There were a record number of 9,267 entries when registration for the Circa Survivor football contest closed before kickoff of the NFL season last weekend. The winner (or winners if there’s a tie) of Circa Survivor will take home a record $9,267,000.
The previous record for Circa Survivor entries was last year with 6,133. This year there are 2,852 unique entrants into the contest. This year Circa increased the maximum number of entries per person was 10. There were 353 entrants who chose to purchase the maximum of 10 entries this year. Overall, the contest eclipses last year’s number by more than 50%.
The record prize for the Circa Survivor contest is more than $1 million greater than the already high $8 million guaranteed prize. Altogether, Circa guaranteed a prize pool of at least $14 million for its two football contests this year.
Playing Circa Survivor
The fee for the Circa Survivor football contest is $1,000 per entry. There’s no administration fee and all entry fees are returned to the players.
Circa Survivor is a modified version of the weekly pick contest where participants select one team to win a game each week. There are no point spreads involved and contestants may only select a team once during the season.
Most Survivor contests are based on the 18-week NFL calendar. Circa’s twist includes two extra “weeks” for Thanksgiving Day/Black Friday and Christmas Day.
The two additional weeks make this more difficult to win than traditional survivor contests. Circa Survivor players must select two teams that other similar contests don’t require.
The Circa football contests are popular because players may participate from anywhere. However, they must register for the contest in person at a Circa sportsbook in Las Vegas or Sparks, NV. Contestants may hire a proxy service to place picks weekly in their absence.
More Than 20% Out After First Week
The first weekend of Circa Survivor saw contestants pick 30 of the 32 NFL teams. The only teams without a selection this week were the Miami Dolphins (winners) and New York Giants (losers).
More than 20% of contest entries were wiped out after the first weekend of play. After the Buffalo Bills loss to the New York Jets on Monday night, 1,992 of the 9,267 entries were eliminated.
The Minnesota Vikings loss accounted for 1,044 entries losing. Another 600 were eliminated by picking the Seattle Seahawks.
It was easy come and easy go for some contestants. Believe it or not, 31 entries were lost since the participants didn’t make a selection.