GENIUS BAR
‘Jeopardy!’ titan pours drinks, hears cheers
“JEOPARDY!” champ Austin Rogers really pushes buttons.
That includes both on the game show — where he has won $394,700 in 11 appearances, $29,300 of it Tuesday alone — and off.
“I’m a genius,” he told the Daily News. “I’m very smart.”
Most would agree. “Austin Rogers eats up contestants, chews them up, & spits them out. Those who play against him are not worthy,” tweeted @OfficialMisterC, who’s clearly impressed.
But not everyone is so taken by the cocky smirk and goofy head bob that accompanies Rogers’ victories.
“Really, Austin is the perfect Trump-era Jeopardy champion: a (now) rich a-----e who inexplicably keeps winning,” tweeted @joxfeld, who’s among the naysayers.
Either way, Rogers, a 38-year-old bearded bartender who lives in East Harlem and tweeted on Monday that being “rich is super super cool,” takes it in stride.
“Unlike the current members of the executive branch,” he told the Daily News, “I can back myself up with real facts and real knowledge.”
Rogers, who attended public school as a kid in Westchester County and graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., has a way to go to match the record $4,455,102 won on “Jeopardy!” by Brad Rutter.
Still, Rogers acknowledged he’s “feeling good” right now, though he’s had “ups and downs” and “hasn’t always been in a good mind space” when it comes to having a healthy ego.
But winning nearly $395,000 can send self-esteem soaring — and comes with plenty of perks. Like getting asked by perfect strangers for selfies. And like having “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon join him for a drink at The Gaf West in Hell’s Kitchen, where he tends bar and has held viewing parties to watch himself on the show.
And like hearing from former flames. “I have several ex-girlfriends,” he said. “One from Singapore reached out to say, ‘Hey, I’ve been watching you.’ ”
Whether or not any of those relations reheat, Rogers, whose next appearance on the show is Wednesday night, says he and “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek “have warmed” to each other. Rogers said he and the host, along with others at the show, initially chafed because of his profanity while shooting in April and August.
“They told me to stop swearing,” Rogers said. “In my first couple of appearances I was extensively bleeped.”
The colorful language has subsided, but the key to winning on the show has stayed constant — and it’s all about Trebek and buzzing in first. “(Trebek’s) voice is what cues the buzzing device,” said Rogers. “So you see clue, read ahead, you wait for him to get to the last word of clue, when the board is activated, and go. Then you’re in.”
Answer: It’s easier said than done.