2025 Las Vegas NFL Betting Syndicate

NFL SEASON WINS CONTEST

Many of you may have forgotten this contest. We entered this one, also. Thing is, we did fairly well, but it takes a huge season and about a 65-75 percent win percentage to cash in this contest, which is a projection of all 32 teams and how they will perform against W-L projections.

Again, this wasn't something we expected to win, and it's really tough to predict season-to-season team arounds, injuries, etc. So, it takes some luck to cash in this kind of contest. It's our first year to enter. Here's our contest ticket, with results:

17 WINS
13 LOSSES
2 PUSHES

We collect nothing. The winner of the top prize got 24 correct, which is a 24-8 overall record, which is 75 percent.

Next season, we'll try this one again. Sorry I didn't share more about it since early in the season but we were never in the running to cash, even with a slightly winning result.

LET ME DINE ON THIS CROW: Some of you warned me about the Bears this season. You said Chicago would be a surprise team. I just thought to myself--uhh huh. Yea, right.

Well, you were RIGHT. Let me eat this stale crow and pop open a bottle of something to wash it down properly.

Anyways -- another defeat. But I feel this is a contest we might hit in the future. Lots of dead money in this field. Like all those Chicago Bears people. Oh wait, nevermind.

REMEMBERING TOM

This past year, the investment fund lost TOM OLDCROFT. He was a wonderful man and dear person.

Tom had been an investor from Year 1. He was so infectious as a personality and giant of a man who loved life. He was just so funny, so filled with stories. Still he was not immune to the pains of human existence. He lost his wife, then lost his leg, and my last time to see him was in Spring of 2025 when he visited Las Vegas, we went to dinner, and shared a day of laughs and things that are truly important.

Tom who was suffering in bad health knew his days were numbered. He'd known his fate for a long time. I suppose that's all of our fates and there may be some advantages to knowing when the clock strikes that final hour. But I never felt sad or even depressed with Tom. He would not let that happen. He shared this diagnosis with me during his final months. I just hoped Tom's final moments would be fun and bring him some pleasure and comfort. My last time to see Tom was dropping him off at the Westgate Casino (our contest host). When I offered to es**rt him up to his room from my valet drop point, he looked at me with that NYC attitude (he was from New York originally) and barked at me, "do I look like a cripple to you!" Note: he had one leg removed and hobbled on a cane. Then, he burst out laughing and I just shook my head and said, wow. There's a man who plays the hand he was dealt. Like a pro. Like a hero

I will miss Tom dearly. Many of you may not have known him. But he wad kind, generous, funny, and leaves me with immeasurable memories and thoughtfulness.

I hope sharing this will in some small way honor Tom, who left us too soon but touched us all.

_______

Note: To Tom's benefactors, you can cash out anytime. He still has money in the fund. I have your names and will be contacting you at season's end.

INVESTMENT FUND (GOING FORWARD)

1. The 2025-26 investment fund started at $40,000. We lost half of that in the contests. Right now, let's call it $20,000 remains. Half of what you invested is still in the bank.

2. We have one LIVE TICKET still remaining ----- "SFO TO WIN NFC" which pays $18,000. Man, I feel like I'm in possession of a bottle of 1961 Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, Bordeaux with p**s in it. Still, that's better than the other two tickets which are dead (Note: we lost $5,500 on Green Bay to win the division when that idiot Packer fumbled the onside kick and we blew a 10-point lead---otherwise, that ticket likely cashes). I was also the handicapping genius who bet Cleveland to win the AFC North at 35-1. I got the other 3 teams right which all went subpar this season---all s**t the bed. I got the Browns massively wrong, but I'd make this bet again if I could. Too great a value. Your mileage may differ.

3. A week ago, I LOVED our 49ers futures ticket, and had the frumps shown up at home and beat Seattle, then we would be TWO WINS AWAY and favored in the conference and freerolling. Now, we have to crawl through fu***ng Egypt in fire in the Summer to get to the Super Bowl, with three straight brutal road games, all as underdogs. I'm fuming over how San Francisco seems so outclassed when they appeared to be the dark horse smartest bet on the board at the price just 4 days prior. I like to vent. I need to rant. Indulge me.

4. Why didn't I make lots of cash game wagers? Damn, that's a great question. If you look at my handicapping on totals, props, etc. which is posted every week publicly at my site, Betcoin.com, etc., that record (and it all there--verifiable) is 163-123, for a whopping 40 BETS ABOVE .500. Net gain is about 25 units. Had I bet our fund, as was the plan, on each of these props------we'd be ahead for the season. Last year, I bet $500 per prop and wager and we floundered a bit. Yeah we did make a 10 percent profit overall, but that was due to the Eagles' futures wager. So, I wanted to be more conservative with YOUR MONEY. It's important to note that at the midway point of the season, I was very frustrated, as the contests were not doing well, and my own record was barely above .500. A few games where I wanted to bet in the thousands lost (yes, I was sooooo close to betting 2K or 3K on a few games, that LOST), which told me out I was "out of the zone." Every handicapper will understand this logic. I vowed not to get desperate nor chases losses. Of course, then I go on a massive heater. I mean, 57 percent wins now for the season and 40 bets over the .500 mark. F**k me!

