I’ve been a Jeopardy! fan for years, regularly watching during my elliptical sessions at the gym, or with my mom and husband at home. I don't watch every single day, but I watch a lot, and I thought I knew quite a bit about the show. I know a lot about Ken Jennings’ tie wardrobe, for example, and even more about Johnny Gilbert’s recollections of late host Alex Trebek. But I did not realize one major fact about Jeopardy!: Contestants must pay their one way while on the show.
It was Jennings himself that illuminated this fact for me this week. He posted about the motel he’d stayed at in Culver City when he was a young and broke contestant on the show. The motel is closing now, so will no longer be a cheap spot for game show contestants moving forward, marking the end of an era.
I’d never even considered the idea that contestants pay their own way once in Tinseltown for taping, but Ken Jennings confirmed it was true when he was a contestant in 2004. And it remains true more than 25 years later as he has shifted into hosting duties.
When I was first on Jeopardy! in 2004, we had a new baby and not a ton of money and, then as now, the show only pays contestant accommodations for tournaments and the like. So when I came to Culver City to tape my first games, I was on the lookout for someplace close to the studio and CHEAP.
Apparently, those involved with Jeopardy! have spoken out about this in the past, and in more recent years, with costs rising after Covid, the show has mentioned they are open to re-evaluating the way the show works. However, per what Jennings mentioned here, contestants are still having to get themselves to the show and take care of themselves during the duration of their respective runs, except in certain cases like tournaments.
Some Jeopardy! contestants have spoken about having to pay to get to the Sony Lot in Los Angeles, as well. So there’s info out there to be found if you are curious. However, despite being a fan of the long-running game show, this factoid had escaped my grasp. I think it’s fascinating anytime I learn an interesting behind-the-scenes fact about how a show works, and this cost-cutting measure is a really among the more interesting ones, in my opinion.
Not that I'd be able to even pass the Jeopardy! test to qualify, but this is the sort of fact that does make me less likely to want to go out for a game show. Now I'm looking into it, too, it's apparently common for certain other shows like Wheel of Fortune for contestants to be asked to pay their way. Though it’s worth mentioning Jennings ultimately won more than $4 million during his run, so sometimes there is a payoff in a big way, at least for Jeopardy''s biggest winners.
Anyway, I’m sure Ken Jennings is probably not missing the days when he stayed at Deano’s, particularly given he joked he was thankful he “never got murdered' there. But I’d be willing to bet hearing the motel had closed was still a little bittersweet.
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