Why did Ben Goldstein slam 'Jeopardy!'? Former five-day champ calls out show's unfair policy toward contestants
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former five-day ‘Jeopardy!’ champion, Ben Goldstein has questioned some of the game show policies. Ben was enjoying a winning streak on the show until Donna Matturri, a librarian from Columbus, Ohio decided to level up and shock the viewers with her unexpected victory. Ben set the record for the lowest combined five-day total of any player in the trivia show's history with a grand total of $49,298.
But the content marketing specialist from Dexter, Michigan wasn’t entirely pleased with a particular policy of the game show. He recently called out the game show’s policy of not paying for players’ expenses. Ben who had recently suffered an unfortunate defeat on the game show brought out a flaw that has plagued the game show for years.
What did Ben Goldstein say?
Ben lately tweeted about ‘Jeopardy!’s’ policy to pay for contestants’ airfare and accommodations. He said, “Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show more accessible to a wider range of contestants. Not everyone can afford a trip to Los Angeles with no guarantee of payback.” Ben had re-shared a post from The Jeopardy! fan site which cited an Oakland Tribune interview with then–contestant co-ordinator Kelley Carpenter from August 1994.
Interesting discussion of the "Why doesn’t #Jeopardy pay airfare and accommodations" question here. Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show more accessible to a wider range of contestants. Not everyone can afford a trip to LA with no guarantee of payback. https://t.co/C317e7kAro
— Ben Goldstein (@GoldsteinRaw) June 25, 2023
Kelley mentioned in her statement, “Because we have both out-of-towners and locals appearing on the show if we were to pay for an airfare and a hotel, we would have technically given away money to some contestants coming from the East Coast, which wouldn’t be fair to someone who only lives 20 minutes away.”
Ben Goldstein’s poor record on ‘Jeopardy!’
When Ben lost to first-time contestant, Donna Matturri recently, he was clearly not amused. His shoulders shrunk as he sported a carefree look as if the loss didn’t matter to him. Ben set the record for the lowest combined five-day total for any player and wanted to be an aggressive player like Amy Schneider. He was ambitious but unfortunately, he wagered a tad too much in the Final Jeopardy round and lost it all.
Ben said, “I wanted to be like Amy Schneider: Aggressive at first, then switching to defense mode after getting a big lead. But then I went 0-for-4 on wager questions in my first two games and needed to figure out another path. If the Daily Double/Final Jeopardy questions were going to be landmines for me, I needed to treat them that way. Hence, smaller wagers. Wagering as if I'd get the Final Qs wrong, not right.” He later concluded his thoughts and said, “Quick message to the haters: I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty."
