SuperContest on a record pace of entries
LAS VEGAS -- Heading into SuperContest Weekend at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, the famed pro football handicapping contest is once again on a record pace.
The SuperContest drew 1,727 entries last year at $1,500 apiece for a record purse in excess of $2.5 million and a first-place prize of $906,675, as the contest increased for the sixth straight year. There were concerns that the SuperContest's growth could be slowed this year when the Westgate announced an 8 percent administrative fee that would be taken out of the prize pool to cover costs of running the contest, but that hasn't happened yet.
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</tbody></aside>At this time last year (heading into the SuperContest Weekend of Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28-29, 2015), there were 694 entries at the close of business on Thursday, Aug. 27.
This year's entries were at 695 as of this past Monday night and were into the 760s on Wednesday afternoon. With more than 30 hours to go until the close of business on Thursday night, the number should reach into the mid-800s. (I'll post an update in the comments section below.)
"During the first few weeks since we started taking signups on July 1, we were around 60 to 100 ahead of last year and thought that might slow down due to the 8 percent takeout," said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race & sports book operations at the Westgate, "But then we saw a lot of signups last weekend and another spike this week. It looks like we're going to be closer to 170 ahead going into our biggest weekend."
The SuperContest Weekend, in its fifth year, features a free handicapping seminar at 6 p.m. PT Friday (the cocktail reception starts at 5 p.m.) in The Pavilion ballroom at the Westgate, a golf outing across the street on Saturday afternoon at the Las Vegas Country Club and prize drawings back in The Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. with at least six $1,500 SuperContest entries being given away as well as dozens of other prizes such as dinners, shows, sports memorabilia, etc.
Friday's seminars will include two college football panels and one NFL panel with Brian Blessing acting as emcee. The 6 p.m. college football panel will include Chris Fallica of ESPN's College Gameday (and an ESPN Chalk contributor) along with Ken Thomson , Joe Lisi and moderator Steve Cofield. The 7 p.m. college football panel includes Kenny White, Dave Cokin and Lee Sterling with moderator Scott Spreitzer. The 8:05 p.m. NFL panel includes Marc Lawrence, Bernie Fratto and Rufus Peabody with moderators Gill Alexander and JT The Brick.
The winners of the SuperContest Satellite Series on the Gamblino app are scheduled to be honored at 7:55 p.m. The bad news is that the Gamblino app will not be running qualifying tournaments this football season. Kornegay said he hasn't had time to figure out a qualifying tourney for next year.
For the uninitiated, here are the SuperContest's full rules and regulations.
Sunset Station gets in seminar game
Las Vegas casinos have long used seminars to bring football bettors into their sportsbooks (recent examples being held at the Stardust, Bally's, Palace Station and Red Rock since the turn of the century), so it's not surprising that another casino doesn't want to let the Westgate have all the fun.
The Sunset Station will be holding a pro football seminar at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, in the Club Madrid nightclub, with Blessing pulling double-duty along with race & sports book director Chuck Esposito. Scheduled speakers include Bruce Marshall of the Gold Sheet, Andy Iskoe, Todd Fuhrman, Fratto and former ESPN handicapper "Hammerin" Hank Goldberg.
More Vegas football contests
While the SuperContest is the biggest game in town, there are plenty of other casinos in Vegas also trying to lure customers with their handicapping contests.
-- The Friday Football Showdown is back at the Golden Nugget, as previewed inthis ESPN Chalk piece. The entry fee is $2,000, as it tries to challenge the SuperContest in the high-end contest space. Players not only pick NFL games against the spread but can also play NFL over/unders as well as NCAA sides and totals. The Nugget was hoping to go from 87 entries last year to around 200 this year, especially due to the fact it still pays back 100 percent of the prize pool.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were only 41 entries, but there's expected to be a big increase this weekend with all the contest players in town signing up at the Westgate also wandering over to the other casinos with contests.
-- After a two-year hiatus, William Hill has resumed its College Pick 'Em Contest for NCAA football handicappers. The entry fee is $500 with a limit of three entries per person (past versions of this contest were $250 per entry from 2005-2012 and then $100 in 2013 before it was dropped). Players make 7 plays against the spread (from a list of 25 available games) for 10 weeks starting with the games of Sept. 9-10. The prize pool is guaranteed to be at least $25,000 with 70 percent of entries going to the champion. In addition, there's a $25,000 bonus to the champion if they hit at least 70 percent winners (49 of the possible 70 points). As of Thursday afternoon, there were 36 entrants and again there's expected to be a spike this weekend. Full details are on the William Hill website.
-- On the lower end, Wildfire Gaming offers the free College Football Clash with $500 in weekly cash prizes and the season-long champion winning a trip for two to the 2017 Rose Bowl (or a $1,500 cash prize in lieu of the trip). Wildfire Gaming is connected to Station Casinos and its Boarding Pass program, but this contest is just held at the smaller casinos such as Wildfire Rancho, Wildfire Sunset, Wildfire Lake Mead, Wildfire Boulder, Barley's and Wild Wild West.
-- I've long been a big fan of the football contests here in Vegas and believe they're worth entering for those visiting town, even if for just one weekend. Many are free while others cost about what you might already be spending in office pools back home, but could have much bigger payoffs. Most of these are just picking teams to win, no points involved. The Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming have free contests where you just need to sign up for a Bonus Player's card. William Hill also has a $25 buy-in Pro Pick 'Em contest with a $10,000 weekly prize for most winners.
One contest we lost this year is Airin' It Out at the Aliante in North Las Vegas, as Boyd Gaming's purchase of the property is expected to be finalized during the first half of the season.
