How Florida State’s school colors cost Jeopardy genius James Holzhauer
James Holzhauer, the sports gambler from Las Vegas, became a Jeopardy star in 2019 for his 32-game winning streak, creative wagering strategy and personality.
And he won’t forget Florida State’s school colors anytime soon.
Holzhauer’s rise paved the way for the “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament, where he’s battling against Ken Jennings, who holds the record with 74 straight wins, and Brad Rutter, who has the record for most money won.
The first to win three matches is claimed as the greatest of all time (GOAT). Matches span two shows — one hour of TV time — with the person with the most cumulative points over the two shows deemed the match winner.
Entering Thursday, Holzhauer and Jennings each had won a match while Rutter stood at zero victories.
In Game 2 of Thursday’s airing, which was taped in December, Jeopardy James was breezing along and priming himself for a chance to capture his second match.
He even picked a Daily Double clue in the Gemstones category.
Holzhauer used his patented strategy of betting it all on the Daily Double clue.
It’s also where it went horribly wrong for him, and it was due to not knowing FSU’s school colors.
Holzhauer’s clue was, “This birthstone is in abrasives for polishing and grinding; the color pairs with gold as an official one for Florida State.”
Instead of correctly saying garnet, Holzhauer incorrectly guessed, “What is diamond.”
As a result, Holzhauer saw his 5,000 points vanish back down to zero instead of doubling to 10,000. At the time, Jennings and Rutter had zero points as Holzhauer was buzzing in and correctly answering clues.
He lost command shortly thereafter and Jennings tallied his second match victory. Friday night’s airing is Jennings’ first crack to clinch the tournament and cement himself as the GOAT.
