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Portland man wins on ‘Jeopardy!’

Nathan Berger from Portland excelled in the Oscar Nomination category, and correctly answered the Final Jeopardy question on 'I Love Lucy.'

PORTLAND, Maine — Nathan Berger won Wednesday’s “Jeopardy!” episode, beating a returning champion and another contestant, walking away with almost $12,000

The Portland restaurateur and sommelier correctly answered the Final Jeopardy question under the category of Classic TV Sitcoms to earn the victory over returning champion, Ben Scripps, a television director from Cadillac, Michigan, and Rachel Keen, a compliance specialist from Washington, D.C.

The Final Jeopardy question was: I Love Lucy used the French word 'enceinte' in a 1952 episode title because CBS didn’t want this word used. Berger and Scripps each gave the correct answer, “what is pregnant,” but Scripps only wagered $601 leaving him with $5,801. Berger wagered $199 and won $11,999.

According to NEWS CENTER Maine’s partners at the Portland Press Herald, Nathan Berger, 38, filmed his appearance for the game show in Los Angeles back in March, just days before the show’s production was halted indefinitely by the COVID-19, coronavirus pandemic.

Berger told the Press Herald that prior to the shutdown, the show’s staff had taken extra health and safety precautions due to "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek’s cancer diagnosis.

In March, Alex Trebek spoke about enduring "attacks of great depression" and "moments of great pain" as he crossed the one-year mark since being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Since the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, "Jeopardy!" has been airing reruns of the show. New episodes began airing this week. 

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Berger, when he’s not making appearances on TV, works as a wine director for Eighty Ate Hospitality. While he may not have gotten a question in any food and wine categories, Berger says he studied up on frequently asked subjects like history, literature, U.S. state capitols, and birds.

Berger is the third Mainer to compete on the show this year. Dennis Coffey, a bartender from Old Orchard Beach, won three games and more than $52,000 in January.  

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