The world’s largest legal survivor contest is getting a $5 million bump in guaranteed money and a new high-stakes spinoff.
Key Takeaways
- Circa Survivor grows to $15 million guaranteed just two years after having an $8 million prize pool.
- Circa Grandissimo offers a high-stakes experience with a $100K entry fee.
- Contest signups begin Friday at Circa properties in Nevada.
Circa Sports unveiled Thursday that the popular and growing Circa Survivor Pro Football Contest comes with a $15 million guarantee, just two years after pledging to at least an $8 million prize pool.
“We guaranteed $10 million last year, now we’re guaranteeing $15 million,” Circa Sports owner Derek Stevens said during a Thursday interview on VSiN. “The increase in guarantee is bigger than any other football contest ever, so I feel good about it.”
Growing game
Anything over that amount in the $1,000 entry fee contest will go to the prize pool that has no rake. Last year, Circa Survivor drew 14,266 entries, surpassing the guarantee by more than $4 million and setting the record for the most participants. There was a surge of entries just two weeks before the NFL season began after a documentary was released chronicling the 2023 contest.
“We think it can grow, and that’s why we bumped it to $15 million,” Stevens said.
Started in 2020, the Circa Survivor format remains unchanged in 2025. Entries pick one team to win each week. If that team loses, the participant is eliminated. A win advances to the next round in the 20-week contest that breaks off games on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Eight participants split the pot in 2024, taking home $1.78 million in the NFL contest. An early run of underdog success decimated the field as 95% of entries were eliminated after Week 3.
Grander experience
Stevens announced a new contest that comes with an even bigger entry fee. The debut of Circa Grandissimo comes with a $100,000 buy-in and a $1.5 million guaranteed prize pool. The contest works the same in terms of rules as Circa Survivor, except participants are held to a two-entry maximum.
💰 Introducing CIRCA GRANDISSIMO; the ultimate high-stakes survivor contest. 💰
— Circa Sports (@CircaSports) May 22, 2025
$100,000 to enter. $1.5 MILLION to the last entry standing.
ALL ENTRANTS RECEIVE THE GRANDISSIMO EXPERIENCE:
🏆 Round-trip flight on JSX
🏆 3-night Founder’s Suite stay at @CircaLasVegas
🏆… pic.twitter.com/NAVmMwd145
Stevens and his team have been tossing the idea of a high-stakes contest around for the last couple of years, but they wanted to let Circa Survivor grow as a brand before upping the ante.
“We always felt there was a need for a higher-stakes Circa Survivor,” Stevens said. “We just wanted to do something that we didn’t think would cannibalize the growth of the original Circa Survivor.”
All entries receive a Las Vegas VIP experience that includes a three-night stay in a Circa suite, round-trip flight, and limo transportation from and to the airport, multiple dining experiences, a premium whiskey tasting, an exclusive Stadium Swim experience, and more.
Stevens said the new survivor contest’s name comes from a resort hotel originally planned by the late Jay Sarno, the founder of Caesars Palace and Circus Circus in Las Vegas. The hotel never came to be, but Stevens wanted to honor Sarno’s legacy at Circa Sports.
Millionaire maker
The Circa Millions contest also returns to Nevada for the sixth year with a $6 million prize pool. Entires pick five NFL games against the spread each week from static lines. They receive one point for each win and a half point for a push.
This contest has never reached 6,000 participants, but the Circa Sports team believes it will reach that milestone this year. Even if it doesn’t, the first-place winner will receive $1 million while the rest of the prize pool will go to places 2-100.
Between all three contests, Circa Sports is guaranteeing $22.5 million. The operator will begin taking signups on Friday at Nevada properties only. Out-of-state participants can also begin coordinating with proxies.
