1 --   Introduction
2 --   The Proxy & the Services Provided
3 --   2020 Football Contests -- Basic Information
4 --   2020 Westgate NFL SuperContests (Classic, Gold and Mid-season Reboot)
         Super Contest Classic
         SuperContest Gold
         SuperContest Mid-season Reboot
5 --   2020 Golden Nugget Football Contest
6 --   2020 Circa Football Contests (Circa Million II, NFL Survivor)
         Circa Million II
         Circa NFL Survivor
7   -- 2020 William Hill Pro Football Pick 'Em Contest
8   -- 2020 William Hill College Football Pick 'em Contest
9   -- 2020 Stations Casinos College Football Last Man Standing Contest
10 -- 2020 Stations Casinos Pro Football Last Man Standing Contest
11 -- The Proxy & the Services Provided

Because of the popularity of football, especially the NFL, each football season many Sports Books in Las Vegas and throughout Nevada offer weekly and/or season long football contests, often in an effort to attract as much traffic into their casino and sports book as possible.

Some contests are free. Some carry a modest price tag to enter ($25 to $250). Others are more of the "high end" variety (such as the Westgate Las Vegas Super Contest) with entry fees of $ 1,500.oo -- and upwards (Westgate SuperContest Gold is $5,000.oo).

These contests offer prizes ranging upwards of seven figures ($1,000,000 or more) and some pay up to 100 places. Some of the contests even offer "rebates" on their entry fees in the form of free slot play or offer end of season prizes in the form of cash and free slot play.

Some contests offer weekly prizes of several thousand dollars. Some contests offer season long prizes of $5,000 to $1,00,000 or more. Some contests offer a combination of weekly and season long prizes. And some of the higher end contests have started to offer prizes for each quarter of the NFL season that pay in excess of $110,000!

A number of the lower end contests involve picking the straight up winners of NFL games (usually just the Sunday and Monday games). A few contests -- mainly those that carry entry fees of $250 or more -- involve picking winners against the pointspread. Some contests involve just college football or a combination of NFL and College Football.

Contests are available for virtually every budget and for fans with varying degrees of knowledge and interest in football -- college and/or NFL, Sides and/or Totals.

These contests have become increasingly popular with residents and seasonal visitors to Las Vegas and Nevada and, over the past decade, those who live outside the state of Nevada.

There are ways for non-residents and occasional visitors to participate in some of these contests -- BY UTILIZING THE SERVICES OF A PROXY. Read on for details and further information on these contests and available proxy services.

Most contests require the contestant to enter IN PERSON in Las Vegas but then allow the weekly selections to be submitted by a Proxy.

Depending on the specific contests rules, a contestant may or may not be required to submit their weekly selections in person.

In some contests where 'in person' submissions are required, a contestant is able to designate a specific person as a proxy who is authorized to submit the weekly selections for that contestant (such as the Westgate Las Vegas NFL SuperContest).

For contests that do not require weekly selections to be submitted in person a proxy may nonetheless needed for contestants who are not able to be in Las Vegas to make the weekly selections as at the present time Contests do not allow for submissions by telephone or over the Internet or via mobile app outside the state of Nevada.

Since moving to Las Vegas in 1991 Andy Iskoe of Logical Approach has entered many of the football contests offered and sponsored by the Sports Books in Las Vegas.

In fact, in 2020 he is entering the SuperContest for a 30th consecutive season!

In addition to having had success as a contestant in most of these contests over the years, he has also been a Proxy for contestants who live out of town and are not able to make the weekly selections in person at the various Sports Books, most notably for the Super Contest for which he has proxied for more than 15 years.

It was his participation in the SuperContest throughout the 1990's and into the early 2000's combined with his long running role as a co-host of the Saturday night edition of the Stardust Line Radio Show from Las Vegas that got Andy involved as a Proxy for non-Las Vegas residents who listened each week during the football season as Andy shared his experiences in the SuperContest, sharing his results from the prior week, his selections for the current week and his progress throughout the season that caught the attention of listeners to the show as to how they might participate in the SuperContest even though they did not live in Las Vegas or visit Las Vegas on a weekly basis. Mostly these were listeners on the West Coast from Washington down through California and in Arizona. In addition, subscribers to his "Logical Approach College & Pro Football Newsletter" were also interested in participating. In response to those inquiries his answer was simple. Visit Las Vegas to sign up for the contest and have someone turn in your weekly picks if you were unable to put them in yourself. And that's how he got started offering his Proxy service.

Back "in the day" the contest, from its inception in 1988 through much of the next two decades, attracted generally between 200 and 400 contestants and was pretty much considered a "locals" contest but for the relatively small number of out-of-area contestants. That all changed after 2010 when ESPN began to report on the contest throughout the 2010 season, generating much publicity for the SuperContest and widespread interest in participating in the next season's SuperContest -- both nationally and internationally. Since then the Proxy service business has developed into somewhat of a cottage industry, fueled by that extensive coverage given to the SuperContest beginning in 2010 by the folks at ESPN.

Participation in the SuperContest set another record last season, up 6.6 percent over 2018. The growth of the popularity of the SuperContest, as measured by increase in participation, is as follows, beginning with the 2010 Contest (when the SuperContest first received widespread coverage, largely due to ESPN):

2010 -- 345 Entries
2011 -- 517 Entries
2012 -- 745 Entries
2013 -- 1,034 Entries
2014 -- 1,403 Entries
2015 -- 1,727 Entries
2016 -- 1,854 Entries
2017 -- 2,748 Entries
2018 -- 3,123 Entries
2019 -- 3,328 Entries
2020 -- ???

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic it is likely a new record will not be set in 2020 as there remains a requirement for contestants to sign up in person in Las Vegas and travel is expected to be down throughout the balance of the summer. Although that would result in an overall smaller prize pool, the chances of cashing are increased with fewer contestants competing for the 100 (plus ties) paying places.

In 2020 Andy is again offering his services as a Proxy for contestants who are unable to submit weekly selections in person.

The keys to an effective Proxy/Contestant relationship are organization and communication.

Over the years Andy has developed an organized, structured and sensible system for disseminating and receiving contest selection information with the contestants for whom he has served as Proxy. Details of that system are explained below, both before and after the descriptions of most of the weekly football contests for which he shall be offeering proxy services in 2020.

The Proxy procedure is similar for all contests with minor variations due to time and/or deadline variations that will vary according to the specific contest.

Using the Westgate NFL Super Contest as an example, emails are sent on Wednesday evenings by Andy to the contestants for whom he is a Proxy. The email will contain information related to the contest lines for the upcoming week's games (to be released by 5 PM Pacific time Wednesdays in 2020), expected to include links to contestants' results for the previous week, season-to-date results and the overall standings for all contestants (including information on the status of the contestants currently in "cashing" position -- for 2020 the Top 100 and ties).

