Bettors lose shot at $14M in cruel ways, including dreaded ‘No Pick’

It’s debatable which fate is worse.

Getting eliminated from the Circa Survivor contest, which pays $14.3 million to the winner, for not submitting a pick. Or getting knocked out when your team loses in excruciating fashion.

The field of 14,266 $1,000 entries was down to 96 Saturday, when, shockingly, one contestant failed to make a selection by the deadline.

“We have not heard from the contestant and have no further information,” Circa owner Derek Stevens said Sunday via text message. “It hurts me anytime when we have a No Pick, particularly this late in the game.”

Perhaps No Pick would’ve taken the Commanders or Texans and lost anyway. Washington was tied with Miami as the most popular pick and took 33 contestants on a roller-coaster ride that left them all feeling sick.

In a wild finish, Terry McLaurin hauled in an 86-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels with 21 seconds left to put Washington an extra point away from tying Dallas at 27-all.

But Austin Seibert missed the extra point to not only dash the dreams of Survivor contestants but countless bettors with teasers and money-line tickets on the Commanders, who were 10½-point favorites in what turned out to be a 34-26 loss.

Eight Survivor contestants and a bevy of Houston bettors also suffered a brutal loss when Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 28-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game with Tennessee with 1:56 left. The Titans held on for a 32-27 win over the Texans, a popular 8-point favorite.

Only 54 entries remain.

Book report

The two huge upsets offset big wins by bettors on the Lions (-7, beat Colts 24-6), Buccaneers (-6, beat Giants 30-7), Dolphins (-7½, beat Patriots 34-15) and Broncos (-5½, beat Raiders 29-19).

“Almost all of our big decisions didn’t go our way,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “We needed the Colts, the Giants, the Patriots and the Raiders. We didn’t get any of them.

“But because the Texans and Commanders lost outright, we were able to win so much money on these money-line parlays that it looks like we’re going to finish the day as a small winner.”

Bettors won big when Washington and Dallas combined for 31 points in the final 3:02 to push the game over the total of 44½.

“The over in the Cowboys-Commanders game was the best result of the morning for the customers, although it took awhile to get across the line,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said. “The crazy ending delivered for the over bettors.”

Bear market

In another highly improbable ending, the Bears scored 11 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation to tie the Vikings before losing 30-27 in overtime.

Chicago, which closed as a 3-point underdog after the line was 3½ most of the week, scored a touchdown and 2-point conversion to make it 27-24 with 22 seconds left. The Bears then recovered an onside kick and tied it on Cairo Santos’ 48-yard field goal as time expired.

“There were huge swings between a missed field goal, a missed extra point and a successful onside kick all within minutes of each other,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “It just goes to show you from week to week anything can happen in this league.”

Raiders of the lost

Mucklow noted that favorites in afternoon games are 34-11 straight-up this season, and the betting public cashed in again on the Broncos and Packers (-6, beat 49ers 38-10).

“As seems to be the case each week, the afternoon games continue to belong to the customers,” he said.

Denver bettors were sweating profusely in the final minute when the Raiders appeared poised for a backdoor cover with a first-and-goal at the 1 with 20 seconds left.

But Desmond Ridder threw an incompletion on first down and was sacked on second down, and time ran out.

“The thing that could’ve turned us from a small winner into a decent-sized winner would’ve been if the Raiders could’ve punched that in at the 1-yard line,” Murray said. “We were all hoping for different play calls.”

Favorites went 6-4-1 against the spread, and overs went 8-3.

$1 million loser

A Caesars bettor lost a $1 million wager on the Rams (+3, -120), who were whipped 37-20 by the Eagles on “Sunday Night Football.”

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