On the smile thing - I know nothing, but James appears to have a significant underbite. We knew a guy at church that had a significant underbite, and he had to have major surgery to correct it. They had to break his jaw as part of the procedure. James’s smile reminds me of his.
^^ Not unusual in Asians. My D’s ortho said she had a ‘classic Asian face’ with was his nice way of saying ‘flat, with a big underbite.’ They said she was ‘just in time’ to get it fixed - at age 8! She hadn’t even lost her baby teeth. Her entire look was changed after orthodonture.
He may very well be in denial about his smile or just wasn’t concerned . He may have thought it looked fine, hoped no one noticed if it was a bit off. Probably thought initially he would not end up as recognizable as he’s become, so no need to make major smile changes for a TV show. I have no clue if he has an underbite or not , hadn’t thought of that. But a family member had surgery and it was an ordeal, not something that is taken lightly. He may be self conscious about his looks and personality in general, who knows.Many people are. He has been thrust into the spotlight, with all the good and bad that can come from that.
Perhaps statistically Asians have a higher incidence of underbites,but I doubt a classic Asian face includes an underbite; flat face, yes because of their high cheek bones. I’ve lived in Asia and I’ve seen more overbites just like in general population in the US, and very rarely, underbites.
NYT has an article on James noting that he passed $2 million in winnings in the episode that aired on Friday. Holzhauer is still about $455,000 behind Ken Jennings, who won $2.5 million* during his record streak of 74 victories in 2004.
But if Holzhauer continues his current streak, he’ll close that gap quickly. Jennings averaged around $34,000 per episode, but Holzhauer is more than doubling that pace, pulling in an average of about $76,500. If Holzhauer wins as many games as Jennings did — he’d have to win 47 more — and continues to win at his current rate, he would amass more than $5.6 million.
I’ll bet his fellow gamblers in Las Vegas are putting in some bets about how long he’ll go and how much money he’ll win!
Considering five episodes are taped in one day, it must feel amazing to “earn” more than $350,000 in one day!
I’m going to guess that one of James’ relatives ( parents?) was born May 7 1955 and that’s why he chose not to set a new one day total record today. He’s said that he works out his bets or totals for important dates. Of course I could be totally wrong
I’m confused. May 7 was a couple of weeks ago…
I don’t think James could have gotten the record today without risking a loss if he got the final question wrong. Though my math could be wrong. He now has 15 highest single day totals. Averaging $1,500/win more than the previous single game high.
“I’m confused. May 7 was a couple of weeks ago…”
He ended with 2, 1955, 5, 7.
He could have bet a bit more (600 or so) and still been assured of a win. But @saillakeerie is right. He couldn’t have obtained a record ( about 500 + short still I think ) amd been assured of a win. he probably just went for the round number.
I missed last night with Memorial Day but tonight it was obvious that the fellow contestants had seen him play and had a sense of what they needed to do to have any chance of beating James.
Yes. But James was still a remarkable 20K in front Before final jeopardy
I agree with that. Having watched him play, they seem to have determined that they need to join him to beat him.
Needs just under $266,000 to beat Jennings regular show record. Would need to average about $66,500 over next 4 shows to break that record (next Monday). If he keeps winning. Currently is averaging more than $77,500/win.
He won about $59k on today’s show. Given his average and past performances (exp $130k yesterday) that seems a little like a letdown. But its the 24th highest single game total ever. And he now has 20 of the top 25 single show totals. Amazing.
I am constantly amazed at how much “stuff” he knows - and of course calls it up instantly. However, my wife knew 2 answers today that nobody even guessed at! Pergola… and something else.
After 3 months of chemo Alex Trebek’s doctors say he’s in “near remission” ?
I wonder why James didn’t attend IMSA? It would have been a good fit for him.
IMSA is a residential school and from the way he bets, it seems like he is close to his family. I know several families who would never consider it, even though their kids are incredibly gifted in math and science.
Imsa to Naperville North is 20 minutes.
My daughter has IMSA friends who she met during Math Olympiad meets who were very close to their parents and went home often. James however was a TERRIBLE student even in Math and wouldn’t have been a good fit . As his teacher said in the local paper (Naperville Sun ) he got As on tests but got Cs in the class because he would not do his homework. He recently told Alex that he hated school. And Naperville North had plenty of very bright students, several brilliant math students so he would have had peers and been offered high level classes.