recaps

Season 36

Today’s Final Jeopardy – December 9, 2019

Published Modified

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Vice Presidents) for Monday, December 9, 2019 (Season 36, Episode 66):

George H.W. Bush in 1988 was the first sitting Vice President to be elected to the top job since this man 152 years before

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s contestants:

Ann Baur, a program manager from Seattle, Washington

Ann Baur on Jeopardy!

Jeff Kushner, a health care regulator from Baltimore, Maryland

Jeff Kushner on Jeopardy!

Jennifer Quail, a wine tasting consultant from Dowagiac, Michigan (3-day total: $90,300)

Jennifer Quail on Jeopardy!

Updated daily at around noon Eastern, I have begun an archive of J!6 questions here at The Jeopardy! Fan, as of December 3!

(Content continues below)

Add The Jeopardy! Fan to your preferred sources on Google by clicking the button below!

My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.

Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.

Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2026? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!

You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 23 players, including Caleb Groen, Adam Remsen, Tristan Williams and Jamie Ding, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!

You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!

If you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan and would like to make a one-time contribution to the site, you may do so here!

Correct response: Who is Martin Van Buren?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

While many Vice Presidents ascended to the Presidency due to the death of the sitting President, it took 152 years between Martin Van Buren and George H.W. Bush for a sitting Vice President to be elected to the Presidency. Van Buren was Andrew Jackson’s second Vice President, serving in that post from 1833 to 1837 after serving as Secretary of State and Ambassador to Great Britain during Jackson’s first term. Van Buren was a founder of the Democratic Party and worked hard to re-establish a two-party system in the United States, counteracting the Whigs. Unfortunately, the Panic of 1837 hampered Van Buren’s presidency (after Van Buren was very popular during the Jackson administration) and he lost in 1840 to William Henry Harrison.

Since Alex Trebek’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, many community members have been raising money. The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store is as well! All proceeds from any “Keep The Faith And We’ll Win” shirt sold will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. To date, over $440 has been raised.)

In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in late 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!

Scores going into Final:
Jennifer $21,700
Ann $15,200
Jeff $5,200

Tonight’s results:
Jeff $5,200 – $5,198 = $2 (Who is Jackson)
Ann $15,200 – $8,701 = $6,499 (Who was Jackson?)
Jennifer $21,700 + $11,300 = $33,000 (4-day total: $123,300)

Jennifer Quail, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the December 9, 2019 game.)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Jennifer $10,500
Ann $4,200
Jeff $1,200

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:
1) NINE TALES $1000 (25th pick)
Jennifer 8200 +1500 (Ann 3600 Jeff 600)
2) HAVE AN ARTSY CHRISTMASTIME $1600 (13th pick)
Jennifer 14900 +4000 (Jeff 8400 Ann 4200)
3) FROM “C” TO SHINING “C” $2000 (17th pick)
Ann 5000 +5000 (Jennifer 17300 Jeff 8400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 145

Unplayed clues:
J! round: POKÉMON $1000
DJ! Round: FROM “C” TO SHINING “C” $400 & $800; PSYCHOLOGY JARGON $400 & $800
Total $ Left On Board: $3,400
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 107 (1.62 per episode average), 1 Daily Double

Game Stats:
Jennifer $18,800 Coryat, 25 correct, 2 incorrect, 44.23% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Ann $12,200 Coryat, 18 correct, 1 incorrect, 32.69% in first on buzzer, 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Jeff $5,200 Coryat, 7 correct 2 incorrect, 15.38% in first on buzzer, 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,200
Lach Trash: $8,400 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,000

Jennifer Quail, stats to date:
113 correct, 17 incorrect
6/10 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
47.98% in first on buzzer (107/223)
9/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $23,000)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,850

Jennifer Quail, to win:
5 games: 77.490%
6: 60.047%
7: 46.531%
8: 36.057%
9: 27.941%
Avg. streak: 7.443 games. #Jeopardy
Methodology: https://thejeopardyfan.com/2019/04/jeopardy-predictions-updated-methods.html

Andy’s Thoughts:

  • Jennifer’s $123,300 is the 10th-highest total of any champion through four wins on Jeopardy! since the dollar values were doubled in November 2001.
  • Jennifer’s Final Jeopardy! wager is what would be termed as a “Lazarus” wager (a term first used by Keith Williams over on The Final Wager), as it would give Jeff a chance to resurrect himself from the dead, as it were.

Add The Jeopardy! Fan to your preferred sources on Google by clicking the button below!

Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!

Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com

When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.

If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.

Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
Powered by Labrador CMS