'Jeopardy!' champ wins fans with quirky antics, big bets

10/6/2017
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this Jan. 13, 2011, file photo, Alex Trebek, host of the
In this Jan. 13, 2011, file photo, Alex Trebek, host of the "Jeopardy!" quiz show, speaks to an audience of primarily media about an upcoming "Jeopardy!" show featuring IBM's "Watson" in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

NEW YORK — A New York City bartender’s on-screen antics and big bets while competing on “Jeopardy!” are winning him cash to go along with a cult following.

By the end of Thursday’s show, Austin Rogers had won eight days in a row and more than $300,000. “Jeopardy!” says that total put him at fifth on the show’s list of all-time regular season money winners. Rogers has done it while sporting wild hair and a bushy beard and making animated gestures after correct answers.

He’s also making big wagers. Rogers won a whopping $34,000 bet on the show’s “Final Jeopardy” segment Tuesday.

Fans are singing his praises on Twitter by using the hashtag #AustinOnJeopardy.

Rogers tells “Good Morning America” that the secret to his success is uncovering patterns in clues by watching hundreds of “Jeopardy!” episodes.