After stumbling across a photo from the 1978 version of Jeopardy (here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...sPageName=WDVW), I wondered how Ken Jennings would've done if the show were formatted that way now. Among some things to consider are:

--At that time, you could ring in anytime after the answer was revealed.

--Only the two high scoring players of J!, competed in DJ!

--No FJ! round; the player ahead at the end of DJ! played Super Jeopardy! for bonus money, starting at $5,000 on first victory, and increasing $2,500 each subsequent win.

Because there was a five-day limit on that series, too, the highest potential winnings in SJ! alone would've been $50,000. But with the help of my calculator, I figured that if there was no limit, and Ken played SJ! the same number of times (74 times), his winnings in SJ! alone could've been $7,122,500, considering if he succeeded each time!

He wouldn't have made it to 74 wins, as he was in third place at the end of the J! round once near the end of his run.

[quote=zachhoran,Dec 14 2004, 07:56 PM]


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He wouldn't have made it to 74 wins, as he was in third place at the end of the J! round once near the end of his run.
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I didn't really think of that, but at the same time, wasn't co-founder Matt Ottinger ahead of Ken at the end of J! when he played?

Indeed he was, but Ken, alas, was still only in second place.

He might not have made it even that far. In a situation where the third-place player is eliminated early, more third-place players would take bigger risks to try to get out of that position.

Also, he would've been about 4 years old, and therefore the cutest Jeopardy! champion ever.

That's true, but if those rules applied today, maybe it could've been to Ken's advantage, since he would've gotten to select FIRST in DJ!

What is.....LINE OF THE DAY!!!

Considering the "last place contestant gets eliminated at end of J! round" rule, I'd say his streak would have been shorter. How much shorter, I couldn't tell you.