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‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Who Won Major Payday Reveals Best Advice for Anyone Appearing on Show

Jeopardy! champion Juliet Mayer was doling out advice this week. Maybe future contestants will be listening and pay heed to her wise words.

When it comes to Jeopardy! Mayer said, it’s not necessarily about how fast you are with the clicker. It’s about how comfortable you are playing the game. Literally.

“Don’t wear heels!” Mayer told Fauquier Now. “My feet were killing me by the end of the day, and no one can tell how tall you are anyway.”

Good point. When you’re on contestant row, no one is quite sure how tall anyone is. Wear some cute, but comfortable shoes. Or, the shoes can be ugly, but comfortable. Nobody is checking to see if your footwear is fashionable.

And speaking of fashionable shoes, Mayer now can afford a guilt-free shopping spree, thanks to Jeopardy!, She went back-to-back in Jeopardy! victories during her stint on the quiz show, which was moderated by guest host Bill Whitaker, a CBS and 60 Minutes journalist. She won $54.200.

Mayer Turned Down Previous Chance at Jeopardy!

She’s only 24. Mayer already earned her bachelor’s degree from Amherst College. She’s now attending the Harvard School of Public Health.

Mayer applied to be a Jeopardy! contestant at the start of 2020. She went through the final Zoom interview process in September. Coincidentally, she also applied for Jeopardy! four years ago and got all the way up to the in-person interview. But she turned it down because she said she was afraid to drive to New York.

“That was my 20-year-old self,” she told Fauquier Now.

Paul Mayer is her dad. The two used to watch Jeopardy! together, so it definitely was a family tradition. Paul Mayer said he also wanted to be a contestant on the show. He told Fauquier Now that he was “about 10 percent jealous and 90 percent proud” of Juliet.

“It’s one thing to know the answers,” Paul Mayer said. “It’s another to do it under pressure.”

On her third day of Jeopardy!, Mayer came into the final round with $16,400 and an $800 lead. The final Jeopardy! answer was from Books of the Bible.

Bill Whitaker read the answer: “Its last chapter includes wisdom from King Lemuel, taught to him by his mother, as well as the famous ‘Virtuous Woman’ passage.”

Do you know the correct question? Mayer didn’t. She said “What is Judges.” After betting only $5,000, her total dropped to $11,400. The day’s winner, a teacher from California, answered correctly. It was Proverbs. He also bet everything. Mayer collected $1,000 for her third appearance.

She’ll Probably Use Some Money for Vacation

She told her hometown news outlet that she’ll likely put a chunk of her winnings in savings. After all, her father works in financial services.

“I think my dad would be upset with me if I didn’t put some portion of it in savings,” Mayer said of her plans for her Jeopardy! winnings.

“I’ll probably put some aside for maybe a nice trip next summer, after I graduate with my master’s. And then I think the rest on probably some simple material pleasures, some new clothes.”

So, here’s betting that Mayer will buy at least one pair of shoes.