Jeopardy! viewers witnessed a real nail-biter during the Friday, July 4 episode — but the champion’s huge wager at the last minute paid off handsomely, leaving fans stunned.
On Independence Day, Scott Riccardi returned to the popular game show after taking home $17,600 on July 3. The engineer from Somerville, New Jersey was pitted against Ricky Chandak, a financial assurance senior from Boston, Massachusetts and Andi Levenson, a senior paralegal from Narberth, Pennsylvania.
Riccardi had a comfortable lead going into Double Jeopardy! with $7,600, compared to Chandak’s $3,600 and Levenson’s $1,800. After correctly answering the second Daily Double, Riccardi had snagged $22,400 to Chandak’s $10,800. But it was Chandak who found the third Daily Double, wagered everything, and made things competitive again. He doubled his score to $24,000, leading Riccardi by $1,600.
Ultimately, it all came down to Final Jeopardy! Riccardi regained the lead with $26,400 in the bank, with Chandak at $24,400 and Levenson at $7,400.
Host Ken Jennings read the clue for the final category, Geography: “In 2023, these 2 nations agreed to redraw part of their border near the Matterhorn due to melting glaciers.”
Riccardi and Chandak correctly wrote, “What is Switzerland and Italy?” However, Chandak only wagered $2,600, bringing his total to $27,000.
Meanwhile, Riccardi wagered $24,000, leaving him with a jaw-dropping $27,000 and earning him a whopping $50,400 and the title of champion — and bringing his two-day total to $68,000.
Fans on Reddit reacted to the shocking win, with one viewer declaring, “Holy crap, what a game! What a way to celebrate the Fourth of July!”
Another exclaimed, “What a game!” as a second shared, “Scott is very impressive. Can see him going on a long run.”
A different viewer pointed out, “That Final Jeopardy bet, holy s**t, my man said f**k it all.”
Someone else echoed, “Scott’s got some GUTS!”
Meanwhile, yet another fan commented, “I love Ricky. He was so calm and cool – exuding so much self-confidence. And that true daily double was awesome.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Riccardi measures up on Monday, July 7 when he faces off against two new faces!
Jeopardy!, Weeknights, check local listings
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