Much like the rest of the nation, I’ve been hearing a lot about sports betting in the last few months.
And while the movement toward sports betting in places other than Las Vegas has been slower than most anticipated, the national consciousness is becoming more fixated on this once taboo topic.
It’s been brewing for years, as evidenced by the Westgate Las Vegas Supercontest. The Supercontest is a yearly NFL handicapping contest, where contestants pay $1,500 to compete against the most ardent NFL handicappers in the world.
The rules are simple. Contestants pick five NFL games a week against the spread, with the winner receiving a mountain of cash, as displayed last year with $1.372 million.
So with a handful of cash, I entered the contest this year, hoping to increase my handful to at least an armful by season’s end. Being an Iowa resident isn’t an issue, either, thanks to Vegas Football Proxy. Proxy services are booming and Vegas Football Proxy is able to assist non-Las Vegas residents with making picks in the Supercontest.
The only catch is to actually be in Las Vegas at the Westage to sign up, which isn’t too bad of a deal anyway.
Becoming the next millionaire isn’t easy, though. The stakes have risen in recent years, jumping in first-place prize money from $542,000 in 2013 to the most recent $1.372 million.
This year’s contest is estimated to generate $1.8 million for the first-place winner, thanks to the popularity of the contest. Last year, the contest featured 2,748 entries.
This year’s pace is already ahead of last year, with 203 entries as of July 13, compared to 173 at that time last year.
Getting that next millionaire status takes an incredible feat of handicapping during the year. Last year’s winner, Granny’s Boy, took home the first-place prize with a 72 percent winning percentage, going 58-22-5 for the season.
With 17 weeks to the season, that’s a solid clip, with an average of 1.5 losses per week in a five-game slate.
To put that in perspective, hitting 60 percent of winners usually means you’re a professional handicapper.
Obviously, my record will have to be better than last year’s dismal performance, but my 7-4 ATS mark in the playoffs has me slightly optimistic for the season.
If you’re planning on entering the contest, there’s still plenty of time to get signed up. The contest is open until Sept. 8 at the Westgate, so even if you’re not from Las Vegas, you have an opportunity to book your entry among the thousands projected to be in for this year with proxy services, like Vegas Football Proxy.
