Kris Johnson Deputy Editor -- CasinoBeats.com
Kris Johnson is a Charlotte-based deputy editor. He joined CasinoBeats in July 2025 and oversees the daily news flow of editing and publishing. Kris also reports on all aspects of the gambling industry with a...
Read Full BioFive victors enjoyed the spoils from Circa Survivor’s record $18.7 million prize pool yesterday in Las Vegas.
Six entries entered the final day of competition, but the entry PARTZ1-9 took Cincinnati to beat Cleveland. Despite being nearly a double-digit favorite, the Bengals suffered a 20-18 loss to the Browns on a last-second field goal.
High Five: Winners Take Home $3.7M+ Apiece
Circa Survivor keeps growing every year, and the five winners emerged out of 18,718 starting entries to collect $3.7M+ each from the record prize pool. The entry fee for Circa Survivor was $1,000.
Entrants must select one outright winner in the NFL over 20 weeks, including Thanksgiving/Black Friday, and Christmas, while using each team only once.
This year’s contest swung largely on Thanksgiving/Black Friday, when underdogs won all four games outright.
- Packers 31 Lions 24
- Cowboys 31 Chiefs 28
- Bengals 32 Ravens 14
- Bears 25 Eagles 15
That slashed the number of live entries from 900 to 49.
“This is a holiday weekend everyone will remember for a very long time,” Circa Sports Director of Operations Jeffrey Benson said after the carnage. “Winning in the NFL isn’t easy. All four dogs win outright, and it totally turns the contests upside down.”
Vikings, Jaguars, Falcons & Pats Seal ‘Survivor’ Deal on Sunday
Week 18 of the NFL season is tricky from a betting perspective. Several teams, including the Packers rested key starters.
As a result, the entries JUICY KEWCHI-7 and KICK YOUR KNEES UP-1 successfully used the Vikings, which rolled to a ho-hum 16-3 win over the Packers.
Jacksonville gave REAL BRO-3 an easy win, with a 41-7 dismantling of Tennessee. GaryA-10 enjoyed a similar ride with New England, which crushed Miami, 38-10.
Of the five winners, only DYLAN W-10 was made to sweat as the Falcons outlasted the Saints, 19-17.
This year, Circa also introduced The Grandissimo, a higher-stakes version of Survivor that attracted 69 contestants who paid $100,000 to enter. Six winners received $1,150,000 with an equal split of the $6,900,000 prize pool.
Lastly, the Circa Sports Million awarded the entry COYNEHOP-1 $1 million after a tiebreaker.
Overall, Circa doled out $31,618,000 for its trio of football contests. Looking ahead to next year, Circa Sportsbook Operations Director Jeff Benson previously told CasinoBeats that $40M could be up for grabs.
“If we continue to see the growth rates we have from the past couple of years, then yes, $40 million could be realistic,” he said.
