Stevie Ruiz was a two-day champion on Jeopardy! in December 2024. In a new interview, he opened up about nearly being homeless and how the game show helped him get back on his feet.

Ruiz works as a server at a restaurant in Montauk, New York, and makes most of his money during the warmer months, according to The New York Times. He used to be a front office manager at a hotel, but discovered that he could make more money waiting tables, so he left his full-time job two years ago and made more money in three days than he did in two weeks at the hotel.

He won $38,987 in two games, but competed in three from December 3 to 5, and this money helped him find a place to live. The hotel job provided housing for him, but the restaurant job didn’t, so Ruiz had to find a place on his own. “A lot of restaurants out here don’t provide housing for front-of-house workers,” Ruiz told the outlet. “Housing is pretty limited and expensive, and they want to make sure they have their kitchen staff taken care of. You can always find people to pick up server shifts here and there. Not being provided housing has really, really been a challenge.”

Although Ruiz is currently living with a friend, he did stay with his mom in North Carolina for the winter. “I’m turning 37 this year and, you know, you see family less and less,” Ruiz said. “So it’s nice to spend time with mom. We watch Jeopardy! together. We hang out, I’ll cook dinner — it’s been a nice thing.”

Ruiz hopes to follow his passions — cooking and design — and make some money by opening up a Haitian cuisine pop-up called Yotte’s. “I hope to one day be able to do a restaurant, but for now it’s a passion project,” he told the outlet. Ruiz also started a clothing line called Montauk Vice, which currently features a crew neck sweatshirt and a hoodie.

The Jeopardy! champion started taking the online test for the game show in 2018 and has taken it every year since. In 2024, he noticed a message at the bottom of the test that said to check their spam folder in case the message goes there. Lo and behold, he found an email from Jeopardy! from 2021, telling him he had advanced to the next round. He emailed back, apologizing for the delay, and received a response back, and eventually a spot on the show.

After his original run, Ruiz competed in the Wild Card Championship, but didn’t win. “On your original run, you have to cover your own flight and hotel,” Ruiz told The New York Times. “But if you go back for the championship, you get flight, hotel and a per diem. And I still got $5,000 losing in the first round so it was actually a $5,000 paid vacation.”

Ruiz knows that the money from Jeopardy! isn’t going to last forever. He puts aside $2,000 a month to try and find a place, but that’s not nearly enough. Currently, he pays a friend $250 a week for a bedroom. He shared that he is awaiting to hear back from a couple of leads, but doesn’t want to leave Montauk.