Warning: This page contains spoilers for the May 8, 2024, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as 10:30 AM Eastern in some U.S. television markets today–this is earlier than usual.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Rhyme Time: Opera Version) for Wednesday, May 8, 2024 (Season 40, Game 173):
Telling the story of a duke, a jester & the jester’s daughter, it was written by poet Francesco Maria Piave
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ben Mills, an operations director from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Kelcy LópezFreeman, a hospital pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia |
Allison Gross, a data scientist from Cleveland, Ohio (1-day total: $9,599) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Allison Gross (whose last name is pronounced identically to Victoria Groce) is your new champion after her victory yesterday. It was one of those games that happens occasionally on the show where the material just did not fit the players very well. Today, she faces off against Philadelphia’s Ben Mills and Atlanta’s Kelcy LópezFreeman.
In terms of coverage, KIMT will be airing today’s game at 10:30 AM Eastern; thus, the results of today’s show will be posted earlier than usual.
Later tonight at 8:00 (7:00 Central) on ABC and CTV2, Jeopardy! Masters will be airing. Tonight’s matches feature Yogesh Raut, Matt Amodio, and Amy Schneider in the opener, with Victoria Groce, James Holzhauer, and Mattea Roach appearing in the back half of the episode.
I have an occasional mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
More Information About Final Jeopardy!:
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is the Rigoletto libretto?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Editor’s note: This article was originally written to a correct response of just “Rigoletto”. When originally publishing, I believed “Rigoletto” on its own to rhyme internally sufficiently to be correct; however, it is clear that the show was intending “Rigoletto libretto” to be correct on this clue. I appreciate the number of you who contacted me shortly after publication on this.
Francesco Maria Piave today is best known as the librettist for famed composer Giuseppe Verdi; Piave wrote 10 librettos for Verdi, including Rigoletto and La traviata. Rigoletto is the opera about the Duke of Mantua, his jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda. Rigoletto and the Duke have a curse placed upon them after the Duke seduces a Count’s daughter; later in the play, the curse plays out when Gilda falls in love with the Duke and sacrifices her life to save the Duke from an assassin.
This is going to be an interesting category to see how Final Jeopardy strategy plays out. Opera is often a category that will see more conservative wagering—I’m very curious to see how this might play out.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items:
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Nursery Rhyme Characters; The Planets; Words With Silent Consonants; That’s Bananas; A Rapper’s Delight; The Folks In “I.T.”)
The opening segment saw all three players get off to a good start; however, Ben’s missed Daily Double left him in third. Kelcy and Allison both had $2,600 while Ben had $600 at the first break.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Kelcy 5 correct 1 incorrect
Allison 4 correct 1 incorrect
Ben 3 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Ben has been cooking his way through Julia Child’s cookbook.
Kelcy is very proud to represent Atlanta.
Allison broke her ankle on a ski trip… in a parking lot.
The second half of the opening round saw Allison take a slim lead over Kelcy, with Ben rebounding well.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Allison 10 correct 1 incorrect
Kelcy 7 correct 1 incorrect
Ben 7 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Allison $4,400
Kelcy $3,800
Ben $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: 18th Century America; A Little World Lit; Tiers; TV & Movie Moms; Close; Quarters)
Double Jeopardy saw a pair of misses, including a $4,000 miss from Allison that brought everyone back into contention. A judges’ reversal before Final extended Allison’s lead over Kelcy going into clue #61.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Allison 23 correct 3 incorrect
Kelcy 11 correct 4 incorrect
Ben 10 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 13 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Allison $12,400
Kelcy $7,400
Ben $3,200
This Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Allison is now a 2-day champion, winnings $19,598.
Tonight’s results:
Ben $3,200 – $0 = $3,200 (What is .)
Kelcy $7,400 – $2,600 = $4,800 (What is ?)
Allison $12,400 – $2,401 = $9,999 (What is Don Juan?) (2-day total: $19,598)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) THE PLANETS $1000 (clue #12)
Ben 1000 -1000 (Allison 1800 Kelcy 2200)
2) CLOSE $1600 (clue #3)
Ben 3600 -2000 (Allison 4400 Kelcy 3800)
3) 18th CENTURY AMERICA $1200 (clue #15, $12400 left on board)
Allison 12400 -4000 (Kelcy 8600 Ben 3200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -188
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Allison 5 4 4 5 3
Kelcy 4 5 3 2 1
Ben 5 5*
DJ! Round:
Allison 4 3 5 5 2 3*
Kelcy 4 4 3 5 3
Ben 4 4* 5† 5
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Allison 3.91
Kelcy 3.40
Ben 4.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 13 (0.08 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Allison $16,400 Coryat, 23 correct, 3 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Kelcy $7,400 Coryat, 11 correct, 4 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Ben $6,200 Coryat, 10 correct, 3 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $30,000
Lach Trash: $14,600 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,400
Lead Changes: 7
Times Tied: 12
Player Statistics:
Allison Gross, career statistics:
43 correct, 9 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
38.74% in first on buzzer (43/111)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $0)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,300
Kelcy LópezFreeman, career statistics:
11 correct, 5 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,400
Ben Mills, career statistics:
10 correct, 4 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,200
Allison Gross, to win:
3 games: 39.841%
4: 15.873%
5: 6.324%
6: 2.520%
7: 1.004%
Avg. streak: 2.662 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- After seeing how this clue played: I think it should have been used in the Masters semi-final or final instead.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Allison $12,400 Kelcy $7,400 Ben $3,200)
Allison: Standard cover bet over Kelcy is $2,401. (Actual bet: $2,401)
Kelcy: If Allison makes a cover bet and is incorrect, she falls to $10,000. You have to beat at least $2,600 here to have a chance at winning.(Actual bet: $2,600)
Ben: Bet whatever you like, but remember that Kelcy has to be correct to win—so, she may be betting a lot here. (Actual bet: $0)
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