BELOVED Jeopardy! contestant Sam Buttrey was nearly a passenger on a Titanic wreckage voyage with the company whose sub has vanished, The U.S. Sun has learned.
Sam shared during Jeopardy! Masters that he boasts "a friend who operates trips to the Titanic wreckage" but couldn't attend. He has close ties to the wife of OceanGate’s missing CEO.
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Sam, 62, is an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
He was one of the six elite Jeopardy! players in May’s Masters special - the thrilling $500,000 throwdown was hosted by Ken Jennings, 49, and won by gambler pro James Holzhauer.
Sam may not have won out, but he won over viewers with his hilarious quips and endearing stage presence.
Catchphrases such as “Bring it!” while selecting clues made him a TV sensation when he competed.
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So when the missing Titanic vessel trip made news this week, Jeopardy! fans remembered a story Sam told on-stage during Masters that made for a concerning connection.
'ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY'
During the interview portion of May 9's episode [seen above], Ken mentioned that Sam has a "pretty good nautical story" about attending his son's wedding at “great cost.”
Sam shared: “I have a friend who operates a company that will take you out to the wreck of the Titanic."
He continued: “You go out in a boat, and then you go down in a submersible craft and tour the wreckage. It sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
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"But through a miracle of bad timing, my son John and daughter-in-law were getting married that weekend.
"I was very happy to go there, it was a beautiful wedding, not a shred of regret in my life."
Ken replied: “There’s a joke in there somewhere about a wedding and undersea wreckage, but it sounds like it was a wonderful event."
Someone since worried on Reddit: "I don't know if it is the same company he discussed on Jeopardy!," another wrote: "He dodged a bullet."
FRIENDSHIP WITH TITANIC SUB CEO'S WIFE
During his on-stage story, Sam did not mention OceanGate Expeditions, one of several companies that cater to private individuals wanting to explore seemingly unreachable depths of the world’s oceans.
But The U.S. Sun has learned that Sam is friends on Facebook with Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush.
A graduate of Princeton University, Wendy Rush née Hollings Weil is the communications director for OceanGate Inc.
Sam also attended Princeton for undergrad - she and Stockton graduated in 1984 and Sam graduated in 1983.
Wendy is also an expedition team leader and has worked for OceanGate for more than 10 years, according to her LinkedIn.
This was OceanGate Expedition's third annual voyage to the Titanic since 2021, and her current role lists that she ran: “Titanic Expeditions 2021, 2022, 2023.”
Wendy gushed about Sam on Facebook and cheered him on while he competed on Jeopardy!
Sharing an image to Facebook in 2022 celebrating one of his victories, she wrote: “Congratulations Sam Buttrey! Great win!”
She also posted about him earlier that year as well, between posts about OceanGate.
The U.S. Sun reached out to Sam, who had “no comment” at the time.
Sam’s invite would have seemed to have been for a trek that already happened and returned - if it was indeed with OceanGate.
In 2021, Sam took home $100,000 after winning the Professor's Tournament.
The following year, he won an additional $50,000 placing third in the Tournament of Champions and becoming a fan favorite.
Counting his $50,000 from Masters, his grand total from Jeopardy! is $200,000.
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MISSING TITANIC SUBMARINE
On June 18, 2023, OceanGate Expeditions sent out a submersible to explore the Titanic wreckage located 900 nautical miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Communication was lost with the $250,000-a-head voyage just an hour and 45 minutes into its descent on Sunday.
Rescue crews are frantically searching the Atlantic Ocean after the vessel disappeared while heading to the wreckage.
The US Coast Guard sent out a search for survivors after the vessel vanished with five people onboard.
The vessel reportedly had a four-day supply of oxygen, as per BBC.
The five people onboard were named as French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet, chief executive and founder of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton, Pakistani millionaire Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman, and UK businessman Hamish Harding.
Experts revealed how they feared the submarine could be tangled in the debris of the iconic ship.
In 2009, Stockton founded the Washington-based and privately held company that provides submersibles tourism, industry, research, and exploration.
OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement: "Our entire focus is on the crew members in the submersible and their families.
"We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible."
The missing vessel weighs over 11 tons and is powered by electric thrusters, generating a top speed of three knots.
It was designed by a team of Nasa engineers but is reportedly steered by a reinforced video game controller.
There is no GPS system, with crew instead relying on texts from a team above the water.
The sub - named Titan - sends texts to communicate with their team on transport vessel the Polar Prince, which remains above water.
The final message sent from the vessel placed it directly above the Titanic - around 373 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, officials confirmed the Horizon Arctic is en route to aid in the search.
On Tuesday evening, a Canadian P-3 aircraft heard banging noises in 30-minute intervals while looking for the vessel, which disappeared while venturing 12,500 feet below.
Those onboard are faced with grueling conditions due to the "improvised" and "experimental" nature of the vessel.
Journalist David Pogue traveled onboard the Titan last year and shared his concerns over some components of the sub that seemed "off-the-shelf, sort of improvised."
He told the BBC: "You steer this sub with an Xbox game controller [and] some of the ballast is [built from] abandoned construction pipes."
And the inside lighting was bought from a camping shop.
He also explained that there is "no way" to communicate with the mini-van size vessel, nor can anyone inside the sub escape without external help.
Passengers are sealed within the main cabin by hefty bolts secured from the outside and have to be removed using an external crew.
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"There's no backup, there's no escape pod," he said.
"It's get to the surface or die."
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