5. Since $20,000 is still in the 2025 LVNFLBS fund, I have a proposal for all investors. I'm going to roll this ahead in 2026. Everyone invested is now already back in and paid in-full for next season. This will make my life much easier rather than doing massive paperwork, sending transfers, writing checks, all for a season that produced nothing for us. PERSONAL NOTE: It's fun and even ecstatic to do paperwork and write checks when we cut up $185,000 in prize money. It's excruciating to do that when we all *lost* money. But I also do have a responsibility --- TO YOU. I do understand some investors will want to cash out now or need the money, and that's everyone's right. Please wait until after the Super Bowl to contact me and make such requests ([email protected]). Those who want returns of their investment will receive all money. However, I am also trimming the investment fund back for next season and will keep active only those who agree to roll the funds into next season. This is self-preservation. It just takes up so much of my time, and I would much rather be rolling over your money and giving action for another season than bouncing money back and forth. Yes, I'm selfish with my time. I also want a clear head heading into 2026 and not have to worry about 75 PayPal transfers and checks (I am really bad with accounting). Let's make things easier and do better in 2026 NFL.

6. Next season's strategy will be discussed later. But I also discovered a few things and want to admit my mistakes and errors. Competing in this field is vicious, and I feel good going forward. I still think we had good investments on futures, and there are things I can learn from the contests, to improve. I ALSO WELCOME ANY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND FEEDBACK. Post in comments, or you can send private email if you wish.

7. It's strange to be thanking anyone, while not accepting the Golden Globe prize. But let me call out one of my best friends and smartest people I know, Matt Lessinger for his counsel.* David Apostolico was also invaluable as a source of information and inspiration. But you ALL helped me by investing and showing confidence. [Note: Matt is pictured with me in this photo, when we were all $20,000 richer and stoked with hope back in August 2025]

8. I'll post a live Facebook video of all of these points sometime this week, in which case I'll welcome feedback. I think you all deserve more than I have given.

Thank you again.

______

* This was a real "team effort." In the contest picks, the 51 percent winners were mine, and the 49 percent losers were Matt's. j/k

2025 NFL CONTESTS WRAP-UP

1. The handicapping contests have now completed. We suffered a losing season, with no cash outs. Net loss = $20,000.

2. We lost money in the Westgate SuperContest, Circa Millions, Westgate College Football Contest, and NFL Season Wins Challenge.

3. In Westgate SuperContest, the final overall record of ALL picks was 222 wins - 218 losses - 10 pushes.

4. In Circa Millions, the final overall record of ALL picks was 227 wins - 217 losses - 6 pushes.

5. For those doing math, that's barely above the .500 mark and just 14 games above break-even. This is an unacceptable result given your investment and the time that was put into the contests.

6. BUBBLING THE MINI-CONTEST: The Westgate mini-contest at season's end was a crushing blow. I mean -- devastating. We finished tied for 4th place in the $40K mini. We were just one-win back of first place. Note that only the top-3 finishers collected prize money ($25,000 / $10,000 / $5,000). Another of our tickets finished 1.5 wins back. Two more finished 2 wins back. We had four tickets in the top-16 (out of 741 entrants). Guess what that paid--zero.

7. BAD BEAT STORY: Dallas' loss to NY Giants cost us half of a $25,000/$10,000 split for 1st and 2nd. That is, it was a $17,500 swing game and loss for us. Since we had Dallas on four tickets (and few other contestants picked the Cowboys), two would have cashed, netting perhaps about $1,500 or so. So, Dallas' loss was a grand total of a $19,000 defeat for us. Just brutal. If there wasn't already enough reasons to despise the Cowboys, now there's one more. SIDEBAR STORY--The top 3 had Pittsburgh last night. If Pittsburgh didn't cover, we would have enjoyed an 11-way tie for all the money in the top 3 spots, which amounts to about $4,150 as our split. So, we got screwed twice.

8. I have no one to blame but myself. Unfortunately, the season was sub-par and I dug a hole in the first half of the year that was hard to recover from. We never came close to cashing until the final week, when we closed very strongly. Also, there are 20 other people in the top 23 who can also bitch and complain about being 1-win away. So, this goes with the territory. It's like losing a hand in a poker tournament one spot out of the money. As for Dallas, I got news after the picks were made and would have backed off had we known there was some possibility the QB would be pulled and starters benched in the second half (the NY Giants played starters the whole game). This is a great example of why it's important in future contests to wait as late as possible before making the picks official.

9. I concentrate my comments on Westgate because we won $185,000 in this contest two seasons ago, and I prefer that mini-contest payout structure over Circa. But, Circa Millions pays much more and is EIGHT TIMES the number of entrants. This is an army of great handicappers to battle through. We were never in contention for any of the Circa prizes. Again, 5,685 entrants. I did a s**t job on these picks. Positive spin is out of five tickets, all five finished in the top half...big freakin' deal. In one of the $100K mini contests, we took a tie for 41st place, just 3 wins back of the winning score (for the second half contest). Overall, the best ticket finished 560th, top 10 percent (too bad this isn't a poker tournament). All finished at 2,390 and above, which isn't anything laudable other than it shows even though we had really disappointing results, about 55 percent or more of the field did worse. This is like eating a cold stale McDonald's Happy Meal, and bragging that at least we're not the homeless crowd living under a freeway bridge.

