‘Jeopardy!’: 3 Big Bets Don’t Pay off in Final Jeopardy Stumper

Kelli Boyle April 19, 2023, 8:26 pm

'Jeopardy!' April 19, 2023 episode — Jeopardy, Inc.

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the April 19 episode of Jeopardy!]

Another day, another Final Jeopardy stumper. None of the contestants in the April 19 episode of Jeopardy! answered the final prompt correctly. Another thing they had in common: their big final bets that didn’t pay off.

Playing in tonight’s episode was Deb Bilodeau, a winemaker from Oakland, California; Devin Lohman, an architectural designer and masters student from Peachtree City, Georgia; and Ben Spilsbury, a sales engineer from Long Island City, New York. Deb was the returning champ with one-day winnings of $16,601.

The winemaker enjoyed a strong lead throughout the first two rounds of play, which in a fun moment for us, included a TV category that featured New Girl, The White Lotus, 90 Day Fiancé, and more. By the first break, the winnings were: Deb $3,800, Devin $1,000, Ben $1,400. Going into Double Jeopardy (which featured a movie comedies category with a cameo from Ike Barinholtz), the scores were: Deb $7,600, Devin $1,800, Ben $1,600.

Double Jeopardy proved to be a lucrative round for the players. Through Daily Doubles and a slew of correct answers, Devin was able to take the lead. Heading into the final round, Deb was in second and Ben was in third. The scores: Devin $20,600, Deb $18,800, Ben $4,400. But all three of them would lose most, if not all, of their winnings before the game’s end.

'Jeopardy!' Champion Ben Chan Explains Why He Is Absent From Show

The category was “Lives of the Poets.” The prompt: “At a seminary that classified students’ degree of faith, Emily Dickinson was ‘without’ this, which she compares to a bird in a poem.” The answer Ken Jennings was looking for was “hope.” Ben’s response was “faith.” Betting $4,399, he went down to just $1. And he still ended up in second place.

Deb guessed “doubt,” but they bet it all, losing the entirety of the $18,800 winnings and their chance at becoming a two-day champ. Devin’s response was “God.” He bet $19,400, leaving him with $1,200. It’s not often that a dollar amount that low wins the day, but win, it did!

Devin will return for the April 20 episode, where he hopefully won’t wager quite as much.

Jeopardy!, Weekdays, Check your local listings