The contestant is then responsible for providing Andy with his/her 5 contest selections by email no later than 3 PM Pacific Time on SATURDAY AFTERNOON (new deadline for 2020) so that the selections may be submitted to the Westgate safely in advance of the Westgate's official Saturday 6 PM deadline (new for 2020 and that deadline is strictly enforced). If the contestant is using the Thursday game(s) the selections should be received by Andy by 10 AM Pacific time on Thursday with all 5 selections required to be submitted at the same time (for this reason the Thursday game is usually the game least played each week).

The Fee charged for the Proxy Service is agreed upon with each contestant and may be based upon the specific contest or combination of contests entered, the number of entries, the complexities of "administering" your weekly entries/selections, and other factors. The Fee is generally a flat, up front one time fee with no requirement to share a percentage of any winnings earned by the contestant.

For over 30 years this has been the premier high end handicapping contest in Las Vegas, annually drawing hunreds, and now thousands, of contestants at $1,500 a pop that generates a huge prize pool. 2018 set yet another record with 3,123 entries. Previous records had been set in 2017 (2,748), 2016 (1,854), 2015 ( 1,727), 2014 (1,403), 2,013 (1,034) and 2012 (745). The 2018 total prize pool was in excess of $4.3 million! Contestants pick 5 NFL games each week against the pointspread making for 85 picks over the 17 week season. In 2019 the contest will again pay the Top 100 places and ties (prior to 2013 only the Top 20 finishers, and ties, were paid). A record of 60% (51-34, which corresponds to 51 points with 1 point for a winning selection and 1/2 point for a push) has cashed more often than not over the years. Hitting 60% is not as easy as many believe it is!!

In 2018 there were a record 3,123 entries which broke the record of 2,748 entries set in 2017. A new record is expected to again be set in 2019 which would mark a tenth straight season of an increase in entries over the previous season.

A record of 58-25-2 (69.41%, 59.0 points) won the 2019 Contest which paid a record $ 1,469,644.80 to the winner
A record of 59-25-1 (70.00%, 59.5 points) won the 2018 Contest which paid a record $ 1,422,214.oo to the winner
A record of 58-22-5 (71.18%, 60.5 points) won the 2017 Contest which paid $ 1,327,284.oo to the winner
A record of 54-28-3 (65.29%, 55.5 points) won the 2016 Contest which paid $ 895,482.oo to the winner
A record of 59-23-3 (71.18%, 60.5 points) won the 2015 Contest which paid $ 906,675.oo to the winner
A record of 64-20-1 (75.88%, 64.5 points) won the 2014 Contest which paid $ 736,575.oo to the winner

In 2019 it took a record of 60.00% (51.0 out of 85 points) to cash with 24 entries tying for places 79 through 100 and each collecting $ 2,181.50.
(Had there been no tie for the final paying spot in 2019 the contestant who finished alone in 100th would have collected $ 2,296.32 -- 0.05% of the prize pool for spots 81-100)

In 2018 it took a record of 62.35% (53.0 out of 85 points) to cash with 23 entries tying for places 78 through 100 and each collecting $ 2,267.30.
(Had there been no tie for the final paying spot in 2018 the contestant who finished alone in 100th would have collected $ 2,154.87 -- 0.05% of the prize pool for spots 81-100)

In 2017 it took a record of 61.18% (52.0 out of 85 points) to cash with 10 entries tying for places 48 through 50 and each collecting $ 1,137.67.
(Had there been no tie for the final paying spot in 2017 the contestant who finished alone in 50th would have collected $ 3,792.33)

In 2016 it took a record of 59.41% (50.5 out of 85 points) to cash with 15 entries tying for places 40 through 50 and each collecting $ 2,217.38.
(Had there been no tie for the final paying spot in 2016 the contestant who finished alone in 50th would have collected $ 2,558.52)

In 2015 it took a record of 61.18% (52 out of 85 points) to cash with 13 entries tying for places 39 through 50 and each collecting $ 2,989.05.
(Had there been no tie for the final paying spot in 2015 the contestant who finished alone in 50th would have collected $ 2,590.50)

In 2014 it took a record of 62.35 % (53 out of 85 points) to cash, with 9 entries tying for places 28 through 30 and each collecting $ 2,105.oo
(Had there been no tie for the final paying spot in 2014, the contestant who finished alone in 30th would have collected $ 6,313.oo)

FORMAT (Rules 7, 8, 9) -- Contestants select 5 NFL games each week Against the Pointspread (ATD) for 17 weeks, making a total of 85 selections. Sides only. No Totals. The pointspread is a "static" pointspread as established by the Westgate on Wednesdays and thus does not change even though the actual betting lines on the games may change during the week. The lines are generally available around 5 PM Pacific time on Wednesdays at the Westgate and on their website. Note that contestants may not submit opposite sides of the same game as 2 of their 5 selections on the same Entry. If a contestant has 2 or 3 entries he/she can use SIDE A of the game on one Entry and Side B of the same game on the other two Entries.  A winning selections is worth 1 point.  A selections that 'pushes' the pointspread is worth 1/2 point.  A losing selection is worth zero (0) points.  Thus the range of possible points accumulated is from 0 to 85.

ENTRY FEE & DEADLINE (Rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -- $ 1,500.oo per entry with a maximum of 3 entries allowed per Social Security #. Entrants (and Proxies, if any) must be 21 years of age, with valid ID proof of age required. Contestant must also have a "Players Card" which is free. Registration opened on Monday, January 13, 2020.  The deadline to enter the Contest is 3 PM Pacific time on Saturday, September 12, 2020.  Entering the regular SuperContest (1, 2 or 3 entries) does not preclude the contestant from also entering the SuperContest Gold.

AUTHORIZATION OF PROXY (Rules 10,11) -- A contestant may utilize the services of a Proxy to submit the weekly selections. Both the entrant and the Proxy must appear in person at the time of registration at which time the entrant will authorize the Proxy to submit the weekly selections on the Contest Registration form. The authorization of a Proxy has no impact on the payment of any prize money as the Contestant is the ONLY PERSON to whom the Westgate will make payment although the Contestant may request separate payments to be made once the results are official (i.e. in the case of multiple people sharing in an entry).  The Westgate will not get involved or mediate any dispute between a Contestant and his/her Proxy.

