Sometimes a big gamble on Jeopardy! pays off, and sometimes it doesn’t. Returning champion Peter McFerrin returned for his fourth game, and he had to make a big wager in order to secure the win. Did it pay off?
McFerrin, from Corona, California, entered the game with a three-day total of $74,197. On June 4, the energy industry professional played against Susan Moskop, from Memphis, Tennessee, and Webster Guan, from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Warning: Spoilers for the June 4 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
Guan, a biotech data scientist, answered the first clue correctly. He then found the Daily Double on clue two. With $600 in his bank, Guan wagered the allotted $1,000.
In “Science,” the clue was: “On the periodic table, these are the only 2 elements ending in ‘D’—in 2025, the LHC was able to briefly turn one into the other.” He didn’t know the answer and ran out of time. The correct response was lead and gold. Guan dropped to -$400.
However, he got the next clue right and was back in the positive. McFerrin finally got on the board when he answered clue five correctly. With Guan’s incorrect response on clue 15, McFerrin was in the lead with $2,200.
By the end of the round, McFerrin kept the lead with $4,600. Guan had $1,200. Moskop, a retired arts administrator and actress, had $0.
When McFerrin found the first Daily Double in Double Jeopardy on clue seven, he had $6,600. The reigning champion wagered $3,600 in “The Civil War.” The clue read, “The site of a key siege during the Revolutionary War, this Virginia port was taken by the Union after another siege in 1862.”
“What is Norfolk?” he answered incorrectly. McFerrin dropped to $3,000 since the correct response was Yorktown. Guan had $2,800, so it was a closer game.
When Guan found the second DD on clue 11, he had $4,800 compared to McFerrin’s $5,000. Guan made it a true Daily Double in “X Goin’ Give It To Ya.” The clue read, “To wound badly gets jabbed with an X to get this word for a general truth.”
“What is maxim?” he answered correctly. This gave him the lead with $9,600.
Although McFerrin put up a tough fight, he couldn’t quite take the lead by the end of the round. He had $11,400. Guan was in first place with $13,400. Moskop had $7,200.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “U.S. Demography.” The clue read, “The United States’ 3 most densely populated municipalities lie along a 3.5-mile stretch of Palisade Ave. in this state.” Only one of the game show contestants had the right answer, making this anyone’s game.
Moskop’s response was “What is New York?” She was wrong and wagered $6,401. This gave her $799.
McFerrin wrote, “What is New Jersey?” He was right, wagering all of his money, giving him a total of $22,800. Guan had the incorrect response of “What is Florida?” He wagered $4,400, making his final total $9,200.
McFerrin skated by with another win. This gave him a four-day total of $96,997. He will return on Friday for game five.
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