Update 5/31/19: In an unprecedented turn of events, there were eight co-champions in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, May 30. Each winner will receive a $50,000 cash prize and an engraved trophy.

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This story originally published Wednesday, May 29.

The ability to spell "koinonia" on demand is worth more than just bragging rights for the competitors of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Koinonia, which appears in the Bible and can loosely be defined as "spiritual community," was last year's winning word, earning then-14-year-old Karthik Nemmani of McKinney, Texas, $40,000. Whoever wins this year's competition, which began on Monday, May 27 in Washington, DC, will also head home with $40,000 in cash, as well as an engraved trophy, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and some new reference books.

If there are two winners, each will receive $40,000. The 2014, 2015 and 2016 bees ended in ties, according to the Associated Press; however, it's been a relatively rare occurrence throughout the competition's history.

All 562 competitors will receive a Kindle and some reference books, and many will take home at least some cash. Here's how the the top six finishers fare:

First place: $40,000 + a $2,500 savings bond

Second place: $30,000

Third place: $20,000

Fourth place: $10,000

Fifth place: $5,000

Sixth place: $2,500

Everyone eliminated in rounds four through six will receive a $500 gift card, and those who misspell a word in round seven through seventh place will get $2,000. Last year, just 18 spellers made it past round seven.