James Holzhauer Smashes Single-Day ‘Jeopardy!’ Earnings Record

James Holzhauer, a professional sports gambler from Las Vegas, Nev., has been a dominant force as the current reigning champion on the game show “Jeopardy!” Holzhauer proved that once again during the Tuesday, Apr. 9 episode as he set the show’s new all-time record in single-day earnings by winning $110,914, far surpassing the nine-year mark of $77,000 by then-champion Roger Craig.

To help accomplish the feat, Holzhauer discovered both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy round. With the first Daily Double, he was able to double up his $14,600 winnings to go to $29,200. For the second one, he added $25,000 to result in having $71,800.

Holzhauer bet just enough at Final Jeopardy so his score would represent the birth date of his daughter which is 11/09/14 (Nov. 9, 2014).

Here’s video of the highlights of both Roger Craig’s and James Holzhauer’s notable games:

Holzhauer has accumulated a whopping $244,365 in just four days, and is projected for a long (and possibly historic) run on the game show. Even host Alex Trebek commented: “Is it too soon to start thinking about Ken Jennings comparisons?”, referencing the legendary champion who would win 74 consecutive games in 2004 to cume $2.52 million.

Holzhauer’s prowess on television quiz shows has not been unprecedented. Back in 2014, he was the primary member of a three-person team to reach a score of 26 steps in the Final Chase round versus Mark “The Beast” Labbett on GSN’s “The Chase” — still, a U.S. record for the program. He would then earn one-third of an impressive team pot of $175,000.