Jennings has no regrets despite 2nd-place finish

Don't cry for Ken Jennings: The 31-year-old Utah trivia whiz did not win the $2 million jackpot in this week's three-day "Ultimate Jeopardy" match, but he still managed to pocket $500,000 by coming in second.

With the $2.5 million he won last year, Jennings' total "Jeopardy!" winnings are over $3 million.

The "Jeopardy!" champ was felled Wednesday night by brainy — and quick-with-his-thumb — opponent Brad Rutter, of Lancaster, Penn. Rutter won the $2 million prize in the sweeps-stunt show, which, added to his earlier winnings, also gives him just over $3 million.

Third-place winner Jerome Vered, of Los Angeles, went home Wednesday with $250,000.

Of course, whether the record books will allow these total earnings to possibly change Jennings' status as the biggest game-show money-winner for his 74-show run last year, or keep this trio of "special" episodes in a separate category, remains to be seen. At the end of Wednesday's show, host Alex Trebek pronounced Rutter the all-time champ (with "Jeopardy!" winnings totalling $3,155,102) and Jennings a close second (at $3,020,700).

When he could see that Rutter was going to win, Jennings wrote "Go Brad" as part of his "Final Jeopardy" answer.

Jennings says he has no regrets.

"This was totally unlooked for," he said of his unexpected celebrity. "Even when the 'Jeopardy!' thing happened," he told the Deseret Morning News, "I was just patiently waiting for the whole thing to die out while I was just living a quiet life at my home in Murray."

These days the former Murray software engineer has plenty of irons in the fire — chiefly a deal with the cable channel Comedy Central to develop a TV game show and a board game that will be in stores this week. He's also writing a book about trivia.

Speaking by phone from his Manhattan hotel room, Jennings said he has been in New York this week doing publicity for "Jeopardy!" and his board game, as well as discussing the Comedy Central show with "TV people."

He said he's spent the past few months doing TV commercials for Cingular cell phones and promotions for Federal Express and H&R Block (both of which figured in the "Final Jeopardy" question he missed last November, knocking him off the show).

"Nothing new on that front," he said, adding that he's also on the speaker circuit, traveling around the country addressing college students and corporate functions.

Whew.

One reason for all the activity is that Jennings doesn't want to miss anything.