Jeopardy! contestant James Holzhauer has set a new all-time record for the average amount of money won on the show, as he secured his 24th consecutive win.
Holzhauer, 34, finished in first place yet again by banking $86,905.
The win also saw him break another barrier as he claimed the title for having won the highest per-game average of $77,798.
The figure is the highest in the history of Jeopardy! which has been on the air for nearly 50 years.
The professional gambler from Las Vegas today saw his total winnings rise to a massive $1,867,142.
He also holds the single-day record for the amount of prize money won: $131,127 set on April 9, having beaten a record that he had also previously created.
‘James could not be caught — what else is new?,’ host Alex Trebek said just before the show ended.
‘We’ll keep it rolling. He’ll keep it rolling, but can he be stopped?’ he asked.
With his victories stretching back for more than a month, Holzhauer has moved one step closer to the all-time cash record of $2.5million which was set by Ken Jennings.
Jennings won 74 consecutive contests dominating the quiz show in 2004.
But Holzhauer’s winning streak is even more incredible because he is on track to win just as much money as Jennings, but in fewer than half the number of games.
It has been calculated that if Holzhauer keep up his current pace, he should beat Jennings’ all-time record for cumulative winnings after his 33rd game.
Holzhauer has managed to win $77,798 per game on average, more than double the roughly $34,000 that Jennings earned each time he played.
Holzhauer has the top eight single-game totals in the show’s history but Jennings has openly said that he is rooting for Holzhauer to smash the all-time cash record.
‘We are seeing history made in front of our eyes, the Jeopardy! equivalent of a basketball player notching 70-point games for an entire season or a baseball player hitting for the cycle in every game,’ Jennings wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post on Sunday.
‘I’m the only person alive who knows firsthand how difficult it is to do what Holzhauer is doing, and that’s why I’m rooting him on,’ Jennings said. ‘I may hold a bunch of Jeopardy! records, but at heart I’m just a fan of the show. And for any real fan, this streak is something special.’
‘Even casual fans of the show have probably heard by now how Holzhauer is doing it: He’s a sports bettor who feels supremely comfortable wagering aggressively, and he cannily plays the game board from the bottom up, starting with the highest dollar values and amassing cash before the Daily Doubles have been found and while his poor opponents are still finding their feet.’
Earlier this month, Holzhauer gave an interview to a middle school newspaper in which he revealed the secret to his Jeopardy! success.
‘I was an undisciplined student, but I set a goal for Jeopardy and really focused on achieving it,’ he told the Sams Salmon Exclusive.
‘No one has ever played Jeopardy! like I do, but I didn’t let that stop me from approaching the game the way I thought I should.’
Holzhauer said that he first started taking the online test to get on Jeopardy! in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he seriously began to prepare.
His strategy was simple: read as many children’s book as possible.
‘I dedicated myself to learning at least the basics of every subject I could imagine popping up on the show,’ he said.
‘For me, that meant reading a lot of children’s books, since they are specifically designed to get the reader interested in a new subject.’