Jeopardy Champ James Holzhauer Wins Another $73,000, Now Has Won $1.1 Million Through 15 Games

James Holzhauer has made a habit of winning on Jeopardy!, even when he has a below-average performance. Holzhauer won his 15th game on the show Wednesday, raking in another $73,621, which brings his total winnings to $1,135,175.

After getting the Final Jeopardy! question correct, with only wagering $24,000 of his $49,000 winnings to that point, Holzhauer said he merely guessed on the final challenge when he correctly answered: "What is the Bermuda Triangle?"

"They knew the answer, I guessed," Holzhauer said.

On Tuesday, Holzhauer became only the second person in the game show's history to surpass the $1 million mark in winnings. Ken Jennings won about $2.5 million during a 74-game streak in 2004.

To say he was below average Wednesday was accurate for his daily earnings. Having hit more than $100,000 in daily winnings multiple times, Holzhauer is averaging $75,000 per game.

When host Alex Trebek introduces Holzhauer along with other contestants, Trebek says Holzhauer is a "professional sports gambler." And Holzhauer pretty much plays like a riverboat gambler.

Holzhauer, as the returning champion, gets to lead off by choosing the first spot on the board. Traditionally, players start with the lower dollar amounts and work their way to higher amounts. Holzhauer does the opposite, choosing categories and dollar amounts at the highest levels.

Four questions and answers into Wednesday's game, Holzhauer had $4,000 while his competitors had zero. He then chooses from the $800 squares under each category, and he builds a sizeable bank before drawing the game's Daily Double — in which he wagers everything in his daily bank. Once he correctly gets the double, he has a lead so big that forces his competitors to play catch up.

By the end of the first round Wednesday, Holzhauer had accumulated $20,000 while his competitors combined for just more than $5,000. He won another $29,000 in the second round and wagered only half his winnings in Final Jeopardy. Had he not correctly "guessed," he still would have won by more than $5,000 over his next competitor.

His cruise control to victory is similar to what Jennings accomplished 15 years ago.

"I am in awe of Ken Jennings's accomplishments, as all Jeopardy! fans are. Simply being compared to him is an honor," Holzhauer told Newsweek earlier this week. "It's interesting to hear his take on the big gambles because he was notably conservative with his own wagers 15 years ago. Of course, if I had every game on cruise control as he did, I might have done the same."

Holzhauer's prowess has also stirred up social media, as some keep pulling for him to keep the streak going, and others hoping to see it end.