Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Providence’s Matt Harvey just earned a berth in the ‘Jeopardy!’ Wild Card Tournament
A Rhode Islander got a text from “Jeopardy!” to play again — and just won $35,000 with a question about Providence and Boston.
Sure, questions about the Berlin Olympics and King George I still haunted him in the shower some days.
But nearly a year after placing second to “Jeopardy!” super-champ Cris Pannullo, Providence’s Matt Harvey was coming to terms with his one-and-done shot at the juggernaut game show.
Then last Halloween, the health care administrator was in his Warwick office, when he got a text from an unknown number.
The message was, apparently, from “Jeopardy!”. They were offering him a second chance — and it was no trick.
Harvey was one of 36 past non-winning “Jeopardy!” contestants — including five with New England ties — who were invited back for this season’s “Second Chance” competition.
Advertisement:
On Jan. 8’s episode, Harvey made his second chance count, winning with a Final Jeopardy clue about Providence and Boston.
The category: State Capitals. The clue: “The 2 closest state capitals, at about 40 miles apart, one was founded by someone no longer allowed in the other.
“I’m like, ‘That is Boston and Providence!” Harvey told me in a recent phone interview. He was the only one on stage who knew the story of ol’ Roger Williams, apparently.
It’s safe to say the Ivy Tavern in Providence, where Harvey held his watch party tonight, is going nuts right about now — including his 15-year-old twins who didn’t know until tonight’s episode aired that Dad is a “Jeopardy!” champion.
Advertisement:
Aside from scoring a cool $35,000, Harvey earns a berth into the Jeopardy Champions Wildcard Competition. Wildcard players will vie for a spot in the 2024 Tournament of Champions.
Five with New England ties got a “Second Chance” — Harvey’s fellow Rhode Islander Sharon Bishop of Pawtucket, R.I.; Mike Elliot, originally from Derry, N.H; John Guszkowski, of Pomfret, Conn., Harvard senior Sophia Weng.
Second Chancers were those “whose performances convinced the Jeopardy! producers that they have what it takes to win …if given a second chance,” according to the show.
There will ultimately be four second chance winners: two have already been named — Xanni Brown of Ohio and Canadian Juveria Zaheer. Harvey is now the third. The fourth will be named next Monday. That fourth batch contains just one New Englander who might join Harvey: Guskowski.
As a long-time vocal “Jeopardy!” nerd and Rhode Islander, I was taken aback that there were two Rhode Islanders in this tourney — a rarity — and at least two Ocean State questions. I watch “Jeopardy!” the way my dad watches baseball — with an admiring eye for the greats. Harvey plays a solid game.
Advertisement:
So before he heads back to LA to film the Wildcard Tournament, I called Harvey to talk about his second chance, his “hot nerd” status, Ken Jennings and this recent wave of Ocean State questions.
I love that almost everyone in this “Second Chance” tournament has said in the on-stage interview that they didn’t answer “Jeopardy!”’s call because they didn’t know who was calling.
I’m glad they texted because I probably wouldn’t have picked up a phone call. Who answers the phone?
[laughs] Right.
I’m sitting at work in Warwick and I get a text message saying, hey, we’d like you back for the Second Chance tournament. I immediately took a screenshot and sent it to my wife, and said something to the effect of “oh my god oh my god oh my god.”
[laughs] A few other New Englanders got a “Second Chance.” Did you meet any out there?
I only saw the people who competed in the same week as me. Sharon Bishop from Pawtucket, Rhode Island was in the same group as me, which is really weird to have two Rhode Islanders.
That is crazy.
In her game there was a Rhode Island question on the burning of the Gaspee, which is a very Rhode Island thing to ask about. [“In 1772 the British sent the HMS Gaspee to patrol this bay; Rhode Islanders burned it and now celebrate by burning it again.”]
It’s weird, it’s seems there’s been a recent surge of Rhode Island questions these last two seasons.
Right? I assume it’s because if you don’t live here, Rhode Island is kind of exotic, weird trivia. Like, who knows anything about Rhode Island except for those of us who live here?
[laughs] That might be true. So did you have a watch party for your first game, last week?
We did. And — this is like the least sympathetic problem in the world — but if you win on “Jeopardy!” it’s really hard to arrange the watch party, because you only can tell me about the first one. So we had a dozen people over on Thursday. Had a great time. Then I was like, “…Want to come back tomorrow?”
[laughs] Right. What were the reactions from your friends and family when you told them you were going back on “Jeopardy!”?
I kept it under my hat until a couple of weeks before it aired. Partly because “I got on ‘Jeopardy!’” is an easier story than: “They asked me to come back because even though I lost they liked me!”
[laughs] How did they pick the “Second Chance” people?
Who knows? The whim of the producers, I guess. I think the run of super-champs they’ve had has created a lot of high-quality losers. [laughs]
What’s Ken Jennings like?
I love Ken. One of the saddest parts about being a “Jeopardy!” contestant is you can’t be friends with Ken. The only interactions you have with Ken are the ones you see on camera. But he’s so good. He’s so funny. He’s just a really excellent host of “Jeopardy!” because he’s been where you are. He’s empathetic. He’s clever. I really enjoyed playing with him at that podium.
Last week, during an on-stage interview, you said that your first time around, you were called a “hot nerd” online.
Yes. I thought that was a funny story. I’ll tell you: two things came away from that. One, my children were humiliated that I called myself a hot nerd on television.
[laughs]
And two — the weird fake articles to get written are so odd. There’s a whole article that’s like, “Hot nerd Jeopardy champion reveals he’s married!” because I talked about my wife.
[laughs] Wow. So what sparked you to apply the first time?
I was watching a lot of “Jeopardy!” with my wife and kids. I knew a fair number of clues, and my wife said, “You should apply.” I said, “No, no, no.” Then one afternoon, I quietly went upstairs and took the Anytime Test. I didn’t tell anybody. A few weeks later, I got the email saying that they wanted me to take the next step, then the next: a fake game over Zoom.
Advertisement:
It’s funny, because after you finish that, they tell you: You’ll either hear from us or you won’t. If you don’t, you can apply again in 18 months. I got off that Zoom and set myself a reminder for 18 months to apply again. That reminder went off yesterday.
And when you got the text to come back, what was your reaction?
“Oh, crap. I’m out of shape.”
[laughs]
After my show [aired], I stopped watching for a while. I just needed a break. So I was like, “I gotta watch some Jeopardy.” I went back to my old training flashcards. I use a flashcard app, Anki. It’s just a generic flashcard study app. I think a lot of med students use it. You can download decks other people have built. That’s been my daily routine, running through as many flashcards as I can, trying to cram facts into my head.
What was your reaction when you won on Monday’s episode?
Complete shock. I’m a generally pretty anxious person. But something about “Jeopardy!” puts me in a real in-the-moment, mindful state. So I didn’t really process it until I walked off the lot. It still sort of still feels not quite real. I guess it will become real when I get on a plane to LA a week from Tuesday, and do this all over again.
Interview has been edited and condensed. Lauren Daley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @laurendaley1
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com