James Holzhauer has conquered Jeopardy! but he wasn’t ready to conquer the world. Well, at least the World Series of Poker. Following his epic stint on Jeopardy!, Holzhauer, who makes his living as a professional sports gambler, tried his hand at No-Limit Hold’em in this year’s World Series of Poker. However, a spokesman for the event said Holzhauer went home empty-handed, finishing 454th out of 1,800 participants. He would have needed to finish among the top 281 to earn a share of the $2.5 million prize money up for grabs.
Before his foray into sports betting, Holzhauer spent the early 2000s playing poker online in a semi-professional capacity. However, he seems to have found more success betting on sports and applying his wealth of trivia knowledge on Jeopardy! than he did playing poker. Holzhauer seems to have made a living on sports betting and amassed over $2.4 million while winning 32 consecutive games on Jeopardy! He came just over $58,000 short of breaking the all-time record for winnings on the quiz show, which is currently held by Ken Jennings, who won 74 straight Jeopardy! contests back in 2014.
While on Jeopardy!, Holzhauer became known as an aggressive player who hunted down Daily Doubles and wasn’t afraid to risk most or all of his money once he found them. Of course, similar play in the World Series of Poker can backfire quickly. With a little bit of luck and chance associated with poker rather than relying on one’s own knowledge, an aggressive strategy can lead to a swift downfall.
Despite his loss at the World Series of Poker, Holzhauer got back on the horse quickly, teaming up with Mike Sexton, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, in a Tag-Team No-Limit Hold’em tournament. If he and Sexton have success in that tournament, Holzhauer says he will donate half his winnings to help a non-profit organization called Project 150 that helps homeless, displaced, and disadvantaged high schoolers in the Las Vegas area.
If nothing else, you can say that Holzhauer has been generous with both his Jeopardy! and gambling winnings. He and his wife donated $10,000 to Project 150 in May and also donated $10,000 to a non-profit called Communities In Schools of Nevada that aims to lower dropout rates. Holzhauer also made a recent donation in Alex Trebek’s name to a walk raising money for pancreatic cancer in his hometown of Naperville, Illinois. Trebek, the longtime Jeopardy! host, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year and continued to host shows amidst his treatment. He now says he’s “near remission” and has no immediate plans to stop hosting Jeopardy!. With any luck, Trek will still be around when Holzhauer inevitably returns to the show for the next Tournament of Champions.