From Jim’s to Jennings: KC bartender competes on Jeopardy!

Jeopardy Host Ken Jennings with Sammy Sanchez // Courtesy Sammy Sanchez

Sammy Sanchez knows his stuff. After almost a decade of attempts, Sanchez was finally called up to the big leagues. That’s right, Sanchez is a contestant on an upcoming episode of Jeopardy.

The bespectacled face on your screen may be a familiar one. Sanchez is a bartender at Jim’s Alley Bar and serves as the Shuffleboard League Commissioner there. Outside of the bar, Sanchez is a tutor and can be found hosting high school Scholar’s Bowl competitions and Thursday night trivia at Lifted Spirits.

Sanchez stays sharp by planting himself in the trivia and knowledge arena, but he also prepared for his Jeopardy appearance by watching old episodes of the show. “I would note the categories that I was struggling the most on, and for hours a day, I would go on Wikipedia or Google, just trying to learn as much about those categories as I could,” says Sanchez.

Apart from studying, how does one actually become a contestant on Jeopardy? It all starts with an online test. (More on that in a moment.) 

Sammy Sanchez behind the bar at Jim’s Alley Bar // Photo by Danielle Lehman

Candidates who pass the test, are 18 years of age or older, and reside in the United States or Canada are placed in a pool to be selected at random for an invitation to audition. Candidates who audition “well”–a purposely vague qualifier, I’m sure–may or may not be contacted within the next six months or so to compete. For eager applicants, it’s a whole lot of waiting and wondering.

The first step in becoming a contestant on Jeopardy is taking an online quiz with a simple interface that is designed to test knowledge, speed, and general ability to follow directions. This lands solidly at the intersection where I reside: curious journalist and internet-generation millennial who can’t resist an online quiz.

So, of course, I took the test while working on this story.

After creating a “My Jeopard!” account, the test takes 10-15 minutes to complete. A series of 50 Jeopardy-phrased clues are presented. The test-taker has 15 seconds to read, process, and type a response. All responses are reportedly evaluated by a team, so the results are not immediately available. 

Bummer. But let’s just say that I am confident I will not be getting a call.

When Sanchez got his long-awaited call and boarded a plane to Los Angeles, he was expecting the filming process to feel very “Hollywood” or cold and direct. 

“I was surprised by how sociable it all was. I was kind of expecting, like, you stand here, don’t move, we’ll call you when you’re ready. But the production staff was all super kind and helpful. And the other contestants were all so nice. I got to meet so many cool people. The care, kindness, and professionalism from the crew was just amazing.”

Nerves took a toll on Sanchez’s sleep the nights before, but it only took an hour of filming before he felt in a groove. 

How did he do? We’ll have to tune in to see.

Sanchez’s episode airs on November 7, 2024 on NBC. Jim’s Alley Bar is hosting a watch party starting at 3 p.m. No reservations are accepted here, but the bar is small so I recommend showing up early or keeping your group to no more than four people.