Westgate SuperContest will crown $1.3M winner from $3.8M prize pool

Forget about the Westgate SuperContest’s first $1 million winner. At this rate, the world’s most prestigious NFL handicapping contest will crown its first $2 million winner next season.

When Saturday’s 11 a.m. deadline to enter the SuperContest expired, there were a record 2,748 entries — an increase of 48 percent over last year’s record 1,854.

“It’s really just amazing,” Westgate sports book director Jay Kornegay said. “As soon as we opened up the gates on July 1st, we were well above the record pace. Not only did we maintain that pace but we surpassed it.

“That’s why we’re looking at a $1.3 million winner. That’s crazy.”

The total prize pool will be $3.8 million after the Westgate deducts an 8 percent administrative fee and the top 50 finishers get paid. The winner pockets 35 percent of the pool and the runner-up 14 percent, or about $530,000.

The 94 entries in the inaugural $5,000-entry, winner-take-all SuperContest Gold also far exceeded Kornegay’s expectations. One contestant will win $470,000.

“That’s twice as many as we thought. For the first year, 94 is really solid,” Kornegay said. “Some people have said we would’ve got 200 if we paid the top three. But there is some appeal to winner take all.”

Week 1 wasn’t super

Only three SuperContest entries were 5-0 after the first NFL Sunday of the season. There were 14 4-0 entries and eight 3-0 cards heading into the Monday Night Football doubleheader. In all, 92 entries had four wins after Sunday and the total selections from the record field were 4,663-7,324 (38.9 percent).

The top six consensus picks went 0-6 (Bengals, Texans, Titans, Falcons, Cardinals and Steelers). There were no 5-0 starts Sunday in the Gold, in which the top five consensus picks went 2-3, with winners on the Jaguars and Bears and losers on the Titans, 49ers and Bengals.

Canelo-GGG update

CG Technology has taken three $50,000 wagers on Gennady Golovkin and one $50,000 bet on Canelo Alvarez in advance of their middleweight title fight on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Golovkin is a minus-150 favorite over Alvarez (plus-130) and the total is 9½ rounds (Over -250, Under +210).

“We’ve taken in about a $400,000 handle, which puts us on pace to do seven figures on this fight. I wasn’t sure we would do seven figures,” CG Technology sports book vice-president Matthew Holt said. “We’re on a real good pace and 70 to 80 percent of the bets will come in Thursday and beyond. There’s been great two-way action. Our liability has never been more than $35,000 either way.

“I don’t think the line will ever go higher than (minus) 150 again. It’s basically a pick’em.”

Bettor hits monster parlay

A CG Technology bettor hit a $165 eight-team parlay Saturday that paid $29,000. His eight college football winners were Texas (-26.5), Georgia (+4), Old Dominion (-3.5), Tulane (+9.5), UTSA (+13.5), Toledo (-11), Southern Methodist (-13.5) and Southern California (-6.5).

Bad beat

Oregon bettors, including one at CG Technology who placed a $125,000 wager on the Ducks (10.5) over Nebraska on Saturday, suffered a brutal bad beat. Oregon led 42-14 at halftime but surrendered three unanswered touchdowns in the second half, the third with 2:47 remaining in the game, en route to a 42-35 win.

Legal sports betting impact on Minnesota

A legal sports betting market could bring as much as $531 million in economic output to Minnesota’s economy and support up to 3,093 jobs, according to new research by Oxford Economics released before Monday’s Vikings-Saints game by the American Gaming Association and American Sports Betting Coalition.

Momentum for nationwide legal sports gambling appears to be growing with the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear New Jersey’s challenge to the federal sports betting ban this fall.

More betting: Follow all of our sports betting coverage online at reviewjournal.com/betting and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.