'Jeopardy' player took such a wild risk that even Ken Jennings ended up saying 'holy cow'
Scott Riccardi placed an unbelievable wager during Final Jeopardy! to win a massive amount in a day!
July 15 2025, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
Ken Jennings may have been a legendary player on "Jeopardy!," but there are others who have made a name for themselves on the show as well. One such player is Scott Riccardi, who left the fans in shock with his risky wagers in the final rounds of the game. He also has a 7-day winning streak to his name, and in his run, he placed some mighty wagers, including a $24,000 bet in his second appearance on the Independence Day episode. The stunning wager and eventual win stunned the fans, who took to Reddit to appreciate the bold gameplay.
On July 4, when Riccardi returned for his second game, there were many moments throughout the episode where he looked in complete control. After winning $17,600 from his first episode, the engineer from Somerville, New Jersey, went up against Ricky Chandak, from Boston, Massachusetts, and Andi Levenson, from Narberth, Pennsylvania. He built a comfortable lead going into Double Jeopardy! But he eventually lost it to Chandak, who wagered everything he got on the third Daily Double, to win $24,000, leaving Riccardi behind by $1,600.
It all came down to Final Jeopardy! as Riccardi and Chandak were close with $26,400 in and $24,400 in the bank, respectively. When host Ken Jennings then read the clue for the final category, "Geography", Riccardi seemed to be in a winning mood. The clue “In 2023, these 2 nations agreed to redraw part of their border near the Matterhorn due to melting glaciers” was answered correctly by both Riccardi and Chandak.
Turning to Riccardi, Jennigs asked, "Now, did he wager more than $600?" Luckily for Riccardi, he wagered a whopping $24,000, which took his day's total to $50,400. "Holy cow! And a two-day total of $68,000. What a win!" Jennings exclaimed as the player let out a coy smile.
The massive win generated a lot of noise on social media, and fans took to Reddit to appreciate the player's efforts. "Scott's got some GUTS!" @IanGecko wrote in a Reddit thread on the show's unofficial forum. "That was a gutsy wage by Scott at the end. Glad it worked out for him. Looking forward to seeing him play again," added another fan, @MamasSweetPickels.
Meanwhile, a few fans noted that it had been a long time since someone won that big. "I believe that the last time someone won at least $50K in regular-play only was when Ben Chan won $60K way back in May 2023. Correct me if I'm wrong," wrote @Difficult-Stay-3678.
Some also noted that Scott was looking set to create a streak. "At this point that Scott has a high chance of securing a slot in the postseason games," said @ajsy0905. With $182,901 in total winnings, he serves as the current champion on the show.
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