'Jeopardy!' champ James Holzhauer enters World Series of Poker
By Tim Balk
"Jeopardy!" contestant James Holzhauer on an episode that aired on April 17, 2019. Holzhauer has entered the World Series of Poker. (Carol Kaelson/Associated Press)
Can't get enough of "Jeopardy!" superstar James Holzhauer?
Hope you like hold 'em.
The trivia superstar who blazed his way to 32 straight wins on "Jeopardy!" has taken his talents to the World Series of Poker, making his first appearance Monday.
Holzhauer's chip count stood at 40,300 after six levels in the $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty event, the WSOP said in a tweet. (Translation: He was doing well.)
A. 40,300
Q. What is @James_Holzhauer's chip count after 6 levels in Event 56: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty.
1,675 registered so far.
— WSOP (@WSOP) June 24, 2019
"I decided to enter because [pro poker player] Mike Sexton contacted me and offered to sponsor my buy-ins," Holzhauer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, explaining his entry into the high-variance competition. "I played online poker semi-professionally in the early 2000s, but I don't intend to make a career of it now, as I'm sure I wouldn't be good enough at it to justify forgoing other opportunities."
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His positioning as of Monday afternoon put him in solid shape, although it left him far from a shoe-in to make the final table. He said he plans to push half of any winnings he claims to charity.
More than 14 million people tuned in to watch the end of Holzhauer's incredible run on the trivia show earlier this month. His streak of wins represented the second-longest in the history of "Jeopardy!"
The biggest winners in 'Jeopardy!' history and the questions that took them down
After the run, Holzhauer donated more than $1,000 to a pancreatic cancer research walk in his hometown to honor Alex Trebek, the show's host, who announced in March he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Trebek recently said he was "near remission."
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