New Haven Man Who Won Jeopardy By $1 Wed., Loses by $1 Thursday

NEW HAVEN, CT - A New Haven man who was the winning contestant on Jeopardy on Wednesday night by $1 unfortunately was the second place contestant on Thursday night losing by the exact same $1 amount.

Burt Westermeier, a Ph.D candidate from New Haven, Connecticut, finished with $23,200 on Thursday - but that was $1 short of the winning $23,201 total.

Westermeier wagered his entire bankroll - $11,600 in final jeopardy - on the question “Almost 100 when he died in 2018, this North Carolina man became just the 4th private citizen to lie in home at the U.S. Capitol.”

Westermeier who was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, correctly answered Billy Graham. But, alas the champion also had the correct answer - and finished that $1 ahead.

On Wednesday Westermeier finished with $14,401 after answering the final Jeopardy question correctly - $1 more than the second place finisher.

Westermeier told Jeopardy host Alex Trebek during the interview portion of the show that he was a trumpet player, who had played the instrument for 14 years - starting at elementary school and finishing playing in the marching band at college at the University of North Carolina.

Photo off TV screen by Jack Kramer