Professional bettor changing game

You may not be aware, but our pre-primetime way of life is undergoing a big change.

Jeopardy! is being transformed.

Like many Americans, I’m a fan of this game show, which I like for brain teasing entertainment value. I’m not a regular viewer because my work doesn’t always allow me to be at home in time (it airs at 6 p.m. weeknights here in New Mexico).

Millions of Americans, however, tune in regularly — more than 10 million daily, according to one Nielson report.

TV Guide lists Jeopardy! as the biggest game show of all time. It has been on the air since 1964; its latest and longest running incarnation has been on the air, with Alex Trebek as its host, since 1984.

But now the program is being shaken up. For one thing, its longstanding host is facing his own mortality — Trebek, 79, announced in March that he has been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Though he says he’ll stay with the show as long as he can, it’s hard to picture Jeopardy! without Trebek at the helm.

Then there’s the show’s latest winning contestant.

His name is James Holzhauer. He’s 34 years old and he’s doing to Jeopardy! what a young Tiger Woods did to golf — fundamentally changing the game.

Holzhauer is a professional sports bettor who has, as of last week, won 17 shows in a row for nearly $1.3 million. He’s being compared to Ken Jennings, who holds the show’s records of most wins, 74, and most money made, $2.5 million. Holzhauer is still a long way off those marks, but by the looks of his performance so far, he’s en route.

You’ve got to be smart and quick to win at Jeopardy! and Holzhauer is both. Like Jennings, he’s quick with the buzzer and the answer/question. He has an expansive knowledge of a wide range of topics and is looking unstoppable these days.

Holzhauer’s game-changing ways, however, rests in the approach he uses — he goes after the big money first, then plays the percentages for even bigger payouts.

Most contestants start with the smaller prizes, but Holzhauer starts with the higher amounts and quickly amasses large sums. Then he bets big in the Daily Doubles and in the final round, and the result is that he’s winning large amounts of money with each game.

What’s good for Holzhauer, however, isn’t necessarily good for the show.

Leave it to Fox News to point out that some viewers are beginning to find his winning streak boring, citing social media posts as their sources.

More in-depth reports show a rise in viewership since Holzhauer’s takeover, but not by much. Nielson ratings showed a significant increase in viewers over his first 12 wins, but it appears to have leveled off since then.

I’ve seen him once so far and hope to watch him more. I had previously stopped watching Jeopardy! but my attention to it has returned, thanks to Holzhauer. Not because I can keep up — he’s just way too fast with that buzzer — but just to see where it goes from here.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

tmcdonald.srnm

@gmail.com