2 year old son.
If you would like a charter reference ElkGroveDan tudored him. See Post 9.
Well, that's real interesting but, the Final Jeopardy answer did not mention a "seasonal business"; it specifically mentioned "seasonal, white-collar employees."
FedEx, H&R Block, most retailers and many farmers hire seasonal employees.
In fact, I had a brain-fart similar to Mr. Jennings's; when I heard the question, I immediately thought of UPS, which just last month was in the news for its plan to hire 70,000 seasonal workers (the overwhelming majority of them not white-collar and not for four months, however).
Some of those guys living in the mountains with several wives consider Republicans (even Conservatives) to be Commies.
What has Brown done for you today?
No matter how many ways I try parsing that statement, I have absolutely no idea what it means.
H&R Block fits into that list, too, by the way.
Never was asked of him blatantly that I heard, but I think Ken has only one wife. : )
If my wife and I are very, very fortunate, "Kem" may replace "Ken" as the long-term winner on Jeopardy!. She has the skills for it. But good luck in the categories which happen to crop up, is a necessary factor.
Congressman Billybob
Click for latest, "Jennings on Jeopardy! -- Nice Guys Do Finish First"
Billybob
Yes, I think so too. He ended it himself.
..."is penning a book..."
Oh, please. The bookstores are teeming with crap and this guy wants to add to that disgusting mess?
Do us all a favor and just create a web site with a membership fee. I'm tired of having to spend an entire weekend wading through the rows upon rows of crap in order to find one book worth reading.
How many people do you know?
People hate success, I guess.
My error rate was much higher than that, the two times I tried out for the Show and didn't make it. My wife had a higher error rate the one time she tried out, and DID pass the test to go on the Show. (Click below.)
Congressman Billybob
Click for latest, "Jennings on Jeopardy! -- Nice Guys Do Finish First"
He was good at info retreival......amazing really.
Nice to see him remain the same from the beginning to the end of his run.
And I remember you both from my band class.
I think many mormons have something for NPR. Thats not the first time I have heard that.
And what do the 4 h's stand for?
He musta been thinking Fed Reserve but put down Fed X. ;>
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