| Rich Lerner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth Hometown: | American Samoa |
| Occupation: | Lawyer |
| Years active: | 1989-1990 |
| Known for: | Appearances on Jeopardy! |
Rich Lerner is a lawyer from American Samoa.
Jeopardy! Run[]
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 23, 1989 | $9,400 | $9,400 | He also won either Jeopardy! box game from Pressman or Jeopardy! Challenger scorekeeper |
| 2 | May 24, 1989 | $12,000 | $21,400 | |
| 3 | May 25, 1989 | $13,000 | $34,400 | |
| 4 | May 26, 1989 | $6,390 | $40,790 | |
| 5 | May 29, 1989 | $100 | For coming in 2nd place, he received a trip to San Francisco on Delta + Sonoma Safari wine country tour with hot air balloon champagne flight |
Tournament of Champions[]
During the quarterfinals, Rich faced 5-time champion Cathy Boggs and 4-time champion Chris Shea. Rich dominated with 23 correct responses (including 2 Daily Doubles) and 3 incorrect responses, handily winning with $10,500 after being the lone player to answer Final Jeopardy! correctly and automatically advanced to the semifinals. During the semifinals, Rich faced 1989 Teen Tournament winner Eric Newhouse and 4-time champion Bruce Cox. This time, Rich had 15 correct responses and 3 incorrect responses. Despite all three players answering Final Jeopardy! incorrectly, Rich's score of $3,399 was good enough to win the game and advance to the finals. During the finals, he faced 1989 inaugural College Championship winner Tom Cubbage and 5-time champion and season 5's top regular games winner Brian Wangsgard. During final game #1, Rich had 20 correct responses (including 1 Daily Double) and 2 incorrect responses, finishing the game in second place at $4,100 after getting Final Jeopardy! incorrect. During final game #2, he had 20 correct responses and 2 incorrect responses, and he would finish the game with $11,400, giving him the 2-day total of $15,500. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to top Tom's 2-day total of $17,200, so Rich took 2nd place at the ToC.