METHOD/FORM OF PAYMENT (Rule 3) -- Payment of the Entry Fee may be in the form of cash, cashiers check, money order, Westgate Las Vegas Resort live gaming chips and credit card. ***** NOTE -- Credit Cards are subject to a 3% surcharge ***** ALSO NOTE that personal checks are not being accepted for the 2020 Contest

WEEKLY SELECTION SUBMISSION DEADLINE (Rule 12) -- Saturday 11:00 PM Pacific Time physically at the Westgate; Saturday 6:00 Pacific time via Mobile App. All selections are submitted at the same time and, once submitted, may not be changed after the close of business on the day the selections are submitted (assuming, of course, that none of the games selected have kicked off). If a contestant chooses to use a Thursday game all 5 selections must be submitted prior to the start of that Thursday game. The Official Rules clearly emphasize that the submission deadline will be strictly enforced.

SELECTION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS (Rules 10, 11, 15) -- Contestant must submit entries in person or via a Proxy who has been registered by the Contestant with the Westgate Race & Sports Book. Contestants and their Proxy will be issued a Contest Card. The Card will be needed to enter the weekly selections at an electronic kiosk located in the Race & Sports Book. Once an entry is submitted into the computer system it cannot be voided after the SuperBook business day on which the entry is submitted.  Selections may also be submitted via the SuperBook Mobile App provided the person is inside the state of Nevada when making the submission.

PAYOUT (Rules 16) -- 92% of Entry Fees paid to Top 100 Finishers (and ties) ranging from 37% for First Place, 10% for Second Place, 5% for Third Place down to 0.05% for those finishing 81st through 100th. Tie breakers are in place to determine First Place only. All other ties split the tied places' prize money equally. For 2020 the Westgate is again charging an 8% "administrative fee" which results in $120 of each $1,500 not going to the Prize Pool. However, the Westgate is adding an additional $100,000 into the Prize Pool -- See "Other Notes" # 2, 3 and 4 below

CONTESTANT IDENTIFICATION (Rule 5) -- Contestants may use an alias (approved by management) to identify his/her selections and standings as published throughout the contest period. Aliases are limited to 20 characters with no commas allowed.

CONTEST DECLARED OFFICIAL (Rule 17) -- The NFL season must consist of at least ten (10) weeks for the SuperContest to be valid.  If the season is shortened to less than 10 weeks all entry fees will be refunded.  Rule 17 states that a shortened season would not apply to any Quarterly Bonuses such that if the season is cancelled after 9 weeks the Bonuses for the First and Second quarters (Week 1-4 and 5-8) which would have already been paid.  Although it is not stated specifically it is reasonable to conclude that if the season is shortened to more than 9 weeks but less than 17 weeks the results as of the time the remainder of the regular season is cancelled would become the Official Final Standings upon which payout for the Top 100 places (and ties) would be based.

OTHER KEY PROVISIONS (Rules 18, 19, 26) -- The Westgate has the right to cancel the contest for almost any reason including events beyond its control.  Likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertainty it has created and may continue to create thsee Rules provide for the Westgate to use its discretion in handling situations not specifically covered in the Rules to resolve any potential disputes.

 

OTHER NOTES --
=================
1 -- CREDIT CARD SURCHARGE & PERSONAL CHECKS DEADLINE (Rule 3) -- Payment of the Entry Fee by Credit Card is subject to a 3% surcharge ($45.oo) per entry. Personal Checks will not be accepted this season.

2 -- FINAL 3 WEEK MINI-CONTEST -- Long a staple of the SuperContest the "Final 3 Weeks Mini-Contest" will not be offered in 2020.  It is being replaced by the expansion of the in-season bonuses that will go to the top three point getters (and ties) for each of the four quarters (Weeks 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16).  Week 17's selections will count only towards the full season results.

3 -- FIRST QUARTER BONUS (Rule 16) -- An bonus of $135,000 shall be paid to the top three point getters (and ties) for each of the following periods:  Weeks 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16.  First place is $100,000.  Second place is $25,000.  Third place is $10,000.  The quarterly prize pool for the season totals $540,000 of which $100,000 is contributed by the Westgate and the other $440,000 comes from the total entry fees after the 8% administrative fee has been deducted.  There are no tie-breakers such that those contestants tied for the best quarterly record shall split the prize for that position equally.  For example if there is one contestant with 19 of a possible 20 points for the first 4 weeks and 2 contestant tied with 18 1/2 points the contestant with 19 points wins $100,000 and the two contestants with 18 1/2 points would split $35,000 ($25,000 plus $10,000) and each would receive $17,500.  If two contestants tied for the best record with 19 points and 4 contestants tied with 18 1/2 points the two contestants with 19 points would split $125,000 and each would receive $62,500 while the 4 contestants who tied with 18 1/2 points would split $10,000 and receive $2,500 each.

4 -- TOTAL PRIZE POOL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FEES -- The total prize pool will be based on the total number of entries.  From each entry fee of $1,500 the Westgate takes out 8%, or $120, such that each entry fee contributes just $1,380 to the overall prize pool.  From that total pool $440,000 is allocated for the four quarterly bonuses with an additional $100,000 contributed by the Westgate (ostensibly coming from the 8% administrative fee).  Thus if there are 3,000 entries the gross prize pool consists of $4,500,000 from which $360,000 is taken out in administrative fees and another $440,000 is allocated for the the four quarterly bonuses which would leave $3,700,000 to be awarded to the Top 100 finishers (and ties).  First place would be worth $1,369,000.  Second place would pay $370,000.  Third place would pay $185,000.  If there was just 1 person who finished #100 (the final paying position) that contestant would earn $1,850 (0.05% of $3,700,000).

The Rules for the SuperContest Gold are essentially the same as for the regular SuperContest. Aspects that are identical to Regular SuperContest are shown with the designation "Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above." with key differences, additions and exclusions detailed below.


FORMAT (Rules 7, 8, 9) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

ENTRY FEE & DEADLINE (Rules 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above, EXCEPT that there is a $ 5,000.oo entry fee and a maximum of 1 entry allowed per Social Security Number. Entering the SuperContest GOLD does not preclude the contestant from also entering the regular SuperContest.

METHOD/FORM OF PAYMENT (Rule 3) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

AUTHORIZATION OF PROXIES (Rules 10,11) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

WEEKLY SELECTION SUBMISSION DEADLINE (Rule 12) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

SELECTION SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS (Rules 10, 11 and 15) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

PAYOUT (Rule 16) -- This is a "Winner Take All" Contest with no tie-breakers and no 'Administrative Fee." Thus if there are 100 entries the Prize Pool would be $500,000. If there is a single winner that contestant would receive the entire $500,000. If 2 or more contestants are tied for the most points they would split the prize pool evenly with each of 2 tied contestants, for example, receiving $250,000.

