A writer from Studio City, California...

Steve Unite

What does it feel like to be competing in the tournament?
It just keeps getting wilder and better. I don't know how many times this dream can keep coming true. It's just fantastic to be here.

Are you treated differently now that you are a Jeopardy! champ?
People treated me differently. They kind of recognized me before: they--they thought I looked like a certain judge from a--an infamous murder case, but now they have a--a reason to, uh, think twice about who I am, and, uh, y'know, just around town here in L.A. and Studio City, people recognize me in the grocery or the bookstore, kinda geek places, and they wish me well, and they--they knew I'd be here, so it's really gratifying.

Can you show us your buzzer technique?
Oh, yeah. Uh, I learned this from, uh, Dupée, uh, Michael Dupée, he was a grand champion. Uh, you're as still as possible, and, uh, all you do is you move the thumb [arms relaxed to sides]. That's it. Just--like that. There's no wasted motion, nothin'. That's it--so you time it perfectly.

We know you write about horse racing. Are there similarities between betting on a horse race and competing on Jeopardy!?
Yeah, yeah, there's a lot. I mean, the competition here is fierce, and this tournament's gonna be a, y'know, like a crucible of competition, but, yeah, you're competing at the horse races against other people, and, uh, yeah, you always have to be careful with your money and, uh, try to accumulate it, and, uh, maximize the growth, so, yeah, there are a lot of similarities.

2007 Tournament of Champions quarterfinalist: $5,000 + the Jeopardy! DVD Home Game System.
Season 23 5-time champion: $107,605 + $2,000.

Last name pronounced like YOO-nit-tay.

Appeared as a team captain on Greed on 2000-01-07.

Jeopardy! Message Board user name: one-nil
JBoard user name: one-nil 2.0