NC ‘Jeopardy!’ champ needed one more win for ‘Tournament’ spot. Did she make it?
It already feels like North Carolina is the center of the universe this week for basketball fans, but “Jeopardy!” devotees may be feeling a bit of that, too.
Jackie Kelly, a pension calculation developer from Cary, has been on a mini-hot streak on “Jeopardy!,” earning a total of more than $100,000 by the end of Wednesday night’s episode — her fourth night on the TV game show.
On Thursday, host Mayim Bialik said a fifth win would qualify Kelly to compete in the show’s “Tournament of Champions” series. Did Kelly make it? (Spoilers below)
Sadly, Kelly’s win streak has ended. She came in second place to Evan Roberts of Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday, losing a close match after getting the Final Jeopardy! answer wrong.
Final Jeopardy! clue: Following a raid at this establishment in 1969, protesters confronted police by forming a Rockette-style kickline.
The answer: What is the Stonewall Inn?
Kelly answered “What is Radio City Music Hall?”
One of her competitors on Wednesday was Joey Lavarias, a bassoonist & graduate student from Greensboro. Lavarias is a graduate teaching assistant in the Music Theory Department at UNC Greensboro, who previously studied and worked at Julliard in New York. Lavarias came in at a distant second.
Here are a few of the things learned about Kelly during her streak.
▪ Kelly added $54,800 on Tuesday to her previous winnings of $30,800 from March 25 and $24,000 on March 28, bringing her three-day earnings to $91,101. On Wednesday, she added another $23,999 to her pot, for a four-day total of $115,100.
▪ According to the website thejeopardyfan.com, Jackie struggled with the signaling device the first two days on the show, but seemed to get in her clicking groove on Tuesday.
▪ From Kelly’s game stats from thejeopardyfan.com, we learned that she got 26 clues correct Tuesday night and missed only one. Her three day numbers are: 57 correct and 6 incorrect.
▪ On the March 25 episode, we learned that Kelly’s family is from the Philadelphia area and their Philadelphia Phillies fandom was once featured on the local news station in Philly.
▪ On Wednesday, Kelly revealed that she and her sisters once gave her parents a trip to Ireland as a 25th anniversary present. After the trip, her parents, who have Irish heritage, said the trip was so great they all needed to go back. Kelly told Wednesday host Mayim Bialik that it’s been 12 years and they are still waiting.
▪ But the best glimpse into Kelly’s personality came on Tuesday, March 29, when we learned that she is a huge “All My Children” fan and her prized possession is a Susan Lucci-signed “All My Children” script.
How to watch ‘Jeopardy!’
“Jeopardy!” airs locally each weeknight at 7 p.m. on ABC11 / WTVD.
You can watch “Jeopardy!” clips on the “Jeopardy!” YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/jeopardy/videos.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 11:04 AM with the headline "NC ‘Jeopardy!’ champ needed one more win for ‘Tournament’ spot. Did she make it?."
