Once again, Circa Sports is raising the bar for pro football contests in Nevada.
This year Circa Sports is guaranteeing a prize pool of $12 million between its Circa Sports Million and Circa Survivor contests. The prize pool reflects a 20% increase from the two contests in 2021.
The Circa Millions pro football handicapping contest is increasing its prize pool from $4 million to $6 million. The Circa Survivor prize pool will remain at $6 million despite the Nevada sportsbook operator losing $1.9 million on this particular contest last year.
Nevada residents may submit picks in person at a Circa Sports retail location. Likewise, they can use a kiosk at a retail location to enter selections. Lastly, players may submit picks on the Circa Sports Nevada sports betting app.
Last year, Circa sports paid six contestants at least $1 million in prizes after the season between the two contests. There were five millionaires made from the Circa Survivor contest alone.
Circa Sports owner, Derek Stevens and VP of Operations, Mike Palm, made the announcement this morning on VSiN (Vegas Sports and Information Network).
Registration for the contests must take place in Nevada before the beginning of the NFL season. Circa Sports will not accept registration for the two contests in Colorado, Iowa, or Illinois when that’s available.
Participants don’t have to live in Nevada. Out-of-state residents can participate in the Circa Sports contests by using a proxy service.
To participate in the Circa Sports contests, out-of-state residents must visit a Circa Sports location in Nevada to register in person with proxy service personnel.
Once registration is completed, the player may have a proxy service submit their picks. While convenient, this isn’t a free service. Football contest proxies charge a fee.
Participants may register for the contests at any Circa Sports Nevada location:
- Circa Resort
- The D Las Vegas
- Golden Gate
- Pass Casino
- The Tuscany
Circa Sports will soon be opening another retail sportsbook at Legends Bay Casino in Sparks, NV.
Entry for both Circa Sports contests will begin at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. Circa Sports will accept entries until 2:00 pm on Saturday before the first Sunday of NFL games.
The two contests will be similar to previous years, but with a few changes.
Circa Sports Million IV
Circa Sports Million is a traditional pro football handicapping contest. The entry fee for this contest is $1,000. This year, participants are allowed up to 3 contest entries per person.
Players will select 5 games each week of the NFL season against a fixed spread. Once posted, the point spread will not change. Each entry will receive one point for a correct selection and a half point (0.5) for a push.
Contest point spreads will be available at approximately 10:00 am each Thursday during the pro football regular season. The deadline for weekly selections is 4:00 pm each Saturday during the season.
If a participant wants to select a Thursday night football game, all five selections for the week must be submitted before the kickoff of that game.
Huge prizes for Circa Sports Million IV
The grand prize for the Circa Sports Million contest is $1 million and a traditional blue jacket.
Altogether, there will be more than $3.5 million in prize money for the top 100 finishers this season. Here’s the breakdown of the top 10 full-season finisher payouts:
- 1st place: $1 million
- 2nd place: $500,000
- 3rd place: $400,000
- 4th place: $350,000
- 5th place: $300,000
- 6th place: $250,000
- 7th place: $200,000
- 8th place: $150,000
- 9th place: $100,000
- 10th place: $90,000
The 11th through 100th place finishers will split $1,310,000 in prize money.
The popular last-place finisher will once again receive a $100,000 “booby prize”. This year, for the first time, the second to last place finisher will receive a $50,000 prize.
Once again the Circa Sports Million contest will pay quarterly prizes. This prize pool will be at least $300,000 each “quarter” of the season. This prize pool could be even larger if there are more entries than the break-even mark.
The four Circa Sports “quarters” work out to be Weeks 1-4, 5-9, 10-13, and 14-18. The following finishers for each “quarter” will be paid:
- 1st Place: $150,000
- 2nd Place: $60,000
- 3rd Place: $40,000
- 4th Place: $15,000
- 5th Place: $10,000
This year there will be a $25,000 booby prize per quarter.
Are you a Circa Survivor?
Circa Survivor is a relatively traditional pool of its kind. The entry fee for this contest is also $1,000. Each player may have up to six (6) entries.
Participants simply need to pick an outright winner each week without repeating the team selected. There are 20 “weeks” in the Circa Survivor contest.
If an entry loses the Thursday Night Football game on Sep. 8, the participant can buy another entry into the contest before kickoff to games on Sep. 10 to replace the loser.
The deadline to enter is Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at 2 pm. A new twist this year will allow first-game losers to buy back into the contest if they chose. Up to three losing entries may be replaced.
Contestants will make up to 20 picks for the season for each entry. Players will make selections until they make a wrong pick.
Participants will select one game for each of the NFL’s Weeks 1 through 18. Additionally, players will make a selection for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day for a total of 20 “weeks”.
The deadline for Circa Survivor selections is 4:00 pm on Saturday of each Contest Week with two exceptions.
The contest “week” that includes Thanksgiving Day has a selection deadline of 10 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022. Submissions for the Christmas contest “week” selection are at 10 pm Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.
If this sounds confusing, read the Circa Survivor contest rules for specific information.
What are the Circa Survivor prizes?
The Circa Survivor contest prize pool will be guaranteed at least $6 million. If there are more than $6 million in entry fees for Circa Survivor, the money will go into the prize pool since there is no rake or administration fee.
A unique twist to the contest this year is a $1 million bonus prize. This is paid to entries that go 20-0 without selecting the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals during the contest.
There’s no rake for the Circa Survivor contest. All entry fees will be paid out to participants.
