'Jeopardy!' contestant Matt Amodio passes $1 million in winnings

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Saturday, September 25, 2021
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LOS ANGELES -- "Jeopardy!" contestant Matt Amodio made history Friday, becoming only the third person to surpass $1 million in earnings during non-tournament play on the syndicated game show.

Amodio, a Ph.D. student from Connecticut, hit the milestone after winning $48,800 during his 28th episode. As of that game, he has collected $1,004,001 in total winnings.

"This was beyond my wildest dreams going in," he said. "I knew it was a possibility, but I thought it was a very remote possibility, and to have it actually happen is unbelievable."

Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer are the only others who have earned more than $1 million in regular-season play. Jennings, who holds the regular-season winnings record, won $2,520,700 over 74 games. Holzhauer collected $2,462,216 during 32 games in 2019.

Brad Rutter currently holds the all-time winnings record, which includes tournament shows, at $4,938,436.

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