‘Jeopardy!’ contestant slammed for ‘bonehead wager’ that cost him the game

nypost.com:

A “Jeopardy!” contestant lost big on Wednesday night’s episode, and fans have been quick to let him know what he did wrong.Going into the Final Jeopardy round, a man named John was in second place with $14,200, trailing $9,000 behind the contestant in first place.

He was the only player to answer the clue correctly, but thanks to his decision to not bet any of his winnings, he failed to win the game.With a category of “American Immigrants,” the clue read, “His 1904 will stipulated that ‘All the sums hereinbefore specified for prizes shall be used for prizes only.’”Evan, who was in third place with $6,000, and Kendra, who was in the lead, both guessed “Nobel.” Alfred Nobel died in 1896, and while he did work in America, he never immigrated.John was the only one who answered correctly with “Pulitzer.” Joseph Pulitzer, another man with a famous prize named after him, was alive to write a will in 1904.

He came to the U.S. in 1864, having been recruited to fight in the Civil War.Host Ken Jennings confirmed that the answer was correct, then said, “So you’re going to add to that?” After seeing John’s choice to not wager anything, he corrected himself, saying, “Oh, you won’t.

You bet nothing. Interesting.”After Kendra’s answer was revealed to be wrong, viewers saw that she’d bet $5,201, which left her with $17,999 — a winning amount — despite having answered the final question incorrectly.While Jennings seemed surprised at John’s choice, fans were downright flabbergasted.“A bonehead wager by John!” one person exclaimed in the comment section of the “Jeopardy!” YouTube page. “He got the correct response and was within striking distance of Kendra, but wagered nothing.