CONTESTANT IDENTIFICATION (Rule 5) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

CONTEST DECLARED OFFICIAL (Rule 17) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

OTHER KEY PROVISIONS (Rules 18, 19, 26) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

OTHER NOTES --
=================
CREDIT CARD SURCHARGE & ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF PAYMENT (Rule 3) -- Same as Regular SuperContest. See Above.

There is no Mini-Contest, First Quarter Bonus, Halftime Bonus or any other bonus such as are applicable to the regular SuperContest.

C -- SuperContest Mid-season Reboot

This Contest was introduced during the 2019 season as a chance for those who got off to a bad start or had a poor first half of the
season a "second chance" with a contest that covered only Weeks 9 through 17.  It is identical to the main SuperContest in all
respects as to procedure, format and deadlines except as noted below.  The 9 week contest involves a total of 45 selections and
pays a total of 10 places (and ties).  The entry fee is $500 of which the Westgate's take-out is $25 (5%).

The Official Rules for the 2020 SuperContest Reboot have not yet been posted

The following are key items of interest taken from the 2019 Rules

Entry Fee is $500 with a maximum of two (2) entries per Contestant

Contest Registration starts Monday, September 30, 2019 at 9 AM Pacific time and ends at 11 AM Pacific time on Saturday, November 2, 2019.

Contest covers Weeks 9 through 17 of the 2019 NFL regular season.  The first game of Week 9 is scheduled for Thursday, October 31, 2019.

The Contest pays 10 places with Payouts ranging from 40% of the net prize pool down to 1% of the pool for contestants who finish 9th and 10th.  The prize pool consists of 95% of the total entry fees.

In concept the Golden Nugget Ultimate Football Challenge is similar to the Westgate SuperContest with two major differences -- the Golden Nugget Contest includes both College and NFL Games and requires contestants to make 7, rather than 5, selections each week for a total of 119, rather than 85, selections over the 17 weeks of the Contest.

CONTEST FORMAT -- Contestants will submit 7 selections each week from the eligible College and NFL games. Eligible games are those that will be played between Wednesday at 5 PM Pacific time  through the following Monday. Contest lines are generally released around 2 PM Pacific time on Wednesdays and remain static.  Eligible games include only those for which Contest Lines are posted. Selections will be on SIDES ONLY with NO TOTALS (Overs/Unders). Generally all such games that have actual betting lines on them at the time the lines are released on Wednesday will be eligible for Contest play.  Games for which there are no live betting lines available when the Contest lines are made available will generally not be included for the contest.

Contestants may not select both sides of the same game on the same entry. A contestant with 2 or 3 entries may select Side A on one or two of the entries and Side B on the third.

The Contest will run concurrent with the NFL regular season with Week 1's lines being released on Wednesday, September 9, 2019 at 2 PM Pacific time and the selections deadline for Week 17 of 10 PM Pacific time on Friday, January 1, 2021 at 10 PM PST.

On a weekly basis the 7 selections must be submitted by 10 PM Pacific time on Fridays.  This is a FIRM DEADLINE and contestants who do not submit selections by the deadline will receive 0 points for that week.  All selected games must be played within one day of the scheduled game date.  If not played within one day contestant will receive 0 points for that selection.

A winning selection earns 1 point. A losing selection earns 0 points. A selection that pushes the pointspread earns 1/2 point.

ENTRY FEE AND DEADLINE -- Registration opened at 12 Noon Pacific time on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.  Contestants must be at least 21 years old. The entry fee is $ 1,000.oo with a maximum of three (3) entries per person (Social Security #). The deadline to enter is Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 10:00 PM Pacific time. Payment must be made either in cash or Golden Nugget gaming chips only.

PROXIES -- Contestants are allowed to designate up to two Proxies at the time of contest registration.  Proxies may submit the weekly selections on behalf of the Contestant.  Only the contestant, amd not the Proxy, is eligible to receive prize money.

PAYOUT -- 97% of the Entry Fees will be paid out to the top 20 finishers at the end of the 17 week contest.  Places 11 through 20 shall receive $1,000.oo (i.e. a refund of their entry fee) with the balance of the prize pool distributed to those who finish in places 1 through 10 with the winner earning 40%, second place 20%, third place 10%, 4th and 5th place 7% each, 6th and 7th place 5% each and places 8 through 10 2% each.

There are no tie-breakers with those tying for multiple positions sharing equally in the payouts for those tied positions. Thus in a 3 way tie for first place those 3 contestants would equally split the prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

All situations not explicitly covered in the Official Rules will be covered by existing Golden Nugget house rules.  The Golden Nugget Sportsbook executives have the authority to disqualify any contestant whose actions threaten the integrity of the contest and also have the authority to rule on aspects of the contest that may be affected by Covid-19.

The Circa Hotel and Casino is slated to open in Downtown Las Vegas on October 28, 2020 and will feature the world's largest Sportsbook that is three stories in height. The Circa is affiliated with two other downtown properties -- Golden Gate and The D Las Vegas -- both of which sponsored the first Circa-related football contest during the 2019 season. It was in most respects a clone of the Westgate's SuperContest and was so popular that for 2020 the Circa has added a second contest -- NFL Survivor -- which is a high end contest similar to a "King of the Hill" or "Last Man Standing" contest but with a twist.

This contest is most similar to the long-running SuperContest that has been offered for over three decades by the Westgate (formerly Hilton and LVH). The Contest requires picking 5 NFL games per week for the entirety of the NFL regular season, resulting in a total of 85 selections. All of a given week's games are available for use in the contest and the contest lines remain static even though the actual betting lines may change. The top 50 finishers will cash with the winner earning $1,000,000. A total prize pool of $3,000,000 is guaranteed and the prize pool includes payouts for the contestant(s) with the best record during each of four quarters during the season as noted below. There is also a $100,000 "Booby Prize" for the full season contestant with the worst records.  In order to meet the guaranteed prize pool a total of 3,000 entries are required and if there are more than 3,000 entrants the additional entry fees will go towards the payouts for the four quarters.  There is no rake meaning that if more than 3,000 entries are achieved 100% of the prize pool will be paid out.  Last season the minimum guarantee of $1,500,000 required 1,500 entries.  There were 1,875 entries.

