Whether you’re a regular viewer of the popular TV quiz show Jeopardy! or not, you have probably heard the name James Holzhauer.
The professional gambler from Las Vegas is on one heck of an epic run, somewhat similar to what Ken Jennings did 15 years ago.
In 2004, the 20th season of Jeopardy!, Jennings embarked on a streak of winning 74 consecutive games over 182 calendar days. The previous record was eight straight wins.
But if Jennings is the sports equivalent to the present day New England Patriots — winners of three of the last five Super Bowls — Holzhauer is like the Montreal Canadiens of the 1970s, who steamrolled opponents en route to six Stanley Cups.
Want a more recent example?
Holzhauer is the Golden State Warriors, a team that is going to be playing in its fifth consecutive NBA Finals and looking to become the first three-peat champion since the L.A. Lakers in 2000, ’01 and ’02.
Holzhauer has won 24 straight games and a total of $1,867,142, second only to Jennings’ $2,520,700 total. He owns the single highest one-day total in Jeopardy! of $131,127. In fact, Holzhauer owns the top 13 money totals on the show.
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He’s crushing competitors every night, like Mike Tyson before he took on James ‘Buster’ Douglas, like Tiger Woods before his health and family issues, and like Olympic stars Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.
Holzhauer is dominating, like when Georgia Tech clobbered Cumberland 222-0 in a college football game in 1916.
The run-up-the-score, take-no-prisoners attitude has been fun to watch. How much longer will it last? At this rate, we may not find out for a while.
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