OCEAN CITY – “A 1609 story in which an exiled King of Bulgaria creates a Sea Place with his magic may have inspired the plot of this play.” With that question, Ocean City resident Cris Pannullo’s 21-game win streak on Jeopardy came to an end.
Pannullo, a customer success operations manager and former professional poker player, bet big on his answer “What is the Little Mermaid?” The correct answer was “What is the Tempest?,” a play by William Shakespeare.
Pannullo amassed $748,286 over his 21 wins, giving him the fifth-largest win total during regular season play in Jeopardy’s history. Show host and former contestant Ken Jennings is the all-time champion with 74 games won in a row. Jennings earned $2.5 million. Pannullo will be back on Jeopardy in 2023 because he has qualified for the Tournament of Champions.
In a show that aired on December 6, Pannullo lost to Andy Tirrell, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of California, San Diego. Tirrell holds both a PhD from Tufts and a JD from the Columbia University School of Law.
In an on-air conversation during his tenure as champion, Pannullo revealed that he and his girlfriend have a pet rabbit named Lentils. When asked about what he will do with the money, Pannullo quipped that the economy was so bad he might stash it under his mattress.
In a clip posted to the game show’s YouTube channel, Pannullo said his run of 21 wins represented “The greatest streak of luck I’ll ever have in my life.” Maybe that lucky streak is only in hiatus. The Tournament of Champions still looms next year. Regardless of the outcome, Pannullo has already earned his place on the show’s Leaderboard of Legends.
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