Handicapping contest tracker: Steelers’ loss to Raiders stings

The Raiders’ victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday dealt a blow to Las Vegas football handicapping contestants, including myself.

The Steelers’ defeat knocked out 252 entries from the Circa Survivor contest, the most of any team in Week 2. I avoided that trap, but still lost with the Steelers in the Circa Million and Westgate SuperContest.

Each week, I’ll track the major handicapping contests and detail my progress. Here’s how the contests stand after Week 2:

Circa Million III

Format: Contestants pick five NFL games against the spread each week ($1,000 per entry).

Field: 4,087 entries.

Leaders: 12 entries tied at 10-0.

Barnes’ status: 2-3 last week, 5-5 overall, tied for 1,828th. Winners on Panthers +3½ and Patriots -5½, and losers on Steelers -6, Eagles +3 and Chargers -3½.

Circa Survivor

Format: Contestants pick one straight-up NFL winner each week (each team can be used only once) and are eliminated with a loss ($1,000 per entry).

Field: 4,080 entries, but Circa added $1.92 million to the prize pool to reach the $6 million guarantee.

Leaders: 2,985 survivors advance. Week 2 eliminated 411 entries — 252 with the Steelers, 126 with the Seahawks, 10 with the Chargers, three with the Chiefs, three with the Texans and one each with the Eagles and Saints, plus 15 entries who forgot to make a selection.

Barnes’ status: Alive, after the Patriots beat the Jets 25-6.

Westgate SuperContest

Format: Contestants pick five NFL games against the spread each week ($1,000 per entry).

Field: 1,972 entries.

Leaders: Two entries (Johnny Vegas and Tempest) tied at 9-0-1.

Barnes’ status: 2-3 last week, 6-4 overall, tied for 282nd. Winners on Bills -3½ and Colts +3½, and losers on Steelers -5½, Eagles +3½ and Chargers -3.

Westgate SuperContest Gold

Format: Same as the SuperContest, but with a $5,000 buy-in and the winner taking all.

Field: 87 entries.

Leader: One entry (TKASPro277) at 8-1-1.

Barnes’ status: Not entered.

Station Last Man Standing

Format: Contestants select one game against the spread each week. Entries cost $25, but the maximum $100 gets five entries. There are separate pro and college contests. Winner takes all — $150,000 in the pro contest, $100,000 in the college.

Entries: Pro — 1,204 alive out of starting 6,241; college — 665 alive out of 3,075.

Barnes’ status: Down to one in each after starting the week with three in each. In pro, a winner on the Panthers +3½ and losers on Steelers -5½ and Eagles +3½. In college, a winner on Southern California -8½ and losers on Georgia Southern +23½ and Purdue +7½.

William Hill College Pick’em

Format: Contestants pick eight college games against the spread each week ($1,000 per entry).

Field: 452 entries, but an extra $548,000 added to the prize pool to reach the $1 million guarantee.

Leaders: Nine tied at 12-4.

Barnes’ status: Struggling at 3-5 last week, 7-9 overall. Winners on Southern California -8½, Memphis +3½ and East Carolina +10½, and losers on Purdue +7½, Kent State +22½, Ohio State -24½, Boise State -3½ and Arizona State -3½.

William Hill Pro Pick’em

Format: Contestants pick 15 NFL straight-up winners (or selected totals) each week ($25 per entry). There are weekly and seasonlong prizes.

Field: 7,316 entries.

Season leader: One entry at 26-4 (no name given).

Weekly winners: 15 entries tied at 14-1 to split the $10,000 weekly prize ($666.66 each).

Barnes’ status: 10-5 last week, with losers on the Bengals, Steelers, Seahawks, Chargers and Chiefs; 20-10 overall.

Golden Nugget Ultimate Football Challenge

Format: Contestants pick seven NFL and/or college games against the spread each week ($1,000 to enter).

Field: 149 entries.

Leader: One entry (Captain Kent 33) at 13-1.

Barnes’ status: Not entered.

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.