A substitute teacher and grad student from Irvine, California...

Tom Morris

My name's Tom Morris, I'm from Irvine, California.

How have you spent your winnings?
With my winnings, we paid off some credit card debt, um, I bought a PlayStation, and, uh, an iPod--y'know, something to play with with the kids--and, uh, we put the majority of it into a CD so it's saved up and we can't touch it, and we're gonna use it to buy a house.

How did you react when you were invited to the Tournament?
I was really excited when I got invited. Um, I was following the boards and following all the winners throughout the, uh, y'know the three mon--or the four or five months, however long it was--between when my shows aired, and--and when the call came, so I was real thrilled.

How did you celebrate your original run on Jeopardy!?
Uh, they--after my--when my appearances aired, uh, my family had a big party. Unfortunately, I was at work, so we were watching it on a TV at work as the--as theyy were airing, and, y'know, everybody at the store was all huddled around one TV.

What have you learned that will help you in the tournament?
One thing I learned is to how to be calm. Uh, I was a little flustered when I was first on, but now it's old hat, I guess, except for the change of locale, but everything should be okay.

Will playing Jeopardy! in Las Vegas affect your wagering?
I don't kn--um, I'm not sure if playing in Las Vegas'll affect my wagering. I kinda had a hard time with the Daily Doubles when I was on, but I might be gambling a little more anyway, so we'll see what happens.

Place your bets and tune in!

2009 Tournament of Champions quarterfinalist: $5,000.
Season 24 4-time champion: $100,801 + $2,000.

Tom is the first and only Jeopardy! player to return the next game following a loss. As the returning champion, Tom lost to Paul Thomas in game #5454, aired 2008-05-01, but because Alex Trebek gave Paul a little extra time to write down his winning Final Jeopardy! response on the backup paper card after Paul had trouble using the electronic tablet, it was determined that Tom may have been disadvantaged and should return. In #5455, aired 2008-05-02, Tom was again at the champion's podium and Paul took the middle podium. In that game, Tom defeated Paul and went on to play again.

Jeopardy! Message Board user name: tommygun78

Tom appeared in the following archived game:
#5649, aired 2009-03-12 Larissa Kelly vs. Matt Kohlstedt vs. Tom Morris 2009 Tournament of Champions quarterfinal game 2. From Las Vegas.
Tom previously appeared on Jeopardy! as Tom Morris in the following 5 archived games:
#5466, aired 2008-05-19 Tom Morris vs. Michael Vanderbilt vs. Mary Kay Schmidt Tom Morris game 5.
#5455, aired 2008-05-02 Tom Morris vs. Paul Thomas vs. Wanda Bartschat Tom Morris game 4. Returning untied co-champions. Only one contestant...
#5454, aired 2008-05-01 Tom Morris vs. Paul Thomas vs. Melanie Harrington Tom Morris game 3.
#5453, aired 2008-04-30 Tom Morris vs. Debbie Rothschild vs. Mike Milligan Tom Morris game 2.
#5452, aired 2008-04-29 Ric Leach vs. Tom Morris vs. Gilah Pomeranz Tom Morris game 1.

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