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Las Vegan James Holzhauer headed back to ‘Jeopardy!’

Updated July 10, 2019 - 2:51 pm

James Holzhauer will get the chance to add to his “Jeopardy!” nest egg after all.

The Las Vegan known as “Jeopardy James” thanks to his ridiculous 32-game winning streak is among 15 former contestants invited back for the show’s Tournament of Champions.

He’s already looking forward to a possible rematch against Emma Boettcher, the librarian who ended his headline-making run on the June 3 episode.

“Emma might be the toughest opponent in the field,” Holzhauer wrote Wednesday in an e-mail to the Review-Journal. “But I think the idea of a rematch is exciting, and it’s definitely helping to promote the tournament.”

The 10-day event is scheduled to air Nov. 4-15 and offers a grand prize of $250,000.

“Strategy-wise, since the prize payouts are basically fixed, there’s no real reason for me to aim for a six-figure final score,” Holzhauer wrote of his famously bold playing style. “But I might try anyway.”

The sports bettor said he’s in the market for a little side action via online sportsbooks, assuming Nevada doesn’t legalize entertainment wagers by then, so he “can throw some money down on myself like Floyd (Mayweather) would.”

Holzhauer finished with $2,462,216. To illustrate just how dominant he was, Josh Hill of North Little Rock, Arkansas, who has the next-highest earnings headed into the Tournament of Champions, took home $163,721.

Boettcher left the show with $97,002 in three victories.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter. Review-Journal sportswriter Todd Dewey contributed to this report.

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