South Jersey ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Cris Pannullo just keeps on winning

Is Cris Pannullo the next Jeopardy! super champion? Host Ken Jennings seems to think so.

Pannullo, a customer success operations manager from Ocean City, extended his Jeopardy! winning streak to five days Thursday night, besting a retired project manager from New York and a theater professor from Colorado. That qualifies him for the show’s Tournament of Champions, which he’ll participate in next year, and increased his winnings to $136,459.

Pannullo, a former professional poker player, has drawn comparisons to James Holzhauer, a professional sports bettor who won 32 straight games in 2019 and took home $2.46 million in regular-season winnings. Jennings has already compared Pannullo’s style of play to Holzhauer a couple of times on air during his run.

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“I’m not as good as James Holzhauer,” Pannullo told Jennings on Monday. He’s not wrong, at least in terms of winnings — after his first five games, Holzhauer had already won $298,687.

Pannullo will defend his streak Friday from two more challengers — Kate Matthews, a research project manager from Durham, N.C., and Dan Feyer, a musician and crossword editor from San Francisco.

This isn’t Pannullo’s first attempt at televised trivia stardom. In 2018, he appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?, but only took home $5,000 after missing the $7,000 question.

While Pannullo won’t compete in this year’s Tournament of Champions, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 31, Jeopardy! fans in and around Philadelphia can root for Ryan Long. The Philly Uber driver, who was honored at City Hall by Mayor Jim Kenney after his 16-game winning streak, will face off against Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach, and the rest of this year’s most successful contestants.

Long said he’s looking forward to meeting everyone but admitted not following the others’ Jeopardy! runs too closely.

“I actually don’t watch the show religiously,” Long told The Inquirer during his run. “I grew up watching the show, and I’ll catch it here and there, but mostly I’m working.”

Jeopardy! began its 39th season on Sept. 12, and Jennings — a former champion who won a record 74 straight games in 2004 — is hosting until January. He is once again splitting duties this season with actress Mayim Bialik, who is currently hosting the Celebrity Jeopardy tournament.

* Earnings only include winnings during regular-season play