Pro Gambler Breaks His Own Single-Day Winnings Record on “Jeopardy”

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If he keeps it up, James Holzhauer may go from being a Jeopardy contestant to an answer on the show.

The clue: the winningest contestant in Jeopardy history.

After setting a new single-day winnings record last week by taking home $110,914 in prize money, Holzhauer broke his own record last night by winning $131,127. The win brings his 10-day total to $697,787, quite a haul.

However, the pro sports gambler (who is already in the show’s Hall of Fame) still trails legendary player Ken Jennings and his 74-game total of $2,520,700 by quite a bit.

But if the 34-year-old can keep winning — and his slick buzzer skills indicate he can — he will have a chance at catching Jennings if he keeps earning such large paydays (nearly $70,000 on average).

James is already up to 10 wins! How far will he go? pic.twitter.com/dn1nsUWYkq

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) April 18, 2019

In addition to Holzhauer’s quick buzzer finger, his aggressive strategy has also been a key part of his winning streak.

“My theory is that you need to be betting very aggressively on Daily Doubles and in Final Jeopardy,” he explained to Vulture. “A lot of people bet big when their backs are against the wall, but people don’t realize … everyone thinks, Oh, I want to go into Final Jeopardy with some chance of winning. But that’s not the best strategy. I bet on sports, and as an example, there comes a time in a football game where a team is down three points with a minute left, so they’re going to try a field goal to tie and go into overtime. But really the best chance of winning is to go all-out for the touchdown. Players need to be playing more aggressively when they get Daily Doubles in ‘regulation time,’ so to speak.”

Fans will have to wait until next season to see if Holzhauer can keep his run going because host Alex Trebek announced the show is done taping for now.