How many contestants on Jeopardy! have been from Butte?

There are very few things that I actually watch in real-time.

College football, Hockey, and Jeopardy. That’s really about it.

Granted there are always exceptions, NCAA basketball at times, the World Cup, Women’s Wimbledon (I just can’t care about the men’s), the Olympics, etc.

Bowl season is just the best season known to mankind, and my love of the NHL is well-documented (with therapeutic help). But, the one thing on Television I probably enjoy more than anything else, is Jeopardy! with my girls.

Any night that we are all home, we watch as a family, and I love it. I love proving that I am the ‘bag of hammers’ in the house, night in, night out.

Last night as Final Jeopardy! wrapped up, I started thinking about how many Montanas have been on the show, (and more importantly) how many Butte people had graced the stage.

According to the Jeopardy! archive Butte Montana has had 3 contestants on Jeopardy. The first, and only winner, was Jim Britton, on show #3778.

The episode aired on January 24, 2001, Mr. Britton pocketed himself a payday of $12,900. He was the only contestant who correctly answered the Final Jeopardy! question which was:

“In 2000 the film center of the school of the Art Institute of Chicago was renamed in his honor”

Remember to write your response in the form of a question.  I’ll give you the answer later.

The next day, as returning champion, Jim Britton was knocked off by Ron Shinkman in Final Jeopardy! For placing second, Jim was given a trip to Mexico. A pretty good day for a Butte boy, $12,900 and a trip to Mexico for a 1-day champ on Jeopardy!. We lost Jim to Brain Cancer July 14, 2020. Foles wrote a great piece about his friendship with Jim, that you can read HERE.

The next Butte contestant was Abra Belke in 2009. Abra was on episode #5767 which aired on October 13, 2009. Abra led after the first round, with a total of $7600. Unfortunately, 4-day champion Terry Linwood caught her in the second round and won the episode with a total of $20,200. Abra placed second, finishing with $3200.

The last Butte Contestant was Bridget Sullivan. Bridget was on episode #7871, which aired on November 26, 2018. Like Abra, Bridget led at the end of the Jeopardy! round with $5400. Double Jeopardy! was not her friend, as she entered Final Jeopardy! with $1200. She wagered intelligently and took home $2000 by taking second place.

One other fun side tidbit. Both Jim and Abra were also on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” Jim was never able to play, but Abra took home $62,500!

So there we have it, 3 Butte contestants so far on Jeopardy! and you could be next, go take your entrance exam HERE.

Almost forgot, the question to the Final Jeopardy! answer is : "Who is Gene Siskel?"

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