'Bet it all': 'Jeopardy!' exec asks future contestants to wager big on Daily Doubles
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ever since ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ ended, the show appears to have lost its touch and excitement. The intense competition among the six champions brought a new angle to the gameshow, but its usual games are becoming dull. The new contestants seem to be playing a tad too cautiously, which perhaps doesn’t do justice to the exciting nature of the game show. To counter the issues, ‘Jeopardy!’ producers are asking future contestants to place higher bets on Daily Double Wagers.
On Monday, June 5 on the ‘Inside Jeopardy!’ podcast, producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss was joined by former champion Buzzy Cohen. Buzzy Cohen is a recording executive and trivia enthusiast from Los Angeles, California. He is popularly known for his association with ‘Jeopardy!’ and became the 2017 Tournament of Champions winner. Cohen and Sarah discussed a contestant from last week's episode who missed their chance to win because they wagered too low. The two talked about Daily Double wagers and contestants placing low bets on them.
‘Please wager big’
On the podcast, Sarah Whitcomb Foss and Buzzy Cohen talked about Daily Double Wagers. The nine-time and 2017 winner added, “I want to talk a little about these low Daily Double wagers. Every time someone hits a Daily Double I say bet it all. More times than not, people get Daily Doubles correct.” He continued with disappointment, “I just want to remind everyone. Please wager big on your Daily Doubles.” Sarah joined in and added, “If you go on the show we don't wanna see you making those tiny Daily Double wagers.”
Meanwhile, Cohen continued, “I have a strategic point of view here, Which is that 1. You've already played a couple of clues in the category, probably.” Both advised the future contestants to play according to the show’s rules, “You kind of get what the writers are asking for. You know where it is on the board so you get the level of difficulty. [And] you have way more information than you do on Final Jeopardy. Why not bet more there on these Daily Doubles? When there are more clues on the board you can make it up [if you miss it] - than ending up in a close Final Jeopardy and having to bet a ton of money and ending up in a situation where you might not be able to get it?”
‘Jeopardy!’ contestant's weird loss
Earlier last week, contestant Nathan Dennis made a frustrating bet the insiders referred to on the podcast. He revealed that he tried out the gameshow three times and this time, he landed on a Daily Double. He had $7,400 whereas his competitors Illhana had $8,400 and Diandra $2,800. ‘Jeopardy!’ host Mayim Bialik reminded Nathan, “You're $1000 behind Ilhana in second place, how much would you like to wager?” He replied, “$1356,” which left Bialik stunned as she replied in a sarcastic tone, “Alright, here’s your clue.” Under the category Cat Breeds, it read, “This place associated with a tiger subspecies is also the name of a beautiful cat breed.” Although he guessed it correctly with “Bengal,” his small wager didn’t help him jump to a higher place. Ultimately, he lost the game.
