Circa Sports staring at $3.86M loss in NFL contests

Circa Sports bet big on NFL handicapping contests this season, guaranteeing $4 million in prize money.

About six weeks before the NFL’s scheduled season opener, the sportsbook is staring at a potential multimillion-dollar loss.

With sign-ups for the $1,000-entry Circa Sports Million II and Circa Survivor contests slowed to a crawl by the coronavirus pandemic, Circa is on the hook for a $3.86 million overlay — or the gap between the guaranteed prize pools and the actual prize pools generated by entries.

As of Monday, there were 106 entries in Million, which needs 3,000 entries to meet the $3 million guarantee, and 33 entries in Survivor, which needs 1,000 entries to meet the $1 million guarantee.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Circa vice president of operations Mike Palm said in a video posted on Twitter.

Palm and Derek Stevens, who owns the D Las Vegas and Golden Gate, where Circa is based, announced in the video incentives for contestants to visit Las Vegas to register.

“It’s tough for people to travel in groups now like we had last year,” Palm said. “One guy is going to come out and buy a bunch of entries for his buddies. We’ve got to do something for these people.”

Circa will give a free room at the D Las Vegas or Golden Gate to anybody who buys at least one entry into both contests. And it will give a free suite upgrade to anybody who buys the maximum number of entries allowed in both contests: three in Million and five in Survivor.

Sign-ups must be made in person at the Golden Gate or D Las Vegas. But people living outside Nevada can enter the contests and have their weekly selections made through a proxy.

The inaugural Circa Sports Million surpassed its $1.5 million guarantee with 1,875 entries.

The format of the contest is the same as the Westgate SuperContest, where entrants make five weekly picks against the spread.

The SuperContest bases its prize money on the number of $1,500 entries. It featured a record field of 3,328 entries last season, and the grand prize was $1.47 million.

Sign-ups for the SuperContest also are way down, with 185 as of Monday. There were five $5,000 entries for the winner-take-all SuperContest Gold and 11 sign-ups for the SuperContest Reboot, a $500-entry contest that covers Weeks 9-17.

In Survivor, contestants pick one NFL team to win straight up each week, with no point spreads involved. If that team loses or ties, the contestant is eliminated. Each team can be used only once all season, and the last remaining player wins the $1 million prize.

If the season is shortened, the Westgate requires 10 weeks to be played for the SuperContest to be official. Circa requires 12 weeks for the Million and eight weeks for the Survivor.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.