‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Talks ‘Wild Experience’ as Game Goes to the Wire

This is one Jeopardy! game none of the contestants will forget. Adam Remsen returned for his ninth game, which went down to the wire. One contestant called it a “wild experience.”

Memphis, Tennessee, native Remsen entered the game with an eight-day total of $168,404. On June 24, the attorney and theater producer played against Maria Sebastian, from New York, New York, and Wayne Kobylinski, from Ellicott City, Maryland. Warning: Spoilers for the June 24 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

Remsne was in the lead with $2,600 when Kobylinski, a community college assistant dean, found the Daily Double on clue seven. Kobylinksi had $1,200 and wagered all of his money.

In “Celebration Time,” the clue read, “This annual Nevada event says it is ‘not a festival’ but ‘a community and global cultural movement guided by 10 principles.’” “What is Burning Man?” he answered correctly. This gave Kobylinski $2,400.

Remsen still had the lead by the first 15 clues. He ended the round with $11,200. Kobylinski had $3,800. Sebastian, a graphic artist and writer, was in third place with $600.

In Double Jeopardy, Remsen had $20,400 when Kobylinski found the first DD on clue 15. Kobylinski had $5,800 and wagered $4,000.

The clue in “Historical Hodge Podge” was “The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne established the modern-day borders of this new republic & gave it back Smyrna & Eastern Thrace.” “What is turkey?” he answered correctly, giving him $9,800.

Remsen found the last DD on clue 22. He had $17,600 and wagered $3,00 in “Reptilain Renderings.”

The clue read, “In 1999, this mascot was created by the Martin Agency for an insurance company—we’re doubtful it took them just 15 minutes.” He correctly answered with “Who is the Geico Gecko?” giving him $20,600.

Remsen ended with $23,000. Kobylinski had $12,200. Sebastian would not compete in Final Jeopardy as she ended with -$2,200.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Opera Characters.” The clue was “Her aria ‘unbel dì, vedremo’ says, ‘One fine day we will see… a strand of smoke over the far horizon… & then the ship appears.’”

Only one of them got the correct answer, but if they had both had it correct, it would have been only a $1 win. Kobylinski answered incorrectly with “Who is Aida?” He wagered all of his money, giving him a final total of $0.

Remsen’s response was correct. He wrote, “Who is Cio-Cio San?” The champion wagered $1,401, making his final total $24,401.

This made him a nine-game champion with a total of $192,805. He will be back on Thursday to try to become a super champion.

Despite ending in the negatives, Sebastian spoke out about her “wild experience.” “A couple months ago, I absconded to L.A. for some secret shenanigans. I can now reveal that one said shenanigan was filming an episode of JEOPARDY! which, in a bizarre twist of fate, airs on my birthday,” she wrote on Instagram.

“It was a wild experience, and my nervous system is still recovering. But I can confirm that the people who make that show are wonderful, and Ken Jennings is a genuine class act. Long may he reign.”