"Jeopardy!" champ James Holzhauer has won close to $1.7 million so far during his history-making run on the popular game show. And though his time in the spotlight isn't over yet — he will return May 20, after the show's teacher tournament — he's already given some of his winnings back to the community in Las Vegas, his hometown. The Las Vegas-Clark County Library, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and the Ronald McDonald House in Las Vegas told CNBC Make It that Holzhauer and his wife have donated significant funds to each institution. "I am happy to confirm that James and Melissa Holzhauer made a $10,000 check to the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation on April 11 to support early learning and homework help services at the Library District," said Danielle Milam, development and planning director at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and Foundation. Tweet He also gave the library a list of his favorite children's books, which he has said in past interviews are key to his success at trivia. "I've found that in an adult reference book, if it's not a subject I'm interested in, I just can't get into it," he told the New York Times. "I was thinking, 'What is the place in the library I can go to to get books tailored to make things interesting for uninterested readers?' Boom. The children's section." The Las Vegas Natural History Museum noted that half of the Holzhauers' $10,000 is designated for the Live Animal department, and the other half will go to the museum's Open Door program, which provides free admission to students from low-income areas.<doc-sep>Not only has Mr Holzhauer become only the second contestant in the show's history to earn more than $1m (£773,000) in one go, he has also hit the milestone over his multi-game spree faster than anyone in the show's history.<doc-sep>In a month when eyeballs are glued to Game of Thrones’ final season, Veep’s last season and an all-you-can-eat buffet of other television choices across a variety of platforms, it’s perhaps unlikely that a 45-year-old syndicated network TV quizshow would become destination viewing. But for many Americans, Jeopardy! has never been hotter, thanks to the unprecedented and lucrative run of Las Vegas sports bettor James Holzhauer. Holzhauer, 35, has now won 22 games, the second highest of all time, and brought Jeopardy! its highest ratings in 14 years – all with a knowing smile and a near-methodical ability to find each game board’s wagering tiles. US household name Jeopardy!, on the air since 1974, traditionally bestows a combination of scattershot knowledge, with categories such as “it happened in the 1200s” or “& Beyonce”, and strategic wagering, with modest rewards. Until 2003, the show capped winners, who take home an average prize of $19,980 an episode, at five consecutive victories. Shortly afterward, in 2004, Jeopardy!’s ultimate champion, Ken Jennings, went on an unheard-of tear, ultimately winning 74 straight games. Holzhauer is not just winning, but hauling in winnings at a rate far faster than the show has ever seen. While Jennings ultimately took home $2.5m in his 74 games, Holzhauer has already raked in more than half of that – $1.69m – in a third of the time. And Holzhauer’s ability to wring the cash out of the show in single episodes has no parallel; he alone runs the table on the top 10 of highest single-game winnings, ranging from $82,381 (on 3 May) to single-day record of $131,127 (on 17 April). It’s a new frontier for Jeopardy!, which has yet to see a contestant take the strategy of earning maximum dollars to its farthest conclusion. Or, as Jennings has called it: “absolutely insane”. For those not raised on the show, it’s a classic TV quiz, but with a twist. Jeopardy!’s longtime quizmaster, Alex Trebek, asks three contestants, including the reigning champion, themed questions over six categories for two rounds. Contestants respond in Jeopardy!’s signature question-answer, so, for example, if Trebek says: “Beyoncé’s daughter is named after this cool color” the correct response is: “What is Blue?”. In the final round, contestants strategically wager their earnings on a single question. Holzhauer’s secret is less an unknown than the perfection of a long understood strategy of identifying and choosing each game board’s two “Daily Doubles”, clues on which you can wager money, and timing the Daily Doubles to maximize one’s bet. The strategy of chasing and capitalizing on Daily Doubles isn’t new – Jennings dabbled in such a technique, and in 2014, contestant Arthur Chu divisively won 11 games by jumping around the board. Holzhauer just does it better than anyone else, with the calm confidence of Steph Curry hitting a three-pointer. He has answered an unprecedented 49 out of 53 available Daily Doubles, a feat which comes down to both knowing the patterns of Jeopardy! boards and a bettor’s eye for good odds. But though Holzhauer typically steamrolls opponents, he may not be infallible. In April (though filmed in February) Adam Levin, of Boston, brought Holzenhauer to a rare competitive round of Final Jeopardy! Levin bet all but $1 on the question, which he answered correctly for a total of $53,999. Holzhauer bid specifically $20,500 – and edged out Levin by $18. “I assumed if he got it right, he would have the right wager, and that’s what happened,” Levin told the Boston Globe afterward. “I did everything I could.” Holzhauer’s chase of Jennings’ record streak continues on 20 May, when the show returns to air.