The Final Jeopardy question (5/4/2012) in the category “American Revolution” was:

In 1777 an opponent wrote of him, “Money is this man’s God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country”.

Day 5 and the last match of the Teen Tournament quarter-finals. One of these three students will get the last semi-final spot today: Rob Schrader, a junior from Lexington, KY; Gabriela Gonzales, a senior from Winston-Salem, NC and Evan Eschliman, a sophomore from Olathe, KS. Will another of them get a Wild Card spot?

Evan found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double before the first commercial break in “Know Your State Borders!” He had a nice lead with $2,400, $1,600 more than Gabriela in second place. He made it a true Daily Double and he was RIGHT.

Hannah’s leaving Montana, heading east into this state that borders Canada. show

WHAT IS NORTH DAKOTA?

Evan finished in the lead with $8,600. Gabriela was second with $6,000 and Rob was third with $1,400.

Gabriela found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “Biblical People.” Like yesterday, the game had now become a lot more level. Jessica was in second place with $7,600, $200 less than Evan and $600 more than Rob. She only bet $2,200 even though she was doing quite well in the category and she was RIGHT.

This shepherd became King Saul’s personal musician and armor bearer. show

WHO IS DAVID?

Rob found the last Daily Double in “At The Mall.” At $13,000, he was in second place with $800 less than Gabriela and $400 more than Evan. He bet $2,200, thought it was “Hallmark” and that was WRONG.

Get a birthday card for Mom at this store chain founded in 1950 & named for an early form of paper. show

WHAT IS PAPYRUS’?

Gabriela finished this round in the lead with $20,600. Evan was next with $13,800 and Rob was last with $11,000.

Surprisingly, NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right and they all had the same wrong answer!

WHO IS BENEDICT ARNOLD?

In “The Notorious Benedict Arnold,” Steven Sheinkin relates that an old enemy named John Brown, who hated Benedict Arnold for more reasons than one, wrote a pamphlet which contained the statement “Money is this man’s God …,” and Benedict Arnold was incensed. He visited George Washington in New Jersey and showed him the pamphlet, which openly accused him of theft and of not having a character “worth a sixpence.” Arnold told Washington “Whenever I have an opportunity of seeing him, he shall no longer have reason to complain for want of satisfaction.”

The money part of the clue apparently threw the students off and they all thought it was the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. While appalled at Benedict Arnold’s treachery, by some accounts, Hamilton had quite a bit of sympathy for Mrs. Arnold and also tried to influence George Washington to let Arnold’s co-conspirator, Major André, face a firing squad rather than be hanged.

Rob bet it all so he ended up with nothing.

Evan only bet $1,200 so he finished with $12,600.

Gabriela bet $8,000 so she finished in a tie with Evan at $12,600, which she thought was very funny.

This called for a tie-breaker clue. “The rule is very simple,” Alex Trebek said, “You have to be the first one to ring in with a correct response. You cannot win by default.” The category was “Literary Characters”

Although he doesn’t actually appear in ‘1984,’ his presence is everywhere — on posters, coins & telescreens. show

WHO IS BIG BROTHER?

Evan buzzed with the RIGHT answer first and won the game.

The Semi-Finalists in order of their scores are:
Kevin Yang: $26,801
Elyse Mancuso: $22,600
Ben Greenho: $20,400
Eliza Scruton: $20,001
Evan Eschliman: $12,600

The Wild Card Winners remain the same:
Catherine Briley: $21,000
Anshika Nirau: $17,401
Rose Schaefer: $15,400
Krishna Bharathala $15,001