Game show first.

If you happened to miss Friday night's Jeopardy episode, like I did, you missed an historic event. For the first time ever, the show ended in a 3 way tie. All 3 contestants ended with $16,000. 2 of the 3 simply doubled their $8000 with the final question. The returning champion, however, wagered just enough to so that when he got the question right, he also got $16,000.

You can see the clip of the final question here.

I wonder if the returning champion didn't do it on purpose. I mean, there have been so many Jeopardy contestants over the series run, you have to do something to make yourself stand out. Surely he could have wagered 1 dollar more to be the sole winner, but what would be the fun in that. Instead, with the 3 way tie, he still gets to return next week and managed to take home his winnings from today. Plus, by making it a tie, he also enabled the other 2 to be able to take home $16,000 each, rather than going home empty handed. (They do go home empty handed or with a measly consolation prize if they don't win, right?)

In fact, on rewatch, when the returning champ turns to congratulate the guy on his left, it looks like he says "you're welcome." Before they reveal his answer, he says something to the other guys too. So if indeed the tie was intentional on the returning champion's part, I say, good form. Way to spread the wealth and not keep it just to yourself. Well played indeed.