<doc-sep>James Holzhauer has used analytics and sports betting expertise to win 22 straight "Jeopardy!" games, rake in almost $1.7 million and make himself a viral celebrity, all while hoping to one day become a baseball executive. And according to actual MLB executives, those front office dreams are far from crazy. As The Washington Post reported Wednesday, current front office leaders are all about Holzhauer giving information to MLB teams rather than Alex Trebek. They seem to be in agreement, in fact, that the 34-year-old pro sports gambler "absolutely" has a future in the league. Headlining the pack of big MLB names campaigning for Holzhauer is none other than Billy Beane, the analytics-driven minority owner of the Oakland Athletics who inspired not only "Moneyball" but also some of Holzhauer's own "Jeopardy!" tactics. "My first thought when I saw him was: We have to get this guy in baseball," Beane told The Post. Others, including Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy and Baltimore Orioles assistant GM Sig Mejdal, echoed Beane, saying Holzhauer "absolutely" has a chance of landing a job in MLB and that teams "put a huge premium on analytical abilities both on the baseball side and the business side." "He's very intriguing," Mejdal said before joking about the phenom's "Jeopardy!" future. "It looks like his days are still pretty busy." In reality, Holzhauer has admitted he may not have the interpersonal skills to make a successful GM, but he still holds dreams of working in baseball -- such as in a consulting role -- close to his heart. Fresh off his 22-game "Jeopardy!" winning streak (Jeopardy! has recently finished shooting for its 35th season, though not all of the episodes have aired), Holzhauer visited MLB Network this week to promote his fandom. He's set to return to TV when "Jeopardy!" resumes May 20 following the show's annual Teacher's Tournament.<doc-sep>
"Jeopardy!" legend-in-the-making James Holzhauer is revealing the secret sauce that's made his exciting winning streak possible. Holzhauer, 34, a professional sports gambler from Las Vegas, kept his streak alive on Friday's episode, bringing home $49,600 in a runaway victory. He has won a total of $1,275,587 over 17 days, second only to computer programmer-turned-author Ken Jennings, who made off with $2,520,700 over 74 games in 2004. In a Q&A with The New York Times that published online Wednesday, the professional sports gambler shared how his experience helps him keep a firm grip on the game show. "There are big advantages to having a lot of chips early on in a poker tournament," he told the Times. "You can make plays that other people can’t." Holzhauer, who goes "$1,000-1,000-1,000 whenever I can," said he conceived of the strategy of aiming for the high-value clues "right away." "You can see as soon as I get control of the board in the first game I’m going for the $1,000 clues whenever I have the opportunity," he said. Holzhauer believes his "comfort zone is very different than the typical contestant," which he hails as "a huge advantage." He tells the outlet: "The fact that I win and lose money all the time helps desensitize me, so I can write down $60,000 as the Final Jeopardy wager and not be trembling at the thought of losing that money." 'Jeopardy!' Most loved, hated and memorable contestants through the years More: A five-time champ explains why James Holzhauer a game-changer Describing the typical way the game show is played as "too risk-averse," he explained the advantage of his strategy. "The funny thing is, my strategy actually minimizes the risk of me losing a game," he said. "There’s times in a football game where a team goes for a big TD pass. If you don’t take a risk like that, you’re not going to win." Holzhauer's strategy is backed by knowledge he said he picked up from children's literature. "I’ve found that in an adult reference book, if it’s not a subject I’m interested in, I just can’t get into it," he told the Times. "I was thinking, what is the place in the library I can go to to get books tailored to make things interesting for uninterested readers? Boom. The children’s section." He crossed the $1 million mark during Tuesday's episode, becoming only the second person in the game show's 35-year history to reach the feat in regular-season (non-tournament) play. Contributing: Patrick Ryan More:Ken Jennings 'gobsmacked' by 'Jeopardy!' champ James Holzhauer: 'It's absolutely insane' More:‘Jeopardy’ winner James Holzhauer is likely shaking up the game show’s budget