Highlights of the Circa Pro Football Contest include --

1 -- Contestant must be 21 years of age (with valid Government-issued picture ID as proof) and have a "Club One" Card (issued at no cost) available at the Golden Gate or D Las Vegas Casino (Rule 2)

2 -- $ 1,000.oo Entry Fee with a maximum of 3 entries per person allowed. Method of Payment includes cash, gaming chips from Golden Gate or D Las Vegas Casinos and credit card -- credit card payment will be subject to a processing fee although the amount of that fee is not mentioned. (Rules 1, 3)
 

3 -- Registration opened on March 6, 2020.  Deadline to enter is 2 PM Pacific time on Saturday, September 12, 2020.  (Rule 5)
 

4 -- The contest format consists of picking 5 NFL games each week Against the Pointspread which remains static once released.  One (1) point is awarded for a pointspread win, one-half (0.5) point for a pointspread push and zero (0) points for a loss. (Rule 6)
 

5 -- Contest pointspreads will generally be available on Thursday mornings at 10 AM Pacific time. Selections must be submitted by 3 PM Pacific time on Saturdays and all 5 selections must be submitted at the same time. (Rules 7, 8)
 

6 -- Contestants may authorize up to three (3) Proxies to submit selections on their behalf. Authorization must be made at the time of contest registration.  Proxies must meet the same qualifications as the contestant outlined in Rule 2.  The Circa/Golden Gate/The D Las Vegas will not get involved or mediate any dispute between a Contestant and his/her Proxy. Only the contestant, and not the Proxy, is eligible to receive and prize money earned by the contestant's entry.  (Rule 9, 11)
 

7 -- The contest pays $1,000,000 to the winner with a tie breaker in effect only to determine first place. Those who finish in place 2 through 100 will also collect a cash prize ranging from $300,000 for second to $2,000 for 100th with contestants who tie for positions 2 through 100 splitting the prize for the respective tied positions. (Rule 14 a through d, which includes Payout Table for all positions)

8 -- Should multiple contestants tie for the best overall record after 17 weeks there will be a tie-breaker for first place only that will determine the singular winner of the $300,000 first place prize unless after applying the four tie breaking procedures detailed in Rule 14 (c) in which case there will be at least 2 'first place winners' who would split the prizes for as many places as there are contestants tied after the tie breakers.  For example, should 4 contestants tie for the most points through 17 weeks and after applying all 4 tie-breakers two of the contestants remain tied they would split the combined $1,300,000 prize for first ($1,000,000) place and second ($300,000) place with each receiving $650,000.  The two contestants eliminated from the first place due to the tie breakers would split the combined $175,000 for third and fourth place with each receiving $87,500.  There are no tie-breakers used beyond determining the first place finisher.
 

9 -- There are four $ 250,000 Quarterly Bonus Prizes awarded to the contestant(s) who accumulate the most points in Weeks 1 through 4, 5 through 8, 9 through 12 and 13 through 17.  Any ties would evenly split the Quarterly Bonus Prize which pays $150,000 for first place, $75,000 to second place and $25,000 for third place.  There are no tie-breakers so if, for example, two (2) contestants tie with 18 points for the third quarter and four (4) contestants tie with 17 1/2 points the two (2) contestants tied with 18 points would split the combined first and second place prize of $225,000 ($150,000 plus $75,000) with each receiving $112,500 and the four contestants tied with 17 1/2 points would split the third place prize of $25,000 four ways with each receiving $6,250.  (Rule 14 d through e)

10.  There is a $100,000 "Booby Prize" awarded to the contestant(s) who post the worst record for the full 17 weeks, meaning that only contestants who have submitted 5 selections each week for 17 weeks (a total of 85 selections) are eligible.  If  more than one contestant qualifies for the worst record the $100,000 would be equally split.  Although this is obvious if a contestant earns 0 points in a given week because of not submitting an entry that contestant is ineligible for the "booby prize."  Earning 0 points in a week because all 5 submitted selections were losers does not disqualify such contestant for "Booby Prize" eligibility.  (Rule 14, included as part of the Payout Table)
 

11 -- The prize pool is guaranteed to be at least $3,000,000 and distributed as described in items (7) through (11). Should the contest attract more than 3,000 entries, thereby increasing the prize pool above the guaranteed $3 million, the extra monies will be equally added to each of the four quarterly FIRST PLACE PRIZES ONLY (i.e. $250 of each $1,000 entry fee will get added to each of the Four Quarter first place prizes).  The second place ($75.000) and third place ($25,000) prizes are unaffected.  Thus if there are 250 additional entries (for a total of 3,250) the Quarterly Bonus Prizes would be $212,500 for first place($150,000 plus $ 62,500), $75,000 for second and $25,000 for third.  (Rule 14 (b).

12 -- The NFL season must consist of at least 12 weeks in order to be declared official.  (Rule 15)


For more specifics it is suggested that you read the OFFICIAL RULES by clicking on the link at the top of this Contest.

This Contest is similar to a traditional "King of the Hill" or "Last Man Standing" contest in that contestants make one selection (straight up, NOT against the pointspread) each week and if that selected team wins the contestant advances to the following week. Once a contestant selects a winning team that team may not be used again for any remain contest week(s).  A minimum "Winner Take All" prize of $1,000,000 is guaranteed with all Entry Fees going to the sole winner (no rake). The entry fee is $1,000 a maximum of 5 entries per person. The Contest will run for a maximum of 18 weeks but could end earlier.  Although there are only 17 regular season weeks the Contest includes a special "Thanksgiving Day Week" that consists only of the 6 teams that play in the 3 games on Thanksgiving Day.  Thus contestants must be sure to not have used at least one of those six teams prior to Thanksgiving (which counts as Contest Week # 12).  See Items 5 and 6 in the Highlights below.  There is also a $1,000,000 Bonus that will be awarded to a contestant (or split among multiple contestants) who end up a perfect 18-0.  (See Item xx).

Highlights of the Circa Survivor contest include --

1 -- Contestant must be 21 years of age (with valid Government-issued picture ID as proof) and have a "Club One" Card (issued at no cost) available at the Golden Gate or D Las Vegas Casino (Rule 2)

2 -- $ 1,000.oo Entry Fee with a maximum of 5 entries per person allowed. Method of Payment includes cash, gaming chips from Golden Gate or D Las Vegas Casinos and credit card -- credit card payment will be subject to a processing fee although the amount of that fee is not mentioned. (Rules 1, 3)
 

3 -- Registration opened on March 6, 2020.  Deadline to enter is 2 PM Pacific time on Saturday, September 12, 2020.  (Rule 5)
 

4 -- The contest format consists of picking 1 NFL game each week Straight Up (NOT against the pointspread).  If the selected team ties or loses, or if no selections is made for that week, that entry is eliminated.  If the selected team wins straight up that entry advances to the following contest week but that entry is prohibited from using that winning team in any subsequent contest week. (Rule 6).

