Who is Tom Syta?

Tom worked as a consumer protection attorney for almost 30 years at the Federal Trade Commission (now retired). He appeared on countless panels interacting with the public and providing information in an entertaining, memorable way. He also regularly introduced consumer protection experts, exchanged brief banter with them, and then let them do their thing. Kind of what the host of Jeopardy! does!  Tom has been married for 35 years and has three wonderful children. Only one of them previously held the Guinness World Record for marathon harp playing.

Tom was born and grew up outside of Buffalo, NY reading almanacs for fun and creating home-made Jeopardy games to play with the neighborhood kids. Tom was accepted to law school at both Stanford and UCLA. In a bit of a surprise, he chose UCLA "because that's where the game shows are." He appeared on his first game show (Sale of the Century) while in law school and on his most recent (Blank Slate) in January 2024. Overall, he has appeared on more game shows (11) than almost anyone else in the world! About eight years ago, Tom built a not-quite-full-size Jeopardy! game board, wrote clever clues for friends and family, and served as host for an evening of answer-and-question fun. A brief montage of highlights from that night appears below.

About 11 years ago, Tom sent a letter to Harry Friedman at Jeopardy! suggesting that he, Tom, be the next host (yes, he has a copy).  He's had the NextJeopardyHost.com website for about 10 years. So hosting Jeopardy! is the ultimate dream. But in a close (and perhaps more realistic) second place would be working as a clue writer or researcher developing those compelling and entertaining clues that make the show so much fun to watch. Or perhaps as a data analyst finding fun Jeopardy! facts to share with viewers - what is the biggest Daily Double wager in Jeopardy! history? what is the record for most consecutive correct answers? I don't know, but I would love to find out!  

If you have the ability to advance any of these dream scenarios - please contact me at tomsyta@yahoo.com or use the form below.  THANKS!