A New Jersey woman won "Jeopardy!" on Thursday, Sept. 25.
Vickie Talvola, a quantitative trader from Jersey City, topped four-day champion Steven Olson, a band director from Princeton, Illinois. Olson had won $74,382 over his four-day streak.
Talvola, a Princeton University graduate, finished the game with $26,400 to Olson's $12,700.
She had such a big lead heading into the Final Jeopardy that Olson only risked $7.
The Final Jeopardy was: "This southern town known for big watermelons is the birthplace of the politicians who were governors of its state in 1983, 2003 & 2023." Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
Talvola had the correct answer: "What is Hope?"
She will be back on Friday's show and face off against Yasmine Mitchelll, a software engineer fr