Jeopardy! came down to a Disney question and a shocking wager to determine the game. Two of the contestants got the final answer wrong, making the third the night’s winner after a close game.
Andrew Jones, from Queens, New York, played his second game on Tuesday, May 13, against Katie Tarara, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Aaron Dmiszewicki, from Pompano Beach, Florida. Jones has a one-day total of $5,600. He hoped to increase that by winning another game.
“A $0 wager on a tough Final Jeopardy clue turned out to be the right move for Andrew Jones when no one got it right,” host Ken Jennings said at the beginning of the episode.
The game started out as a battle between Jones, a graduate student, and Tarara, a nonprofit comedy theater executive director, who took turns answering questions correctly. Tarara was in the lead when she found the first Daily Double. With $5,200 in her bank, she made it a true Daily Double. In the category “Change a Letter,” the clue read, “To conclude by reasoning switches a letter & now means to bury.” She answered, “What is figure and…? I don’t know.” The correct answer was infer and inter. Tarara dropped down to $0.
However, by the end of the round, she was in the lead with $3,800. Jones and Dmiszewicki, an attorney, were tied with $2,600.
In Double Jeopardy, Jones found the first DD. With the lead at $7,000, he decided to wager $3,000. In the category, “Opera,” the clue read, “This iconic chorus from Act II of ‘Il Trovatore’ can actually use a hammer striking the blacksmith tool for which it’s named.” “What is Anvil Chorus?” he answered, bringing him up to $10,000.
Tarara found the last DD of the game towards the end of the round. With $9,400 in her bank, and only $600 behind Jones, she wagered $2,600. In “It’s Your Diamond Anniversary,” the clue read, “Club Med began in 1950 in Alcúdia on this 1,400-square-mile Spanish island.” “What is Ibiza?” she answered. The correct response was Majorca. She dropped down to $6,800, and third place.
Jones maintained the lead heading into Final Jeopardy with $10,400. Dmiszewicki had $9,000. Tarara had $7,200.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Broadway Premieres.” The clue was “To avoid licensing fees, this play used bits of ‘Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush’ in place of the Disney tune that inspired its title.”
Tarara answered, “What is Zip-a-dee-do-da?” That was incorrect and she dropped to $1 after wagering $7,199. Dmiszewicki said, “What is Merrily We Roll Along?” which was also incorrect. He wagered $5,401, giving him a final total of $3,599. Jones, who wrote his answer down frantically at the last minute, said, “What is ‘Who is Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’” That was correct and was a spinoff of “Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” Jones wagered all of his money and ended with $20,800.
He has a two-day total of $26,400. Jones will be back on Wednesday, May 14, to face off against two new opponents in his third game.
“Love Andrew not playing it safe and going for the full double. Know thyself. I missed yesterday but looks like he didn’t win a ton, may as well go for it today and get a couple more thousand dollars,” a Reddit user wrote.
“Wow, from betting 0 on FJ last game to going all in. Andrew has some wild wagering strategies and I’m here for it. Good game to all!” said another.
“Much better game today! Andrew bet big on FJ and it paid off,” a third added.