5 -- The Contest will last a maximum of 18 weeks.  For contest purposes the three (3) games played on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26, 2020) will be its own independent "Contest Week."  Any entry that has already selected each 6 of the teams playing on Thanksgiving Day will be eliminated following those Thanksgiving Day games.  Those six teams are Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh and Washington. (Rule 8)

6 -- Weekly Selections may be made beginning at 10 AM of Tuesday each week and must be submitted no later than 3 PM on Saturday, with one exception.  For the special Thanksgiving Contest Week of Thursday, November 26 (which counts as Contest Week 12) the selections for that "Week 12" must be made between 10 AM Tuesday, November 24 and 10 PM on Wednesday, November 25.  For Contest Week 13 (games of Sunday/Monday, November 29-30) selections may be submitted beginning at 10 AM on Friday, November 27 with the usual deadline of 3 PM on Saturday.  Obviously only those entries with winning selections on Thursday, November 26 will advance to Contest Week 13. (Rule 11)

7 -- Contestants may authorize up to three (3) Proxies to submit selections on their behalf. Authorization must be made at the time of contest registration.  Proxies must meet the same qualifications as the contestant outlined in Rule 2.  The Circa/Golden Gate/The D Las Vegas will not get involved or mediate any dispute between a Contestant and his/her Proxy. Only the contestant, and not the Proxy, is eligible to receive and prize money earned by the contestant's entry (Rule 12)

8 -- The Prize Pool will consist of 100% of all entry fees with a minimum guarantee of $1,000,000, meaning there is no 'rake' (i.e. administrative fees) taken out.  That means it will take 1,000 entries for the contest to have entry fees provide the minimum guarantee.  If there are more than 1,000 entries 100% of the excess will go into the Prize Pool such that if the total entries are 1,550 the "Winner Take All" Prize Pool will be $1,550,000. (Rules 17 a and b)

9 -- The contest continues until only one entry remains or at least one entry remains following the conclusion of all 18 Contest Weeks.  If all remaining entries are eliminated in the same Contest Week the contest ends and all of those entries just eliminated will equally split the full Prize Pool.  Thus is there are 3 entries remaining after Contest Week 14 and all three selections are losers in Contest Week 14 the contest ends and those last 3 entries split the Prize Pool equally.  (Rule 17c) -- See Item 10 for what happens if the contest ends prior to Contest Week 18 because only one entry remains.

10 --  There is a $1,000,000 Bonus Prize that will be awarded to an entry (or entries) that complete the Contest a perfect 18-0.  If at the end of the 18 Contest weeks at least 1 entry remains (having gone 18-0) the $1,000,000 will be awarded to either the lone 18-0 entry or evenly split if there are more than one 18-0 entry.  Should the Contest end before 18 full weeks have been played because following one of the weeks (say after Contest Week 15) only one perfect entry remains that entry will be declared the Contest Winner but will continue to submit selections in subsequent weeks for the purpose of having a chance to go 18-0 and be awarded the full $1,000,000 Bonus Prize.  (Rules 17(c)(ii) and 17(d))

11 -- Rule 18 states that the contest becomes official after Week 8 of the 2020 NFL season.  If the season does not go at least 8 weeks all entry fees will be refunded.  If the season goes at least 8 weeks but does not go the entirety of the scheduled season all remaining entries at the time will split the Prize Pool.  HOWEVER -- WHAT IS NOT CLEARLY STATED (and I shall attempt to get clarification) -- IS WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CONTEST ENDS PRIOR TO THE COMPLETION OF 8 WEEKS.  Although this is extremely unlikely it is possible and the obvious answer would be that if, for example, there is only one entry remaining after Week 7 that entry should be declared the winner.  But Rule 18 states that the Contest only becomes official if the NFL plays at least 8 weeks, not that the CONTEST lasts at least 8 weeks.  Rule 17, particularly subsections (c)(ii) and (c)(iii), discusses how and when the contest ends but does not reference what happens if the conditions of Rule 18 are not yet met (the NFL has not yet played 8 weeks).  I know this is nit-picking but if there is only 1 entry left after Week 7 and the NFL has to cancel the balance of the season, perhaps due to Covid-19, the season will not have lasted 8 weeks and contestants previously eliminated could point to Rule 18 and argue they are entitled to refunds as a result.  Hopefully Rule 18 will be amended to say that the contest becomes official after the NFL plays 8 weeks unless a contest winner occurs prior to the completion of week 8.

For more specifics it is suggested that you read the OFFICIAL RULES by clicking on the link at the top of this Contest.

This contest is similar in many respects to the very popular Stations Casinos Great Giveaway Contest that had been offered for many years in that the selections are made Straight Up (no pointspreads) and involves only Sunday and Monday games. There will be a total of 15 selections made each week and in weeks in which there are fewer than 15 games scheduled for Sunday/Monday Totals will be used to bring the total for those weeks to 15. For Totals, the contestant will required to select if a game will go OVER or stay UNDER a specified number of total points. There are weekly prizes and full-season prizes as described below.

Highlights of the William Hill Pro Football Contest include --

1 -- Contestant must be 21 years of age and have a "William Hill Rewards Club" Card (issued at no cost) or a William Hill Wagering Account to enter
2 -- $ 25.oo Entry Fee with a maximum of 15 entries per person allowed. If you purchase 4 entries you will receive a fifth entry for free. This only applies to the first four entries purchased and the free entry counts towards the limit of 15. Thus, if you were to play the maximum 15 entries you would pay for 14 ($ 350.oo) and get 1 entry for free. Late entries will be able to be purchased at $25 per entry with each such entry purchased counting towards the maximum of 15 entries per person.
3 -- Pick games each week Straight Up, NOT against the pointspread. Totals on specified games are used in weeks in which there are fewer than 15 Sunday/Monday games.
4 -- Contest will last all 17 weeks of the regular season.
5 -- There are no tie breakers for the weekly prize -- those tied for most winners will split the prize equally.
6 -- Selections must be made by the start of the first Sunday game
7 -- $ 10,000 in weekly prizes -- $ 10,000 to the contestant(s) selecting the most winners each week with no prizes for second or third most winners or most losers.
8 -- $ 30,000 in end of season prizes -- Most winners ($20,000), second most winners ($7,500), and third most winners ($2,500).
9 -- In the case of end of season ties those tied entries will split the money for the tied places -- i.e. a 2 way tie for most winners will split the first and second place prize equally.
10 -- In the event that more than $200,000 is collected in entry fees that excess will be added to the end-of-season Grand Prize amount.
11 -- There will be a $100,000 bonus paid to the First Place winner if that person has made at least 200 winning selections (out of the 255 total selections). This works out to a winning percentage of 78.43%.
13 -- IMPORTANT -- All prizes must be claimed IN PERSON with a valid Photo ID and MUST BE COLLECTED BY FEBRUARY 28, 2020. Any prizes not collected by that date are void and become the property of William Hill.
14 -- For questions or addtional information you may contact William Hill Customer Support at (855) - 754 - 1200.

