UPDATE: June 6, 7:46 p.m.
The “Jeopardy!” winning streak for Ryan Long has finally come to an end. On Monday, Long's 16-show streak that garnered him about $300,000 on the shot finally stopped after he was defeated, he said Monday.
Long called the victory streak the most exciting time of his life, outside of the birth of his child.
Original story follows
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A former Uber driver from Philadelphia is getting a lot of attention for his winning streak on “Jeopardy!” He's going for his 17th win on Monday evening.
"It's really kind of mind boggling," said Ryan Long of Mount Airy, who is now among the top 10 most winning players in the history of the game.
The winning streak has earned him — besides almost $300,000 — some neighborhood celebrity recognition.
Like a VIP, perhaps?
"I could be a V.A.P.,” he said. “Very adequate person."
He says people are now stopping him in the grocery store.
"And they're very gracious, and they're like, ‘Oh, you're great on the show,’ and ‘How do you know so much stuff?’”
So how does he know so much stuff?
"I really don't know,” Long said. “I read a lot. I just absorb a lot of information. It's not a conscious thing."
Long says when he first went out to Culver City, California, for the show, he didn't expect to make it this far.
"We had rehearsals that morning and I did not do very well," he said. But when the cameras started rolling, he started getting into the groove of the game.
Jeopardy! is not just about what you know, Long explains.
"There's a strategy involved: knowing how to bet, knowing where the numbers are, and figuring out what the other person or people are going to do."
Related
And, he emphasized, there are no easy questions.
"Especially under those lights. I mean, you can be up there, and you think you have the facts in your head, and you know this and whatever, and your brain will just be like, ‘Nope! Not happening.’”
Also not easy: Standing for so long. They do five episodes of the show a day. Long said he was there for several days, and then he had to go back for more. It’s all great, he said — but being on his feet for that long isn't easy.
"It's tough up there. Especially when you — It's a good problem to have, but when you keep winning, then you gotta stay up there all day. It could be a little grueling," he said.
But Long says it's worth it. He says he quit his job as an Uber driver. Right now, he said, Jeopardy is his job.
"It'll do, until I get a real job."