James Holzhauer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — "Jeopardy!" champion and professional sports gambler James Holzhauer made his World Series of Poker debut on Monday, with plans to donate half his winnings to charity.
Holzhauer was competing in a No-Limit Hold'em event and planned to partner later in the day with Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton in another contest, said tournament spokesman Seth Palansky.
Holzhauer told tournament officials he planned to donate winnings to a Las Vegas nonprofit for homeless displaced and disadvantaged high school students, called Project 150.
Holzhauer played online poker semi-professionally in the early 2000s, but makes a living now with sports betting.
He became a celebrity during a 32-game "Jeopardy!" win streak, earning more than $2.4 million before losing in early June. He ended his run a little more than $58,000 shy of the overall earnings record set by Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in 2004.
Holzhauer left with the 16 highest one-day scores in the show's history.
He has taken part in several events in Las Vegas in recent weeks, and donated $10,000 in May to Project 150. He and his wife Melissa also contributed $10,000 to a different nonprofit school dropout prevention program called Communities In Schools of Nevada.
Holzhauer made a recent donation of about $1,100 in "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek's name to a pancreatic cancer walk in Holzhauer's hometown, Naperville, Illinois.
Trebek, 78, announced earlier this year that he was being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer and said last month that doctors told him he's in "near remission."
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Love & Hope & Magic: The Making of Jinx, the Musical,” is a documentary chronicling … Read morePremiere of Love & Hope & Magic: The Making of Jinx, The Musical
Join us for an unforgettable evening as we set sail into the world of luxury river cruising!… Read moreLegendary Rivers & Tours Expo
San Francisco Symphony players get together in an intimate setting of the Gradus Ad Parnassu… Read moreSoirée Française: Our Favorite Violin Sonatas
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.