For more specifics it is suggested that you read the OFFICIAL RULES by clicking on the link at the top of this Contest.

This contest is similar in many respects to the very popular LeRoys College Football Contest of the mid 2000's. The Contest involves picking 7 games per week against the pointspread. The Contest lasts 10 weeks such that a total of 70 picks will be made. There are no weekly prizes but there are 10 end-of-season prizes and a Bonus prize if the Contest winner picks at least 70% winners. Contestants will make their 7 selections from a list of 25 games designated by William Hill with all games featuring 1/2 point pointspreads (i.e. there can be no selections that result in pushes).

Highlights of the William Hill Pro Football Contest include --

1 -- Contestant must be 21 years of age and have a "William Hill Rewards Club" Card (issued at no cost) or a William Hill Wagering Account to enter.
2 -- $ 500.oo Entry Fee with a maximum of 4 entries per person allowed. Entries will not be accepted after 8:00 AM Pacific time on Saturday, September 7, 2019. The wording (Rule 6) suggests that in addition to Saturday games Friday games may be used, but not Thursday games.
3 -- Pick 7 games each week against the pointspread posted by William Hill for Contest purposes. Each game will have a half-point attached to the pointspread such that ties, or pushes, are not possible.
4 -- Contest will last 10 weeks beginning on Friday, September 6, 2019 and running through Saturday, November 9, 2019.
5 -- There are no weekly prizes, only end of season prizes.
6 -- Selections may be made up until such time that 7 games remain to start from that week's listed games (i.e. contestants can wait until mid to late afternoon on Saturdays to submit their 7 selections as long as at least 7 games have yet to start).
7 -- There is a minimum of $ 75,000 guaranteed in end of season prizes with any entry fees in excess of $75,000 being added to the Prize Pool. The contestant with the most winners will receive 50% of the prize pool; second most winners will receive 15%; third most winners 10%; 4th through 6th place will each receive 5%; and 7th through tenth will each receive 2.5%.
9 -- In the case of end of season ties those ties split the money for the tied places -- i.e. a 2 way tie for most winners will split the first and second place prize equally.
10 -- There will be a $25,000 bonus paid to the First Place winner if that person has made at least 49 winning selections (out of the 70 total selections). This works out to a winning percentage of 70.00%. The wording seems to suggest that only the Grand Prize winner (or winners if there is a tie) would collect (or share) the $25,000 bonus. That is, if the First Place contestant picks 51 winners and the Second Place contestant picks 50 winners only the First Place winner would collect the $25,000 bonus. If there is a tie for First Place with the ties contestants picking 49 or more winners (it would have to be the same number since they finished in a tie) thoese contestants would evenly split the $25,000 bonus.
12 -- IMPORTANT -- All prizes must be claimed IN PERSON with a valid Photo ID and MUST BE COLLECTED BY FEBRUARY 28, 2020. Any prizes not collected by that date are void and become the property of William Hill.
13 -- For questions or addtional information you may contact William Hill Customer Support at (855) - 754 - 1200.


For more specifics it is suggested that you read the OFFICIAL RULES by clicking on the link at the top of this Contest..

This Contest is similar to a traditional "King of the Hill" or "Survivor" contest in that contestants make one selection each week and if that selected team wins the contestant advances to the following week. Selections are made against a contest pointspread that does not change. All games will have half point pointspreads so there cannot be ties. A minimum prize of $100,000 is guaranteed with all Entry Fees going to the sole winner. The entry fee is $25 with up to 4 purchased entries per person allowed. A contestant who purchases 4 entries ($100) will receive a bonus fifth entry at no cost. Proxies are not specifically allowed nor disallowed per the Rules but see the "SELECTION SUBMISSION/IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS" section below for a potential concern. The Contest will run for a maximum of 13 weeks but could end earlier.

FORMAT -- Contestants select 1 College football team each week to cover its game against a static contest pointspread that uses half point lines (thus eliminating the possibility of a pointspread "push" or tie). If the selected team covers the pointspread that entry advances to the next week. Thursday and Friday games may be included in the Contest in addition to Saturday games. Any game that is not played by Sunday of the scheduled week will be counted as a winner and that entry will advance to the following week. The contest continues until only one entry remains. See the PAYOUT section below for more information on how the contest will end.

ENTRY FEE -- $ 25 per entry with a maximum of 4 entries allowed. Entrants must be 21 years of age and have a Boarding Pass Card, or equivalent, issued by a participating Stations property. Entrants who pay for 4 entries will receive a fifth entry at no additional cost.    Once the contest has received enough entry fees to cover the guaranteed minimum payout of $100,000 all additional entry fees will be added to the "winner-take-all" prize pool.  Signups begin August 1, 2019.  The deadline to sign up is Saturday, September 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM Pacific time.

PAYOUT -- The greater of $100,000 or 100% of Entry Fees will be awarded to the contestant with the last entry to correctly select a winner. If at the end of the 13 weeks there are 2 or more contestants who have not submitted a losing selection the prize pool will be equally split among such contestants. If all remaining contestants are eliminated on the same contest day the prize pool will be equally split among such contestants. HOWEVER -- Note that the Rules do not seem to consider the phrase "same contest day" as meaning the "same contest week" such that if contestants are eliminated on a Thursday, Friday and a Saturday of the same week only the contestants eliminated on that Saturday would win/share the prize pool). I shall try to obtain clarification on this point although I believe the "same contest week" is the intended meaning (such that in this example the prize would be split evenly among entries eliminated in the same contest week).

WEEKLY SELECTION SUBMISSION DEADLINE -- Selections must be made prior to the start of the game selected. The Contest Lines for week 1 are expected to be available on Monday, September 2, 2019 with the following weeks' games and lines available on Wednesdays.

SELECTION SUBMISSION/IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS -- The Official Rules do not specifically address the use of a Proxy to submit a contestant's selection. HOWEVER, Rule # 7 does state "Identification may be required when contest selection is submitted." Since a contestant must have a Boarding Pass in order to enter the Contest the possession and presentation of that Boarding Pass when submitting the selection should be considered as meeting the Identification requirement if requested.



ADDITIONAL NOTES --

If the same contestant wins BOTH this College Football Last Man Standing Contest AND the Pro Football Last Man Standing Contest -- and has signed up by September 2 -- that contestant will win a BONUS of $ 750,000 in addition to the prize pools from both contests for a total combined prize for both contests of at least $1,000,000.

