Photo provided by Amanda Tholke
Anderson Township resident Amanda Tholke is no stranger to high-pressure settings. A former prosecutor turned private defense attorney, she spends her days navigating the fast pace that is courtrooms—and recently took those skills to a national stage. On October 20, Tholke represented Greater Cincinnati on Jeopardy!, where she finished in third place behind winner Dargan Ware and Nick Petrilli after wagering all $10,800 on the final question. While she didn’t walk away with the win, she walked away with gratitude for such a monumental experience. Cincinnati Magazine talks to Tholke about her experience joining season 42.
Can you tell me about your background and how you ended up in Anderson Township?
I grew up in Sycamore, to West Side parents. I went to Cincinnati Country Day and graduated in 2004, then graduated Washington and Lee University in 2008 for my undergraduate, and finally Boston University in 2011 for law school. My husband is from Kentucky, and when we bought our house, I was working for the prosecutor’s office, I couldn’t live outside the state of Ohio, so Anderson seemed to be a nice compromise.
What inspired you to pursue a career in law?
A combination of things. My mom was in law school when I applied, so that helped a lot. I ironically never wanted to be in court; I thought I would be an employment lawyer or sports agent. Graduating [from Washington and Lee University] in 2008, it was very easy to just go to grad school, and then graduating from [Boston University] law school was much better. I got lucky, really. My law school offered to pay me to work for a judge. Then I met another judge, and he hooked me up with the Hamilton County prosecutor’s office, so I did that for 10 years in various divisions like juvenile, drug, and criminal divisions. I’ve been a private defense lawyer at the Lewis Law Firm for the past three years.
Did your education or legal training shape the way you approach trivia or problem-solving?
It did, because I feel like there is a lot of minutiae I have to remember, a lot of different crimes that have different mandatory punishments or don’t. I’ve always had a fascination with knowing things. I’ve been playing bar trivia off and on for about 20 years. There are online trivia leagues and there’s apps and I feel like it’s easier, more than ever now, to find ways to play. It was always a social fun thing for me.
How did you get into trivia?
I’ve always been an eager student, and I realized in college that knowing random things could be lucrative. I remember a trivia company coming to my undergrad and it was a good icebreaker to have a weekly event with friends where we had a set place to go. The more I did, the better I was, and throughout all this, I was applying to Jeopardy! I first applied in college, and up until today, I’ve been in the contestant pool six different times.
What made you want to transition from bar trivia to Jeopardy!?
I have always really enjoyed game shows. I watched them with my grandmother, now I watch them a lot with my daughter. She’s almost six now, and when I was on maternity leave, I knew game shows would show nothing inappropriate, and they were bright and they were fun. Being in the contestant pool so many times, I knew that I was doing well enough to get to the next stage, so I continued applying. I don’t think it was ever about being TV—it more just the potential to make money off what I know.
What was the audition process like?
You start by taking an online test that is 50 questions. If you do well on that, they have you take a different online test on camera. If you do well on that, they do a Zoom interview; pre-COVID, I did it four different times in person in different cities. This time around, my mic didn’t work during the interview, so I thought I blew it. I ended up doing another interview in May or June and they have you practice playing the game to see how you are personality-wise. After that, anytime in two years they could call you to be on the show.
After you found out you were going on the show, what was the preparation process like?
It was weird. I got the call in August when I already had plans to be in LA to see [rock band] Oasis. Having Oasis to look forward to took some of the pressure off me because they were so close in time. Otherwise, I was watching Jeopardy! every day, I ordered some books, I was playing trivia online, and I was trying to learn something new every day. Oasis actually ended up playing into my game as well, because I went and saw them at the Rose Bowl, which is the 20th largest stadium in the world, and that ended up being one of the questions.
Can you walk me through your day on set?
They had us get to the Sony lot at 7:30 a.m. I ended up being there with 10 or 12 other people, because they film five shows a day. You have the champion from the day before, and then 10 people for those five episodes, plus an extra person just in case. We get to do hair and makeup, then run through rehearsals. We go on stage, use the buzzer, write our name, and that’s where they film our promos for our local town. Thankfully, my competitiveness carried me through once I got the first question correct. I was able to read the questions quicker than Ken Jennings, which gave me time to sit there and think if I wanted to try and answer. The adrenaline and everything made it go by quick. Unfortunately, I didn’t win, but I stayed the rest of the day and watched three episodes get filmed back-to-back.
Do you think your background with working in courts helped you stay calm under pressure?
Being in court did. I could have to go to court tomorrow where I don’t know anybody, and I have to go in and speak. So, the public speaking aspect didn’t bother me whatsoever. The being on camera doesn’t bother me whatsoever. And thinking on the fly is something I do every day.
How have your friends, family, and coworkers reacted since your episode aired?
I had a huge watch party that I was so thankful for. It was really lovely to see that huge display of support. And again, I think I’m really lucky I didn’t embarrass myself. It never dawned on me how many people would reach out. My high school posted my photo online, my undergrad put something out, and people I haven’t heard from in 15 years are reaching out and it was so lovely. I’m just so thankful.
How are you feeling after your games?
It was hard not telling anyone the results for a month. People knew I had filmed it, but they didn’t know how I did. A lot of people insinuated that I was back, so I obviously didn’t win. Producers had told me to keep October 6 open, just in case I won and needed to go back. So, I remember, on that day I was a little down, thinking how I wanted to go back to LA. Now that it’s aired, it’s been fun because I did well enough and my clients are starting to pick up on it like “Wait, were you on Jeopardy!?”
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