James Holzhauer’s losing ‘Jeopardy!’ wager, in his own words

Trivia titan James Holzhauer, who saw his jaw-dropping 32-game “Jeopardy!” winning streak come to an end on Monday’s episode, blamed his downfall on Drake in his first messages since the loss aired.

“Knew I shouldn’t have invited @Drake to the @Jeopardy taping,” tweeted Holzhauer in a nod to the infamous “curse” associated with the Canadian rapper.

Click Here: Arsenal FC Jerseys

“Timing is everything,” added Holzhauer in a tongue-in-cheek retweet of a Monday story in USA Today predicting that his streak was far from over.

Holzhauer also took viewers inside the logic of his fateful final wager in an interview about the loss on Monday.

The professional gambler, 34, entered Final Jeopardy in second place with $23,400, trailing leader Emma Boettcher’s $26,600 by $3,200.

“I knew I could only win if Emma missed Final Jeopardy, as there was no way she wouldn’t be to cover my all-in bet,” Holzhauer told The Action Network on Monday.

The Las Vegas resident explained that his first concern was not Boettcher, but third-place contestant Jay Sexton, who, if he successfully doubled his $11,000, would have been locked out with $1 less than if Holzhauer missed on his $1,399 wager.

“So my only concern was getting overtaken by third place, and I bet just enough to make sure of locking him out,” Holzhauer told The Action Network.

The only problem was that Boettcher too wagered well, pushing in $20,201 — or enough to top Holzhauer if he successfully doubled down.

“Betting big would have looked good for the cameras, but [by doing so] now I turn my straight bet — Emma misses — into a parlay: Emma misses and I get it right,” said Holzhauer.

The gamesmanship proved irrelevant when all three players aced Final Jeopardy — correctly asking, “Who is [16th-century English playwright] Kit Marlowe?” — leaving Boettcher, a 27-year-old Chicago librarian, in front of Holzhauer.

The miss snapped Holzhauer’s must-see-TV streak, sending him home with $2,464,216, including $2,000 for finishing second on Monday’s episode.

He also finished just shy of “Jeopardy!” legend Ken Jennings’ all-time winnings record of $2,520,700.

The final show taped on March 12.

Though his strategy didn’t pay off on Monday’s episode, Holzhauer said he’s ready to go right back to the betting table — assuming the bet-takers will have him.

“The public might not have known my name two months ago, but all the sportsbook managers in Vegas were already familiar with me,” he told The Action Network. “I hope I can still get my bets down.”