Jeopardy! fans were confused when they saw a contestant who was on Wheel of Fortune nearly nine months later. The rules are usually that a contestant cannot compete on another game show for at least one year.
Gabriel Berkowitz, from New York, New York, competed on Jeopardy! on June 3. Although he came in third place, he did win big on Wheel of Fortune in September 2025.
The account manager won $86,560 when he solved “Journaling” within seconds. Berkowitz spoke out about how he got on two game shows within one year.
A Reddit thread posted that he was “the first known contestant to have been on Wheel of Fortune AND Jeopardy! in the same season?”
One fan asked, “Wait, yeah, how is that allowed? When I went on Wheel, they specifically said we could not go on other game shows for at least two years.”
Berkowitz replied, “When they called me for Jeopardy!, it was right when my six months hit and I said, ‘but Wheel‘ and they said, ‘ Yup, we know – six months!.” .
“My Jeopardy! call came six months after my Wheel episode – I thought it was a year, but I was told just six months!” he said on another thread. “I was just as shocked as you!”
So, apparently, the rule has been changed to six months for contestants. He went on to say that both shows were fun, but Wheel of Fortune was “less stress” for him.
The Jeopardy! website only states that a contestant must be at least 18 years old and be a resident of the United States or Canada. However, Wheel of Fortune‘s website still says contestants cannot be on the show if they have been on another game show within a year. This must be a recent change that hasn’t been updated yet.
“You are not eligible to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune if you’ve appeared on a game show/dating show/relationship show/reality show in the last year or three game shows/dating shows/relationship shows/reality shows in the last 10 years,” the site says.
Berkowitz revealed on Reddit in 2022 that he had initially auditioned for Jeopardy! in 2021, and had a Zoom test, but didn’t hear back. On Wednesday, he commented, “Update: I made it!”
“Jeopardy! was a dream come true, and I had the best time,” Berkowitz ended.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock