Yes, 'Jeopardy!' champ Jennings still has money

Answer: He owns a 1998 Toyota Corolla with a missing hubcap.

Question: Who is "Jeopardy!" champ Ken Jennings?

Call him a geek or an egghead, but you can't call Jennings, who won $2.5 million on the game show in 2004, a spendthrift.

"I didn't turn in the Toyota for a Jag the day after I received my money," says former Utahn Jennings, 32. "I did not want to be one of those 'Where are they now?' stories where the guy's living in a trailer. That would be totally ironic, right? You thought he was smart on 'Jeopardy!' but then he spent all his money on coke or hookers or whatever."

Jennings, whose 75 appearances on the quiz show made him famous, has written a book, "Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs" (Villard, $24.95), out this week. It's the story of Jennings' unparalleled run on "Jeopardy!" and a cultural history of trivia.

A former computer programmer, Jennings focuses on other endeavors, including his Web site, ken-jennings.com. Controversy over one of his blog postings in July temporarily boosted his typical 1,000 online visitors a day to 600,000, but Jennings says, "It was much to-do about nothing. A week after I wrote what I thought was a funny satire about how to retool a game show badly, the New York Post reported it as if I were seriously insulting 'Jeopardy!' and Alex Trebek. I'd never do that. I've been a huge 'Jeopardy!' fan since I was 10 years old — even before they paid for my kids' college education and my retirement."

Jennings' TV appearances this fall won't be limited to hyping his book. He also will appear on a taped segment of a new NBC game show called "1 vs. 100" in which one contestant faces off against 100. The show is hosted by Bob Saget, and players vie for cash prizes.

As to whether he won prize money, Jennings says, "Draconian nondisclosure agreements prevent me from saying anything. But it was a fun show, and I had a good time."

Jennings hopes there is more TV in his future. He's developing a TV game show with "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" producer Michael Davies. The concept, Jennings says, "is Ken Jennings vs. the rest of the world."

As for his "Jeopardy!" winnings, Jennings says they are "safely and boringly invested." He, his wife, Mindy, and their son, Dylan, 3, recently moved into a modest two-story house just north of Seattle. Jennings says it has room for a nursery for the baby girl he and his wife are expecting in November.

With his finances secure, Jennings is waiting for the biggest payoff of all.

"It would be like the Holy Grail for a trivia person to become trivia. In 10 years, some Trivial Pursuit game is going to hinge on who can remember the name of the geeky Mormon guy who won on 'Jeopardy!' in 2004."