This guy got it, but apparently not immediately.

Quoted: Seems that Weiss, well, is just a great guy, and thought it would be cool for all of them to end up with a bunch of money! I guess it's our cynical nature to immediately think that Weiss had made a mistake in betting the way he did. So good for him.

USA Today article on the three-way tie.

What are they thinking when they calculate odds like this? It's like the idiots who calculate the number of possible NCAA tournament brackets as 2^(64+32+16+8+4+2+1). But 99% of those brackets have large numbers of upsets that just aren't realistic. *Real* odds have to take into account the real world.

Real odds of a three-way tie: 1 in 1 on last Friday's show.

Quoted: The show contacted a mathematician who calculated the odds of such a three-way tie happening — one in 25 million.

UPI article on the three-way tie on Jeopardy!

Commentary on the three-way tie on Jeopardy! by another friend of mine.

A friend of mine, Scott Weiss, was on Jeopardy! last Friday (and Wednesday and Thursday before that). For Final Jeopardy, he was in the lead and the other two people were tied. Scott bet exactly the amount needed to get a three-way tie if his two opponents bet it all (the logical thing to do, given that runner-ups get almost nothing), and if all three contestants got it right. And it worked! First non-zero three-way tie in the history of the game.

Apparently a number of people think Scott goofed -- that he somehow forgot to bet the extra $1 to clinch the win (despite the fact that he had done just that the day before, which in studio time was maybe an hour or two earlier).

But Scott did win -- he just allowed two other people to also win. He saw the opportunity to create a unique moment, a win-win-win situation, and he grabbed it. Right afterwards, you can hear him saying "You're welcome" to the other contestants. Very cool!