19 Years Ago, Ken Jennings Lost His 75th Game; Nick Cascone Wins Champions Wildcard Clubs

Going over Ken Jennings's infamous loss from 19 years ago and going over the Champions Wildcard Clubs finals; plus more!

The 75th Game

Ken Jennings at the beginning of his final game, with 74 wins and cash winnings of $2,520,700 (Jeopardy! Productions, Inc).

With 74 wins and $2,520,700 in winnings, Ken Jennings looked absolutely unbeatable. Only the show’s second millionaire at the time, and the only one to surpass the $2.5 million mark, Ken was deep into the game show history records and the center of the evolving culture of game shows in the 2000s. Just several weeks prior, he surpassed Kevin Olmstead, former Jeopardy! champion and top prize winner on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, in all-time game show winnings ($2,205,901). In the first round of his 75th game, it began as most of his games did with him mainly in control and dominance of the board. Picking up $10,600, including $3,000 from the first Daily Double, he had an assertive lead over opponents Nancy Zerg ($4,800) and David Hankins ($400).

In the second round, however, Ken’s grasp of the match showed several signs of loosening. The first shift of the game occurred when he found the second Daily Double of the game on the 15th clue. With a score of $14,600, he had a $6,200 lead over Zerg. He stuck to tradition by wagering for an even five-figure number, in this case $5,400 for $20,000. The clue was in Patton Pending: “On December 26, 1944 Patton's forces relieved this town in Belgium's Ardennes; the Germans were driven out in January.” The correct answer was “What is Bastogne?” Ken answered with Verdun, knocking his score down to $9,200 which was only an $800 lead over Zerg.

Ken Jennings and Nancy Zerg’s final scores before Final Jeopardy! (Jeopardy! Productions, Inc).

After bouncing back with five consecutive correct answers, capitalizing on $6,000, Ken found the last Daily Double. With $15,200 to gamble with, he went for $20,000 again by betting $4,800. The clue was in Funny Hats: “The name of this often brimless hat, popular in the 1920s, is French for "bell", after the shape of the hat.” The correct answer was “What is a cloche?” Ken answered with a campan, knocking his score down to $10,400. With only eight clues left, Ken’s chances at securing a runaway were evaporating. Despite capitalizing on $4,000 more, Nancy also capitalized on another $1,600. David Hankins was not able to get himself back in contention, and wound up with -$2,800 at the end of the round. It was just Ken vs. Nancy for the final round.

For the deciding match, the final clue was in Business & Industry: “Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only 4 months a year.” Nancy was up first, who answered the clue with “What is H&R Block?” This clue was a familiar one to many taxpayers, and Nancy was no exception. Adding $4,401 to her score, Nancy now had a $1 lead over Ken Jennings for the moment. Ken’s answer was revealed next in a moment where everyone was holding their breath… “What is… Fed-Ex?” was Ken’s response. Upon his answer being revealed, the audience gasped in exasperation. Nancy covered her mouth in disbelief. Ken’s wager of $5,601 was revealed as he fell backwards to $8,799, never fulfilling the $20,000 goal he was aiming to equate himself to or surpass. After nearly six months of Kenopoly and short tournament breaks, Ken’s streak had come to an end.

The ZergCam™ shot upon Zerg’s realization that she had just ended Ken Jennings’s streak (Jeopardy! Productions, Inc).

The next day, Alex Trebek brought Ken Jennings to the stage for a quick two-minute interview before the game started. Since his streak was so unprecedented and he had advanced the culture of quiz shows to an entirely new height, Ken went on to become the host of the show in 2021, following Trebek’s passing in late 2020. As it stands, he is ranked #2 in all-time cash winnings on Jeopardy!, behind Brad Rutter.