(CULVER CITY, CA) November 16, 2007 - Celeste DiNucci, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania, has won the prestigious Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, taking home $250,000 in cash winnings.  DiNucci emerged victorious after a two-week competition showcasing 15 of Jeopardy!'s elite players from recent seasons.

"When the show aired, I couldn't wait to see the look on my face in those final seconds," said DiNucci.  "I only remember being in complete shock!" 

Earlier in the week, DiNucci made Tournament of Champions history when her match in the semifinal round ended in a tie. She advanced to the finals by defeating fellow contestant Christian Haines in the tournament's first-ever "sudden-death" tie-breaker. "For me, that was probably the most tense moment of the tournament", said DiNucci.  

"I started downing Tums about that time."  

When asked what she'll do with her winnings, DiNucci replied, "I'm hoping to return to Italy for a month's vacation.  Also, I'm going to pay off my student loans (whew!) and use the rest for a down payment on the next phase of my life.  This money will make it possible for me to dream a little bigger."

Originally from Portland, Ore., but currently residing in Philadelphia, DiNucci first appeared on Jeopardy! in July 2006, when she became a five-day champion winning $83,601. 

Doug Hicton, a composer originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and now living in Toronto, finished second in the tournament, winning $100,000.  Third place winner Cliff Galiher, a UCLA college student from Half Moon Bay, Calif., pocketed $50,000.  Galiher qualified for the Tournament as winner of the 2007 Jeopardy! College Championship, in which he won the first place prize of $100,000.

Jeopardy!, a winner of 27 Emmy awards since its debut in 1984, was recently inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most awards won by a TV Game Show. The series is the #1-rated quiz show in syndication, and has held that title for over 1,000 weeks. 

Jeopardy! is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. It is distributed domestically and internationally by CBS Television Distribution, a unit of CBS Corp. 

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Jeff Ritter, Jeopardy! Senior Publicist 310-244-6514 jeff_ritter@spe.sony.com

Susie Eun, Jeopardy! Publicity Coordinator, 310-244-6517, susie_eun@spe.sony.com

 

 

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