The contest with the largest guaranteed payout in U.S. betting history is launching Friday, as Circa Sports’ NFL Survivor pool will come with at least a $20 million top prize.
To win it (or at least a share of it), all you need to do is pick a winner each week. You can’t choose the same team twice. That’s it. Entries cost $1,000, there’s a limit of 10, and per Nevada rules you have to sign up for the contest in person (although you can use a proxy to make your picks as the weeks tick by).
“This year is bigger and better than ever,” said Jeff Benson, director of operations for Circa, who spelled out that $20 million is the largest prize pool in the history of any legal football contest and represents just part of the combined $30 million in guarantees across three Circa contests this NFL season.
Last year, the guaranteed top prize for Survivor was set at $15 million, but after all the entries were tallied — this is a no-rake contest, meaning 100% of the pool goes back to players — a record 18,718 entries pushed the pool to $18.7 million, split by five entries that ran the gauntlet at 20-0.
And Benson doesn’t think we’ve seen the ceiling.
“We still haven’t found it,” he said, pointing out that entries jumped by nearly 5,000 a year ago. He figures this season lands somewhere in the $21-$23 million range once the dust settles, “but I think this can continue to push towards 25, 30, 35 million in years to come.”
If you’re wondering when to make your move: Signups open Friday at 9 a.m. Las Vegas time and run through the start of the season. Benson expects a third to half of the entries to land in August and early September, but says the contest quietly hums all summer — spanning World Series of Poker travelers, Memorial Day crowds, and folks making their one Vegas trip before football.
“It gives us a little bit of action throughout the summer when it’s kind of barren for a lot of other casinos and sportsbooks when it’s just baseball,” Benson noted.
Here’s another $10 million
This isn’t the only contest Circa is running.
The operator is bringing back the Grandissimo, which has the same setup as Survivor but with “only” a $4 million guarantee. Entries — here comes the “grandissimo” part — are $100,000 each, with a two-entry-per-account limit. In its inaugural year, the contest drew 69 entries for a $6.9 million pool, crushing its $1.5 million guarantee; six players survived to Week 13 and took home roughly $1.15 million each.
But wait, there’s more.
Circa Million VIII carries a $6 million guaranteed prize pool, with $1 million (and a Circa blue jacket) going to the winner. At $1,000 a pop, contestants pick five games each week against the spread — a point for a win, a half-point for a push — add it all up at season’s end, and the top 100 finishers cash. New this year: The entry limit doubles from five to 10.
In terms of money, though, Survivor is the one that’s truly taken off. The Million has grown, but Survivor now dwarfs it in entries, Benson said.
He chalks it up to the sheer simplicity.
“The allure of being the solo Circa survivor and winning $20 million has taken on a life of its own over the last five-plus years,” Benson said.
Credit the guy writing the checks.
“Derek talks the talk and he walks the walk,” Benson said of Circa CEO Derek Stevens.
“Circa Sports was built on creating contests that are bigger, bolder, and more player-friendly than anything else in the industry,” Stevens said in a statement. “This year’s $30 million guaranteed prize pool reflects the incredible momentum these contests have built over the years.”
