LVH SuperContest scores big
Just as a lottery ticket is a license to dream, so, too, is an entry into a football handicapping contest. But one is a 17-week ticket to ride a rollercoaster of emotions, and the thrill of it all is becoming more hair-raising each year.
There is no disputing the growing popularity of the NFL, and football betting in general. The same is true for the LVH SuperContest, which is attracting long lines for a ride to a potentially big payday. The price to play is $1,500. The prize money just surpassed $1 million.
The SuperContest is befitting of its name and surpassing the hype. Already billed as the most prestigious NFL handicapping contest in the world, it’s setting records. Created in 1989, the SuperContest attracted a high of 517 contestants last year. As of Thursday night, this year’s total has reached 669.
“It’s well beyond all of our expectations,” LVH sports book director Jay Kornegay said. “When people started saying we could get 600 entries, I really didn’t believe it. I didn’t think realistically we could get there.”
Kornegay said he now believes 725 is within reach. He called 667 the “magic number” because it guaranteed a $1 million prize pool and at least $400,000 to the winner.
“It’s kind of been the equivalent of the World Series of Poker for sports betting. This is really the main event, and I think that’s a big deal,” said Las Vegas sports bettor Steve Fezzik, a two-time SuperContest winner.
Kornegay credited a “SuperContest Weekend” in late August, a well-attended event featuring a handicapping seminar and golf tournament, for heightening awareness of the contest.
He said mainstream media coverage and Twitter also helped spread the word and boost excitement.
“The sharps around town, the sports bettors who are serious, they know the (LVH) is a good book and they don’t bar winners,” Fezzik said. “Some of these contests that were run by other books were like a joke, because they have told sharp bettors not to play there anymore. Ask any sharp bettors, ‘What are your three sharpest books?’ The (LVH) would be on the top-three list.”
Several other high-end contests faded from the picture, too, allowing the LVH to hog more of the market. The Cantor Football Showdown, a $5,000-entry fee contest with 16 handicappers and a $90,000 prize pool, is the only other high-end contest remaining.
The bragging rights that come with winning or finishing high in the standings are important to all involved. More magnetizing is the shot at cashing a mini-lottery ticket at a reasonable risk.
“I think during recessionary times, people like to bet a little to win a whole bunch,” Fezzik said.
The contest guidelines are simple. Each contestant picks five NFL sides against the spread each week for 17 weeks. The winner earns 40 percent of all entry fees, with the top 20 finishers paid. As with the World Series of Poker, an unknown – such as Chris Moneymaker – can test his wits and luck against the pros and become known.
Brady Kannon of Las Vegas was part of a three-man team that won last year and cashed out for $310,200. Kannon’s group hit 72.5 percent winners.
“That was phenomenal,” said Fezzik, who “set an over/under of 52 percent” for Kannon’s group this season. Fezzik followed his two winning years by hitting around 50 percent the past two years, so he knows the difficulty of the challenge.
“I would say the luck factor is probably 50-50,” Fezzik said. “You’ve got to be sharp and lucky to win this.”
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.
Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.
