Game shows love nothing more than a big, headline-making champion to juice ratings, and "Jeopardy!" is no exception.

James Holzhauer, the 34-year-old professional gambler from Las Vegas, is on a break after a 22-day winning streak that's set records for the speed with which he's amassed nearly $1.7 million, a total that ranks second only to all-time champ Ken Jennings.

The boost has generated plenty of stories, all of which have drawn more attention to the TV game-show staple, now in its 35th year. There have been interviews with Holzhauer, the rival contestants he's vanquished and an admiring column by USA TODAY's own Eddie Timanus, a former "Jeopardy!" champion himself.

Nielsen ratings shows how the streak has fueled interest in "Jeopardy!" among occasional viewers.

The game show averaged 9.6 million same-day viewers for the week of April 1-5, when Holzhauer made his first appearance. A week later, the audience climbed to 10.1 million. For the week of April 15-19, it jumped to 10.7 million, and for the week of April 22-26, again to 12 million, according to new data out Tuesday. "Wheel of Fortune," which is paired with "Jeopardy!" in many cities, has stayed flat over that time span.

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"Jeopardy!"s average this season is 9.8 million, ranking third among all syndicated shows behind "Judge Judy" and "Wheel," but for the last several weeks, it's ranked No. 1 among all shows.

Will that trend continue? Depends on whether Holzhauer keeps winning.