Matt Amodio is Now Third-Highest Money Winner in 'Jeopardy!' History

By
( )
published

Graduate student has won more than a half-million dollars in regular game play across 17 straight games

Matt Amodio, a Yale PhD student, follows Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer in money won in regular game play.
Matt Amodio, a Yale PhD student, follows Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer in money won in regular game play. (Image credit: Matt Amodio , a Yale PhD student, follows Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer in money won in regular game play.)

Matt Amodio, a Yale Ph.D. student from Medina, Ohio, continued his Jeopardy! winning streak, winning his 17th straight game to bring his total winnings to $547,600. 

That makes him the third-highest money winner in regular games in Jeopardy! history, behind Ken Jennings, now a consulting producer on the show, and professional gambler James Holzhauer. Jennings won a total of $2,520,700 across 74 consecutive games while Holzhauer won $2,462,216 across 32 consecutive games.

Also Read: Matt Amodio Rises to Become Fifth-Highest 'Jeopardy!' Money Winner

“The show has had so many brilliant people [on it],” Amodio said of contestants like Holzhauer and Jennings in a statement. “I’m honored to be thought of as even close to them.”

Amodio returns Friday (Aug. 13) for the final episode of Jeopardy!’s 37th season. He’ll compete against Nicolle Neulist from Chicago and Eric Shi from Houston.

Also Read: Mike Richards is New 'Jeopardy!' Host

Jeopardy!’s 38th season begins Monday, Sept. 13, when Mike Richards takes the reins as the syndicated show’s host. Richards also executive produces Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. He was one of the many guest hosts who hosted the show this year after long-time host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer last November. 

Sony Pictures Television, which produces Jeopardy!, also announced on Wednesday that Mayim Bialik would host Jeopardy! primetime specials and spinoffs, including the upcoming National College Championship that will air on ABC.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.