‘Jeopardy!’ Winner Says He Couldn’t Go ‘Anywhere Unattended’ During Show
When it comes to Jeopardy!, there are quite a few rules that contestants need to follow. For example, when competing, all answers need to be given in the form of a question. There are also strict rules about how much time all the competitors are given to answer the Final Jeopardy! clue correctly. Those who are fans of the show know that contestants have only 30 seconds to come up with their answers. However, it seems that the contestants must follow specific rules even when they aren’t on camera. In fact, a past Jeopardy! winner revealed that players aren’t allowed to go anywhere unattended during their time on the show.
‘Jeopardy!’ winner Milo Muggins did an AMA on Reddit
If you’re a diehard Jeopardy! fan, you might just remember Milo Muggins. Muggins competed on “America’s favorite game show” just over nine years ago. Shortly after he took home his impressive winnings of $24,400, Muggins took to Reddit to answer any questions that fans might’ve had for him. “I won Jeopardy! on Friday, AMA,” Muggins penned on Reddit, encouraging fans to ask him anything. “I’m no Ken Jennings or Arthur Chu, but I did win the other day. I posted a picture of me celebrating the other day and got a few AMA requests, so here I am. Here’s me sitting on my couch as proof,” he continued.
Quite a few Jeopardy! fans were eager to learn about Muggins’ experience on the popular game show. To date, the post has racked up over 1,000 comments. It seemed a lot of people were curious to know about what the winner’s experiences were when he wasn’t on screen. Having heard whispers about certain rules that contestants were made to follow, they were interested in learning more.
Muggins reveals that contestants aren’t left unattended during their time on the game show
“I remember Ken Jennings said there are an awful lot of inconvenient rules you have to follow because of the fall-out from the crooked game shows era,” one Jeopardy! fan penned. “Like a contestant backstage isn’t even allowed to disappear for a few minutes alone to go to the bathroom, or something like that. Were there any of these annoying rules about making sure no one was up to anything shady?”
Muggins was quick to comment that he was always chaperoned when he was backstage, but didn’t find it to be too inconvenient. “No, you definitely can’t go anywhere unattended while you’re a contestant,” the Jeopardy! winner explained. “But I never thought they were especially strict or anything.”
Do ‘Jeopardy!’ winners have to pay for their accommodations to return to the show?
One thing that was strict? The budget that Jeopardy! sets aside for its contestants. While the players aren’t left alone while they’re filming, when it comes to getting to the show, they’re completely on their own. Huggins made it clear that travel arrangements and expenses aren’t covered by the show, with just one exception. “Contestants pay for their own hotel/airfare, with the exception of the returning champ, they get a free plane ticket,” he shared. Clearly, there are quite a few behind-the-scenes rules for the game show. However, nine years later, many fans are still clamoring for a chance to compete on the show, even if they have to pay for the opportunity to compete.