FORMAT -- Contestants select 1 NFL team each to cover its game against a static contest pointspread that uses half point lines (thus eliminating the possibility of a pointspread "push" or tie). If the selected team covrs the entry advances to the next week. Any game that is not played by Monday of the scheduled week will be counted as a winner and those entries will advance to the following week. The contest continues until only one entry remains. See the PAYOUT section below for more information on how the contest will end.

ENTRY FEE -- $ 25.oo per entry with a maximum of 4 entries allowed. Entrants must be 21 years of age and have a Boarding Pass Card, or equivalent, issued by a participating Stations property. Entrants who pay for 4 entries will receive a fifth entry at no additional cost.   Once the contest has received enough entry fees to cover the guaranteed minimum payout of $150,000 all additional entry fees will be added to the "winner-take-all" prize pool.  Signups begin August 1, 2019.  The deadline to sign up is Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 9:00 AM Pacific time.

PAYOUT -- The greater of $150,000 or 100% of Entry Fees will be awarded to the contestant with the last entry that correctly selects a winner. If at the end of the 17 week regular season there are 2 or more entries that have not submitted a losing selection the prize pool will be equally split among such contestants/entries. The Contest will not extend into the NFL Playoffs. If all remaining entries are eliminated on the same contest day the prize pool will be equally split among such entries. HOWEVER -- Note that the Rules do not seem to consider the phrase "same contest day" as meaning the "same contest week" such that if some of the remaining entries are eliminated on a Sunday and the other remaining entries on Monday of that same week only the entries eliminated on that Monday night game would win/share the prize pool). I shall try to obtain clarification on this point although I believe "same contest week" is the intended meaning such that in this example the combined entries eliminated on Sunday AND Monday would split the prize.

WEEKLY SELECTION SUBMISSION DEADLINE -- Selections must be made prior to the start of the game selected. It appears that all games (including Thursday night games) will be included in the contest although Stations may decide to exclude certain games (though not stated these could be games involving key players with questionable status for which no betting line has been posted). The Contest Lines for week 1 are expected to be available on Monday, September 2, 2019 with the following weeks' lines available on Wednesdays.

SELECTION SUBMISSION/IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS -- The Official Rules do not specifically address the use of a Proxy to submit a contestant's selection. HOWEVER, Rule # 7 does state "Identification may be required when contest selection is submitted." Since a contestant must have a Boarding Pass in order to enter the Contest the possession and presentation of that Boarding Pass when submitting the selection should be considered as meeting the Identification requirement if requested.



ADDITIONAL NOTES --

If the same contestant wins BOTH this College Football Last Man Standing Contest AND the Pro Football Last Man Standing Contest -- and has signed up by September 2 -- that contestant will win a BONUS of $ 750,000 in addition to the prize pools from both contests for a total combined prize for both contests of at least $1,000,000.
 

Since moving to Las Vegas in 1991 Andy Iskoe of Logical Approach has entered many of the football contests offered and sponsored by the Sports Books in Las Vegas.

In fact, in 2020 he is entering the SuperContest for a 30th consecutive season!

In addition to having had success as a contestant in most of these contests over the years, he has also been a Proxy for contestants who live out of town and are not able to make the weekly selections in person at the various Sports Books, most notably for the Super Contest for which he has proxied for more than 15 years.

It was his participation in the SuperContest throughout the 1990's and into the early 2000's combined with his long running role as a co-host of the Saturday night edition of the Stardust Line Radio Show from Las Vegas that got Andy involved as a Proxy for non-Las Vegas residents who listened each week during the football season as Andy shared his experiences in the SuperContest, sharing his results from the prior week, his selections for the current week and his progress throughout the season that caught the attention of listeners to the show as to how they might participate in the SuperContest even though they did not live in Las Vegas or visit Las Vegas on a weekly basis. Mostly these were listeners on the West Coast from Washington down through California and in Arizona. In addition, subscribers to his "Logical Approach College & Pro Football Newsletter" were also interested in participating. In response to those inquiries his answer was simple. Visit Las Vegas to sign up for the contest and have someone turn in your weekly picks if you were unable to put them in yourself. And that's how he got started offering his Proxy service.

Back "in the day" the contest, from its inception in 1988 through much of the next two decades, attracted generally between 200 and 400 contestants and was pretty much considered a "locals" contest but for the relatively small number of out-of-area contestants. That all changed after 2010 when ESPN began to report on the contest throughout the 2010 season, generating much publicity for the SuperContest and widespread interest in participating in the next season's SuperContest -- both nationally and internationally. Since then the Proxy service business has developed into somewhat of a cottage industry, fueled by that extensive coverage given to the SuperContest beginning in 2010 by the folks at ESPN.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic it is likely a new record will not be set in 2020 as there remains a requirement for contestants to sign up in person in Las Vegas and travel is expected to be down throughout the balance of the summer. Although that would result in an overall smaller prize pool, the chances of cashing are increased with fewer contestants competing for the 100 (plus ties) paying places.

In 2020 Andy is again offering his services as a Proxy for contestants who are unable to submit weekly selections in person.

The keys to an effective Proxy/Contestant relationship are organization and communication.

Over the years Andy has developed an organized, structured and sensible system for disseminating and receiving contest selection information with the contestants for whom he has served as Proxy. Details of that system are explained below, both before and after the descriptions of most of the weekly football contests for which he shall be offeering proxy services in 2020.

The Proxy procedure is similar for all contests with minor variations due to time and/or deadline variations that will vary according to the specific contest.

Using the Westgate NFL Super Contest as an example, emails are sent on Wednesday evenings by Andy to the contestants for whom he is a Proxy. The email will contain information related to the contest lines for the upcoming week's games (to be released by 5 PM Pacific time Wednesdays in 2020), expected to include links to contestants' results for the previous week, season-to-date results and the overall standings for all contestants (including information on the status of the contestants currently in "cashing" position -- for 2020 the Top 100 and ties).

The contestant is then responsible for providing Andy with his/her 5 contest selections by email no later than 3 PM Pacific Time on SATURDAY AFTERNOON (new deadline for 2020) so that the selections may be submitted to the Westgate safely in advance of the Westgate's official Saturday 6 PM deadline (new for 2020 and that deadline is strictly enforced). If the contestant is using the Thursday game(s) the selections should be received by Andy by 10 AM Pacific time on Thursday with all 5 selections required to be submitted at the same time (for this reason the Thursday game is usually the game least played each week).

The Fee charged for the Proxy Service is agreed upon with each contestant and may be based upon the specific contest or combination of contests entered, the number of entries, the complexities of "administering" your weekly entries/selections, and other factors. The Fee is generally a flat, up front one time fee with no requirement to share a percentage of any winnings earned by the contestant.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss using Andy Iskoe as your Proxy please either call him at 702 - 898 - 9802 or contact him via email at vegasandy711@cox.net