JEOPARDY! viewers were in for a Daily Double-take when three-day winner Jake DeArruda divulged how he spent his prior $86,000 in earnings.

During Wednesday’s Tournament of Champions episode, Jake came in hot with a less-than-family-friendly joke about his newfound wealth.

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Ken Jennings asked the classic question, ‘What did you do with the winnings?’Credit: Jeopardy!

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Jake DeArruda joked he blew it on ‘sports gambling, women and alcohol’Credit: Jeopardy!

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Ken was nearly speechless as fans reacted with ‘ew!’ and ‘that’s confidence’Credit: Jeopardy!
Host Ken Jennings, 49, asked the Season 39 champion a familiar question Tournament of Champions players get: “What did you do with the winnings?”

“I was 23 years old when my games aired last year, so I did what anybody under the age of 25 would do,” Jake said.

“I promptly spent the check on sports gambling and women and alcohol.”

DeArruda’s quip was met with nervous laughter from the crowd and shock from Ken, who replied, “Okay!”

But the soundbite was all in good fun, having not actually blown through the sizable lump sum he net from the game show.

“And by that, of course,” Jake interjected as the crowd quieted.

He clarified, “I spent 20 bucks on a college football pick ’em that went horribly wrong, 20 bucks to take my date and I to the top of the Gillette Stadium Lighthouse.

“And several four packs of hard cider to get through the awful Patriots season that I endured.”

Sports gambling wasn’t officially legal in Jake’s home state of Vermont until January 11, 2024, so his reference was to fantasy betting- though it may have gotten lost in translation.

‘SPENT ON WOMEN?’

Fans were sent into a tizzy, sharing the clip on X with reactions swinging from hearty laughs to skeptical side-eyes.

“Okay that little stunt reminded me I don’t like Jake #Jeopardy,” one user wrote.

“He thinks he just told the funniest joke. That’s confidence,” wrote another.

“I’m glad he clarified that comment,” wrote a third.

“#Jeopardy Spent on women? Eeeew. No,” wrote a fourth.

“#jeopardy pretty sure it was a joke,” defended a fifth.

‘LET’S TALK ABOUT JAKE’

Jake, a delivery dispatcher from Ludlow, Vermont, won big in just three games in 2023 but certainly did not win over all Jeopardy! fans when he competed.

He irritated hundreds of tough customers by making faces, poses, and talking over host Ken, 49.

When Jake would find a Daily Double, he would often pump his fist against his chest or tickle his chin in a thinking pose.

In his last game, the New Englander went for a pseudo basketball jump shot, which he parlayed into a bow in his last on-stage intro – he then held up three fingers to signal his win count.

But it doesn’t seem like Ken, nor the show’s producers were bothered by him.

Longtime producer Sarah Foss shared last year on the podcast Inside Jeopardy!:

“A lot of people had a lot to say about him.

“He drew a lot of attention.

“Let’s just talk about Jake. He’s only 23 years old. Ken joked in a post-game chat he has tee shirts older than Jake.”

Upon his return, Jake came up short against fellow three-day champion Yogesh Raut, who now advances to the ToC semifinals.

The 2024 ToC consists of nine quarterfinal games, three semifinals, and a first-to-three-wins finale.

The victor earns $250,000, a championship belt, and an invite to the next Jeopardy! Masters in May, plus serious bragging rights, of course.

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Jake rubbed some Jeopardy! fans the wrong way during his initial three-day runCredit: JEOPARDY / ABC