The ultimate survivor: Meet the front-runner to win $6.1M football prize
Every week, his nerve-wracking routine is the same.
At 3:30 a.m. Saturday, self-described insomniac Bob DeLuca turns the computer on at his New Jersey home and prepares to send his Circa Survivor picks to his contest proxy in Las Vegas.
“I’ll put the six selections in with the team I decide to go all-in on. And then I stare at the computer screen for about 30 minutes while my stomach churns before I press that button,” DeLuca, 68, said. “Because once I do, it’s the point of no return and I can’t change it.”
His nerves are shot because he’s the front-runner to pocket the $6.1 million prize for winning Circa Survivor.
While 6,010 entries from the starting field of 6,133 have been eliminated, DeLuca has survived with all six of his $1,000 entries, the maximum allowed per person. That equates to about 5 percent of the 123 remaining entries.
In Circa Survivor, entrants pick one team to win straight-up each week, but a team can be used only once during the season.
DeLuca used the same team on all six entries in Weeks 1-7 before using three each last week on the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.
“I bought six entries, and I put together a strategy,” he said. “It’s never easy to win even one game. But I’d rather take a shot on one game than having to pick two or three.
“I know the consequences. It could be one and done. But I’m willing to take that risk … if I can get far enough where I have more entries than my closest competitors. At the end of Week 7, I reached that point.”
Another contestant still has three entries, and five have two each.
DeLuca (@CrushemSports), who was born and raised in New York City, has been gambling for 50 years. But he’d never been in a survivor pool until entering the inaugural Circa Survivor in 2020. He bought one entry and was eliminated in Week 1 when the Colts were upset by the Jaguars.
He bought two entries last year, losing one in Week 1, when the Packers were whipped by the Saints, and the other in Week 3., when the Steelers lost to the Bengals
A former hot dog and beer vendor at Yankee Stadium, and souvenir vendor at Shea Stadium and Madison Square Garden, DeLuca has been a member of the Theatrical Teamsters for the last 30 years. They’ve been driving for film, television and Broadway productions in New York since 1926.
DeLuca has managed to avoid the potholes in a very unpredictable NFL season. But there have been several close calls.
Path to perfection
He had the Eagles in Week 1, when they held off the Lions 38-35, and the Packers were an easy Week 2 winner over the Bears.
“Then I took the risk,” he said. “I took Chicago to win playing the Texans. It was a sweat right down to the wire.”
The game was tied at 20 with 1:05 left when Davis Mills was picked off deep in Houston territory to set up Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal.
He took the Giants over the Bears in Week 4 and the Buccaneers over the Falcons in Week 5. Tampa Bay held on for a 21-15 victory with the help of a controversial roughing the passer penalty.
In Week 6, DeLuca survived the Chargers’ ugly 19-16 overtime win over the Broncos. Barely.
The game appeared headed for a tie, which is a loss in Survivor, when Denver muffed a punt to set up a game-winning field goal by Dustin Hopkins with 2:38 left. Hopkins injured his hamstring in the first half and grimaced and fell to the ground after kicking the winning field goal.
“When he fell to the ground after the kick, I fell to the ground with him,” DeLuca said. “I’m not kidding you. I fell to the ground with him.”
The Raiders delivered a win for DeLuca in Week 7 when they beat the Texans 38-20.
Last week, the Cowboys crushed the Bears 49-29 and the Dolphins rallied for a 31-27 win over the Lions after trailing 27-17 at halftime.
“I became sure that I could use either Dallas or Miami in all six. But I looked down the road because the contest is very tough right now, and it’s getting tighter and tighter,” he said. “I’ll have three Dallas in my pocket and three Miami in my pocket for later on.”
DeLuca said he’s narrowed his Week 9 picks to three teams, though he hasn’t decided if he’ll go all-in on one.
“If it calls for six, I’m going to do it. I do not fear the risk. If it’s over, it’s over and that’s it. No risk, no reward,” he said. “Every contestant that’s left, they all have good teams. I can pretty much see where they’re going to go with their selections, so I try to stay away from them.
“This is not going to be easy. Hopefully, I’m the last man standing.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
