What Derek Stevens created as a fun way to promote his Las Vegas sportsbooks and build the Circa brand has evolved into a phenomenon far exceeding expectations through the operator’s three pro football contests.
Key Takeaways
- Derek Stevens guarantees a $20-million Circa Survivor prize pool.
- Sign-ups for all three pro football contests begin May 22.
- Participants must register in Nevada but can play anywhere through a proxy.
Coming off the company's most successful year, where participants took home a record $31 million, the CEO and owner of Circa and other Nevada casino-hotel properties is starting this year’s competitions with $30 million guaranteed, up from $25 million in 2025.
“Circa Sports was built on creating contests that are bigger, bolder, and more player-friendly than anything else in the industry,” Stevens said Tuesday. “This year’s $30-million guaranteed prize pool reflects the incredible momentum these contests have built over the years.”
The competitions are highlighted by highly popular Circa Survivor, which is promising a $20-million prize pool. The Circa Grandissimo, with its high-roller entry fee, guarantees $4 million, while handicapping contest Circa Million VIII will pay out at least $6 million.
Sign-ups begin Friday and run through September 12 at Circa Resort & Casino, the D Las Vegas, Silverton Casino Lodge, Tuscany Suites and Casino, and Legends Bay in Sparks, Nevada.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“We’re grateful for the passionate community that continues to support Circa Sports, and we’re excited to welcome both returning contestants and first-time players for what will be our most thrilling season yet,” Stevens said.
Expected growth?
Despite guaranteeing prize pools, he couldn't promise that all three would easily exceed Circa’s marks like in previous years. Stevens told Covers this week he knows inflation, high gas prices, and expensive flights could have people penny-pinching.
“I never really make predictions because you don’t know,” he said. “I’m hopeful that all three of our contests grow, but there are a lot of externalities out there that have an impact on things.”
Stevens said it doesn’t hurt that the World Cup will bring tourists and tons of betting interest to the U.S. this summer, and he’s hoping that spills over to Las Vegas and brings in contestants.
And then there could be an influx of participants right before the NFL season begins. Stevens said cabanas at Stadium Swim, Circa’s sports-fueled pool setting, are sold out for fantasy football drafts, which has “turned into a massive business” for the casino-hotel, impacting sports betting, food and beverage sales, occupancy, and potentially football contests the week before the season-opener.
Stevens added that his casinos have already seen a surge in bookings through the At Par Program, which helps Canadian visitors offset the difference in currency to make it more advantageous to come to Las Vegas, which he hopes helps boost contest numbers.
The big draw
Circa Survivor is the most-entered contest of the three. Last year, the casino paid out $19.1 million, well above the $15-million guaranteed prize pool. Four of the 18,718 entries went 20-0 to take home over $3.7 million each.
This year, the contest’s rules are the same. Participants pay a $1,000 entry fee in person at any of Stevens' sportsbooks. Pick one NFL team to win each week, and once that squad is selected, it goes off the board. Win, and advance to the next week. Lose, and your contest is over.
The competition, which had over 14,000 entries in 2024, adds two separate weeks for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year, with an NFL game scheduled on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for the first time, Week 12a will give contestants five choices, including the three games Thursday and one Black Friday showdown, followed by eight Week 12b games beginning Sunday.
Christmas is more straightforward, with one Christmas Eve game, followed by a tripleheader the following day to make up a single competition week.
Survivor mania
Piggybacking off Circa Million, the Survivor pool began in 2020 as an idea Stevens had from playing in similar one-and-done competitions with his friends.
“There is a simplicity to it. You don’t have to overthink it,” he said. “You can spend a lot of time studying and strategizing, but it’s still a contest that anybody can win. Last year, a couple of (winners) were pros and a couple of them were not. It’s a hell of a lot more fun than playing Mega Millions or the lottery. The emotion you get when you put your Circa Survivor pick in, there’s just nothing like it.”
It has grown into the largest guaranteed payout of any football contest in the U.S., coming off of last year’s $15-million promise. Circa Survivor has done everything Stevens had hoped for when he created it, drawing tons of interest and enhancing the operator’s branding and marketing.
“I thought it would resonate with Americans, and it certainly has,” Stevens said. “We were blown away with how people love it.”
What has also helped the contest grow is allowing its participants to use a proxy service, by law, to make picks, so anyone in the world who can get to Vegas to enter can still play from anywhere each week.
“Without the proxy services, we wouldn’t be able to pull this off,” he said.
Growing grander
Another major draw of Circa’s contests is the no rake, which Stevens said is "advantageous to the player.” That especially comes into play with Circa Grandissimo, which is designed for high-end participants with its $100,000 buy-in fee.
The contest was created in 2025 after heavy demand for a different experience. Stevens named the competition after the late Jay Serano’s casino project that never came to be, and gave it a $1.5-million prize pool.
He wasn’t sure the field would even reach 15, but Grandissimo drew 69 participants, creating a $6.9-million winning prize split between six contestants. This year, Circa starts the high-roller competition with a nearly tripled prize pool that could be even higher.
“A $100,000 entry fee is no joke,” Stevens said. “I don’t know what to expect. This is only Year 2. That’s why it’s a wild card.”
The contest is set up just like the Survivor pool, but plays much differently. Stevens said you have a mindset of being perfect all 20 weeks in Survivor, but with a tighter field in Grandissimo, the contest might not even make it to Christmas, allowing for a different strategy.
One rule change
Circa Million, where contestants pick five NFL games against the spread each week, enters its eighth season with the only major change in any of the three contests. Participants can now purchase 10 entries, double from previous years.
Stevens said the increase comes from “significant interest” from participants to add more strategy for Circa Million’s quarterly payouts. The winner takes home $1 million, but the contest pays out numerous places and every four-to-five weeks during the NFL season.
