72°F
weather icon Windy

Handicapping contests: Jets Grim Reaper of Circa Survivor

The New York Jets are doing the dirty work in the Circa Survivor contest.

After three straight weeks with fewer than 100 entries eliminated, the Jets knocked out 40.9 percent of the remaining field (871 entries) by upsetting the Cincinnati Bengals 34-31 on Sunday.

On Oct. 3, the Jets eliminated 151 entries by stunning the Tennessee Titans 27-24 in overtime.

In Circa Survivor, contestants pick one straight-up winner each week, but they can use each team only once and are eliminated with a loss.

As it stands, 1,188 entries are still in the running for the $6 million prize, about 29 percent of the original field of 4,080.

Each week, I’ll track the major handicapping contests and detail my progress. Here’s how the contests stand after Week 8:

Circa Sports Million III

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

Field: 4,087 entries.

Leader: One entry (Hannibal Barca) at 31-9.

Barnes’ status: 2-3 last week, 17-22-1 overall, tied for 3,423th. Winners on Seahawks -3 and Patriots +5, and losers on Lions +3½, Colts -2½ and Chiefs -9½.

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: 1,188 survivors advance. Week 8 eliminated 943 entries — 871 on the Bengals, 38 on the Chargers, 13 on the Falcons, six on the Cardinals, three on the Browns, two on the Buccaneers, two on the Vikings and one on Washington, plus seven entries who forgot to make a selection.

Barnes’ status: Alive, after the Chiefs held off the Giants 20-17.

Westgate SuperContest

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

Field: 1,972 entries.

Leader: One entry (Wolfgang) at 29-10-1.

Barnes’ status: 2-3 last week, 18-21-1 overall, tied for 1,383rd. Winners on Panthers +3 and Patriots +6, and losers on Colts -1, Bears +4 and Chiefs -9½.

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 (The Prognosticator 2) at 27-12-1.

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 — 20 alive out of starting 6,241; college — six alive out of 3,075.

Barnes’ status: Done. Eliminated from pro contest in Week 5; eliminated from college in Week 3.

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.

Leader: One entry (CastleRocker) at 42-22.

Barnes’ status: Playing out the string after going 3-5 last week to fall to 30-34 overall. Winners on Michigan State +4½, Mississippi State +1½ and Fresno State +½, and losers on Florida +14½, Northwestern +7½, Texas Christian +3½, Duke +16½ and Southern California -21½.

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 (no name given) at 90-30.

Weekly winner: One entry (no name given) went 14-1 and won $10,000.

Barnes’ status: 8-7 last week, 73-47 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.

Leaders: Three entries (Kris Barr, Select West and Spartan 71) at 37-19.

Barnes’ status: Not entered.

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

THE LATEST