Circa Sports is upping the ante again on its NFL handicapping contests.
The downtown Las Vegas sportsbook is increasing the guaranteed prize money from $22.5 million last season to $30 million for its three events — the $1,000 Circa Survivor and Circa Million VIII and the $100,000 Circa Grandissimo.
The guarantee for the wildly popular Survivor has soared from $15 million to $20 million for the final installment. The race drew a record 18,718 entries last year to fly over the guarantee and generate an unprecedented prize pool of $18,718,000. Five entries finished a perfect 20-0 and won $3.74 million each.
The guarantee for Grandissimo has jumped from $1.5 million to $4 million after the high roller version of Survivor drew 69 entries in its debut for an inaugural prize pool of $6.9 million. Six entries survived through week 13 and took home $1.15 million each.
The guarantee for the million remains at $6 million after it drew 5,685 entries, resulting in a $315,000 overlay paid by Circa to ensure the full prize payout. Two entries tied for first place with a 60-29-1 record against the spread, with Chris Coyne (aka “Coynehop”) taking first place in the $1 million on a tiebreaker (most winning weeks) over Thomas Patochek and Jeff McElmurry (“Bisonsportscards”), who won $500,000.
There is no rake, or house cut, in the contests and any contribution in excess of the guarantee will increase the prize pools.
“Circa Sports was built on creating competitions that are bigger, bolder and more player-friendly than anything else in the industry,” said Circa Sports CEO Derek Stevens. “This year’s guaranteed prize pool of US$30 million reflects the incredible momentum these competitions have built over the years.
“We are grateful for the passionate community that continues to support Circa Sports, and we are excited to welcome both returning competitors and first-time players for what will be our most exciting season yet.”
Survive and advance
In both Survivor competitions, contestants pick an NFL winner outright — no point spread involved — each week but can only use each team once. The competition consists of NFL Weeks 1 through 18, plus separate weeks for Thanksgiving Eve/Day/Black Friday and Christmas Eve/Day.
The Survivor competition will need 20,000 entries to fulfill the guarantee and the Grandissimo will need 40. The maximum number of entries in Survivor is 10, while the limit for entries in Grandissimo is two.
Surviving contestants can purchase up to 10 additional entries – and Grandissimo participants can purchase up to two additional entries – if they lose their original entries at either the Seattle Seahawks-New England Patriots NFL season opener on Wednesday, September 9 or the San Francisco 49ers-Los Angeles Rams game on Thursday, September 10 in Melbourne, Australia. A Survivor contestant cannot enter Saturday’s deadline with more than 10 active entries.
In Million, contestants make five weekly picks against the spread, via the Circa Sports Nevada mobile app, during the 18-week NFL season. The contest requires 6,000 entries to fulfill the guarantee. There is a $1 million prize for first place, along with a Circa Sports blue jacket, while places two through 100 will be paid a total of $3.65 million.
There will be $1.2 million in quarterly prizes awarded. The last-place booby prize will receive $100,000, and the second-to-last place booby prize will receive $50,000. The million entry limit has been increased this year from five to 10 per person.
Registration opens Friday and runs through September 12 at Circa, D Las Vegas, Toscana, Silverton and Legends Bay. Players outside of Nevada can enter the contests and receive their picks each week through a proxy.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ theplayerlounge.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
