What is a second chance for Conn. woman?
Woman who entered ‘Jeopardy!’ ‘on a whim’ returning to the show
SIMSBURY — Being on “Jeopardy!” has made Kate Campolieta a celebrity in her hometown, and now, the 25-year-old Simsbury native is returning to the legendary game show for another stab at becoming a champion.
Campolieta entered to be on “Jeopardy!” on a whim during the COVID-19 pandemic, simply because “there wasn’t really much else going on,” she said.
“It was just sort of, if it works out it works out, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” she said. “But I would say, everything worked out pretty nicely.”
A couple of years after applying, Campolieta was shocked to find herself invitated to the Los Angeles studio.
Having grown up watching the show, appearing in two episodes in 2023 was nothing short of surreal.
“It was funny, like in the actual game play, it really does feel a lot like you’re playing at home,” she said. “I was able to sort of let go of the fact that I was actually on the show and sort of pretend that I was just on my couch, like yelling out the answers.”
She never expected to win her first game, let alone be invited back for another round airing in February. This time, she’s competing against fellow returning champions.
“Everybody here is sort of an expert, because we’ve all been on before,” she said. “I’m pretty sure that at this event, the champions wild card, I’m
the youngest person here.”
The Season 39 Champions Wildcard competition, kicked off on Jan. 16, and has one- and two-day champions from last season competing for the final two spots in the 2024 Tournament of Champions,
and one of two $100,000 grand prizes.
Campolieta’s episode will air on Feb. 5, in which she is competing against Mira Hayward, a podcast host from Portland, Oregon, and Jesse Chin, an accounting director from Bayside, N.Y.
“You almost feel a little bit starstruck, and then you remember that they’re just also a person who’s good at trivia like you,” she said.
Being invited back came as a complete surprise to her, Campolieta said, and she actually was notified while on vacation with her father in Las Vegas using some of her prize money from last time.
“I was like, ‘Well, I guess we’re going back again,’ ” she said.
Campolieta won in the July 4 episode, and lost the second game a day later, but was still able to walk away with around $12,000, she said.
And she said this time she felt even more prepared.
“I was less nervous because I knew exactly what to expect,” Campolieta said. There was also the fact that she remembered from the first time what was most helpful for her to study.
And Campolieta, who works full time as a corporate communications specialist, said her strengths lie in wordplay categories, as well as geography, sports, music, and pop culture.
She said one of the most common questions people ask her is how she prepares for the show, but there’s really no good answer to that. “Because, like, it’s so hard to study for general knowledge.”
It wasn’t even like she was a part of any trivia or jeopardy groups, as the closest thing would be occasionally going to trivia nights at Iron Horse Pub in Simsbury.
Instead, most of her knowledge comes from watching documentaries, reading books, and listening to podcasts.
“I feel like I just have a good like memory for that kind of thing,” she said.