- Dave TuleyESPN Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS -- Heading into SuperContest Weekend at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, the famed pro football handicapping contest is once again on a record pace.
The SuperContest drew 1,727 entries last year at $1,500 apiece for a record purse in excess of $2.5 million and a first-place prize of $906,675, as the contest increased for the sixth straight year. There were concerns that the SuperContest's growth could be slowed this year when the Westgate announced an 8 percent administrative fee that would be taken out of the prize pool to cover costs of running the contest, but that hasn't happened yet.
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| YEAR | ENTRIES |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 345 |
| 2011 | 517 |
| 2012 | 745 |
| 2013 | 1,034 |
| 2014 | 1,403 |
| 2015 | 1,727 |
| 2016 | ??? |
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This year's entries were at 695 as of this past Monday night and were into the 760s on Wednesday afternoon. With more than 30 hours to go until the close of business on Thursday night, the number should reach into the mid-800s. (I'll post an update in the comments section below.)
"During the first few weeks since we started taking signups on July 1, we were around 60 to 100 ahead of last year and thought that might slow down due to the 8 percent takeout," said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race & sports book operations at the Westgate, "But then we saw a lot of signups last weekend and another spike this week. It looks like we're going to be closer to 170 ahead going into our biggest weekend."
The SuperContest Weekend, in its fifth year, features a free handicapping seminar at 6 p.m. PT Friday (the cocktail reception starts at 5 p.m.) in The Pavilion ballroom at the Westgate, a golf outing across the street on Saturday afternoon at the Las Vegas Country Club and prize drawings back in The Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. with at least six $1,500 SuperContest entries being given away as well as dozens of other prizes such as dinners, shows, sports memorabilia, etc.
Friday's seminars will include two college football panels and one NFL panel with Brian Blessing acting as emcee. The 6 p.m. college football panel will include Chris Fallica of ESPN's College Gameday (and an ESPN Chalk contributor) along with Ken Thomson , Joe Lisi and moderator Steve Cofield. The 7 p.m. college football panel includes Kenny White, Dave Cokin and Lee Sterling with moderator Scott Spreitzer. The 8:05 p.m. NFL panel includes Marc Lawrence, Bernie Fratto and Rufus Peabody with moderators Gill Alexander and JT The Brick.
The winners of the SuperContest Satellite Series on the Gamblino app are scheduled to be honored at 7:55 p.m. The bad news is that the Gamblino app will not be running qualifying tournaments this football season. Kornegay said he hasn't had time to figure out a qualifying tourney for next year.
For the uninitiated, here are the SuperContest's full rules and regulations.
Sunset Station gets in seminar game
Las Vegas casinos have long used seminars to bring football bettors into their sportsbooks (recent examples being held at the Stardust, Bally's, Palace Station and Red Rock since the turn of the century), so it's not surprising that another casino doesn't want to let the Westgate have all the fun.
The Sunset Station will be holding a pro football seminar at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, in the Club Madrid nightclub, with Blessing pulling double-duty along with race & sports book director Chuck Esposito. Scheduled speakers include Bruce Marshall of the Gold Sheet, Andy Iskoe, Todd Fuhrman, Fratto and former ESPN handicapper "Hammerin" Hank Goldberg.
More Vegas football contests
While the SuperContest is the biggest game in town, there are plenty of other casinos in Vegas also trying to lure customers with their handicapping contests.
-- The Friday Football Showdown is back at the Golden Nugget, as previewed inthis ESPN Chalk piece. The entry fee is $2,000, as it tries to challenge the SuperContest in the high-end contest space. Players not only pick NFL games against the spread but can also play NFL over/unders as well as NCAA sides and totals. The Nugget was hoping to go from 87 entries last year to around 200 this year, especially due to the fact it still pays back 100 percent of the prize pool.
As of Thursday afternoon, there were only 41 entries, but there's expected to be a big increase this weekend with all the contest players in town signing up at the Westgate also wandering over to the other casinos with contests.
-- After a two-year hiatus, William Hill has resumed its College Pick 'Em Contest for NCAA football handicappers. The entry fee is $500 with a limit of three entries per person (past versions of this contest were $250 per entry from 2005-2012 and then $100 in 2013 before it was dropped). Players make 7 plays against the spread (from a list of 25 available games) for 10 weeks starting with the games of Sept. 9-10. The prize pool is guaranteed to be at least $25,000 with 70 percent of entries going to the champion. In addition, there's a $25,000 bonus to the champion if they hit at least 70 percent winners (49 of the possible 70 points). As of Thursday afternoon, there were 36 entrants and again there's expected to be a spike this weekend. Full details are on the William Hill website.
-- On the lower end, Wildfire Gaming offers the free College Football Clash with $500 in weekly cash prizes and the season-long champion winning a trip for two to the 2017 Rose Bowl (or a $1,500 cash prize in lieu of the trip). Wildfire Gaming is connected to Station Casinos and its Boarding Pass program, but this contest is just held at the smaller casinos such as Wildfire Rancho, Wildfire Sunset, Wildfire Lake Mead, Wildfire Boulder, Barley's and Wild Wild West.
-- I've long been a big fan of the football contests here in Vegas and believe they're worth entering for those visiting town, even if for just one weekend. Many are free while others cost about what you might already be spending in office pools back home, but could have much bigger payoffs. Most of these are just picking teams to win, no points involved. The Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming have free contests where you just need to sign up for a Bonus Player's card. William Hill also has a $25 buy-in Pro Pick 'Em contest with a $10,000 weekly prize for most winners.
One contest we lost this year is Airin' It Out at the Aliante in North Las Vegas, as Boyd Gaming's purchase of the property is expected to be finalized during the first half of the season.
