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‘Jeopardy!’: Matt Amodio Continues His Historic Run, Reaching 30 Wins

Matt Amodio continues his march of Jeopardy! dominance, reaching another major milestone with 30 wins. The Yale Ph.D. student recently became only the third player in the show’s long history to win more than $1 million.

Amodio is now only two wins away from tying James Holzhauer for second-most wins all-time. Though, Holzhauer was a bigger earner. He brought in more than $2.4 million during his winning streak in 2019. The 30-year-old still has a long way to go to catch Ken Jennings, the Jeopardy! G.O.A.T., who won 74 games in a row.

Jeopardy! celebrated the “Amodio Rodeo” on social media.

“That’s 30 games in a row for Matt Amodio! They grow up so fast, don’t they?” the show posted on Instagram.

“I had this as way beyond my wildest dreams going in,” Amodio told the show when he broke $1 million on Monday. “I knew it was a possibility, but I thought it was a very remote possibility, and to have it actually happen is unbelievable.” 

Carrying on this win streak isn’t going to be easy. Matt Amodio recently explained that he understands now why there are so few long-term winners on the show. And it’s not because the questions are difficult. Jeopardy! breaks contestants with its grueling pace.

“Having to go for a full day, ride the energy all day with all that enthusiasm, and then knowing that you have to go to sleep early and then wake up early to be ready to do it all again—it’s tough,” he says. “I think that’s one of the reasons why you have so few long-term champions right there, where even if the game weren’t also changing underneath you with new questions, that physical aspect is really tough.”

Mayim Bialik Says Hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ Full Time is Her ‘Dream Job’

Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik is settling into her role as fill-in host for Jeopardy! But she wants to make it permanent. She says hosting the show day-to-day is her dream.

“The use of my brain and my skillset feels best suited by this job on Jeopardy! It is a dream job. I think it’s a dream job for anyone, but especially for someone who is trained first as a performer and then as a science communicator,” the former The Big Bang Theory told The Hollywood Reporter.

Sony hired Bialik to host the prime-time episodes of Jeopardy! and any potential spin-offs of the game show. But the studio asked her to step in as guest host of the syndicated show after they fired Mike Richards last month. She’ll split guest-hosting duties with Ken Jennings starting in November.

Jeopardy! is still searching for its permanent host, and Bialik said she hopes she can bring a steady hand to the franchise during one of the most tumultuous times in the show’s history.

“I go to work, and I do my job,” she explained. “What I want is stability for the crew and for the staff and, as much as possible, for the viewers.”