The Westgate SuperContest, the most esteemed football handicapping contest in Nevada and across the United States, experienced an increase in participation in 2018. The National Football League (NFL) pick contest drew a record-breaking 3,123 entrants, surpassing the previous year’s numbers.
Eric Kahane, also known as “Personal Gourmet,” is the champion of the Westgate SuperContest, taking home the unprecedented $1.42 million grand prize for first place.
In order to win the SuperContest, the 44-year-old from Irvine, Calif. required a flawless final week of picks for the concluding week of the NFL season.
During week 17 of the NFL season, he achieved a 5-0 record and jumped from third place to first. Kahne concluded the SuperContest with a record of 59-25-1, equating to a 70.2 percent success rate. The leap from third to first place turned out to be worth $1 million.
Westgate SuperContest payout
Kahane, along with over 3,000 other participants, paid the $1,500 entry fee to take part in the 2018 SuperContest.
The Westgate, which houses the SuperBook and SuperContest, levies an 8 percent administration fee. The rest of the entry fees for the contest are distributed to the top 100 finishers and winners of late-season mini-contests.
This season, there were a total of 109 entries, with prizes ranging from $1,666.95 for the mini-contest to a whopping $1.42 million for the season’s SuperContest winner. Kahane pocketed the top prize of $1.42 million, while the third place entry received a still substantial $409,425.30. Indeed, the SuperContest winner enjoyed a million dollar week in week 17.
SuperContest Gold
In 2017, The Westgate launched a competition for high rollers. Although the game rules remain the same, the reward structure differs from the SuperContest. The SuperContest Gold has a $5,000 entry fee and only one person can win.
Professional and seasoned gamblers favor SuperContest Gold due to the absence of an administration fee. As a result, the entry with the most wins receives a full 100 percent payout.
George King from Nevada emerged as the winner of this year’s SuperContest Gold, bagging the grand first prize worth $640,000. The contest drew 128 participants this year. King concluded the season with an impressive record of 55-27-3, equivalent to a 67.1% success rate.
SuperContest 2019 sign-up
This year, it appears there will be a change in the traditional scheduling of the SuperContest sign-up period at the Westgate, which usually opens in July. A new sign-up period for the SuperContest should be introduced in 2019.
Jay Kornegay, the Vice President of Race & Sports Operations at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, tweeted that the casino plans to have dedicated windows open for SuperContest weekend, coinciding with the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament.
The first weekend of March Madness marks one of the peak periods for Las Vegas sportsbooks throughout the year. The newly announced SuperContest registration date is expected to further boost the number of participants.
Anticipate a record-breaking number of participants in both the SuperContest and SuperContest Gold this year, given the new sign-up timeframe. Should the volume of entries surpass previous records, the SuperContest prizes will be the biggest ever.