10. In another post, I'll discuss the futures wagers, results, and where your investment stands going forward. Basic summation is -- you have have half of what you invested. I'll post more about this in the next report (perhaps in a day or so when I recover from that Cowboys loss).

>

WESTGATE SUPERCONTEST NFL CONTEST -- WEEK 18
-- 5 entries / $1500 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 741 entries / $1,126,000 prize pool

Notes: It's been a frustrating season, but there's an opportunity to cash here in the final week. So, we have some hope entering the final card of games.

Bad News--we have no chance of cashing in the overall contest on any ticket. The top player out of 741 entrants currently has 53.5 wins. The cashing cut-off right now is 50 wins. Remember, this contest pays only the top-20 (less than 4 percent of the field). Our best ticket is now at 43 wins, meaning even a 5-0 finish will not get us into the money since 48 is short of any possibility.

Good News--we have FOUR live tickets in the final mini-contest. If any of these tickets goes 5-0, we may (I stress *may*" cash for something. If TICKET 2 goes 5-0, we could win the $25,000 first prize. We are tied for third place right now, and only 17 tickets in the entire contest are at our win total or better. The mini-contest leader is just 1 win ahead of us. Again, a 5-0 result would be awesome. A 4-1 result might min-cash for something -- keeping in mind only the top-3 get paid in this contest. TICKET 1 is also in very good position, as either a 5-0, or 4-0-1, or 4-1 finish might get into the money. TICKET 3 and TICKET 5 absolutely need 5-0, and even that might not be enough. TICKET 4 is dead.

Based on previous mini-contest results this season, 12 wins, 12.5 wins, 12 wins, 13 wins, and 13 wins were the winning totals on the previous ones. So, if either the TICKET 2 or TICKET 1 goes perfect this week, that gets us to 12.5 or 13 and we can have a high confidence level of collecting something.

Strategy wise, we can diversify the picks somewhat at duplication doesn't do much to improve our chances. One of the longshot tickets can even pick outliers just in case the week goes wacko for everyone and all the popular picks lose, leaving the contrarian to possibly sneak into the money. That's the strategy, at least as best we can increase our odds of cashing.

TICKET #1 (Record: 42 - 45 - 3)
CAR +2.5 v TB...W
MIN -7.5 v GB...W
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L (thanks, you scumbags!)
NOR +3 v ATL...W
LAR -7 v ARZ...W

TICKET #2 (Record: 46 - 42 - 2)
MIN -7.5 v GB...W
BUF -7 v NYJ...W
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
WAS +4 v PHI...W
LAR -7 v ARZ...W

TICKET #3 (Record: 46 - 42 - 2)
MIN -7.5 v GB...W
NWE -10.5 v MIA...W
WAS +4 v PHI...W
LAR -7 v ARZ...W
TEN +12.5 v JAX...L

TICKET #4 (Record: 42 - 46 - 2)
CAR +2.5 v TB...W
CIN -7.5 v CLE...L
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
NOR +3 v ATL...W
DEN -12.5 v LAC...W

TICKET #5 (Record: 46 - 43 - 1)
MIN -7.5 v GB...W
BUF -7 v NYJ...W
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
WAS +4 v PHI...W
LAR -7 v ARZ...W

< This completes the picks for Week 18 >

CIRCA MILLIONS NFL FOOTBALL CONTEST -- WEEK 18
-- 5 entries / $1000 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 5,685 entries

Notes: This is the final week for the Circa contest(s). Only one ticket is in contention for any kind of cash prize. That is TICKET 5. If we go a perfect 5-0 on our five picks in this final week, there's some chance of min-cashing in the fourth-quarter contest (which pays only the top-3 finishers).

The mini-contest leader is at 17-3-0. The cash cutoff for prize money is at 16-4-0. Our TICKET 5 is at 14-6-0. So, it will certainly take a 19-6-0 record on TICKET 5 to have any shot at the money. Keep in mind, this is a contest with 5,685 entrants. So, any type of cash is a rare feat.

Strategy wise, since we have only one viable ticket, we'll play this straight (just pick winners, if possible). In the Westgate contest, we have multiple tickets with small chances to cash, which means we can be a bit more unconventional. Read the other report, for details.

For purposes of future consideration, the contest leader is at 58-26-1 ($1 million winner, pending). Assuming the winner goes 3-2 this final week, that's about 61 wins out of 90 total picks to win a million bucks. Think about that -- it takes about 63 percent to win the world's biggest and toughest NFL handicapping contest. This should be a lesson for anyone who believes it's possible to pick "70 percent winners" or higher, as is often false claimed by scammers. Assuming there are about 5 plays per week, hitting anything in the 55-60 percent is very good (and rare). Hitting anything above 60 percent is world-class (combined with getting very lucky at times).

More interesting data from the results, to date. The cash cutoff is likely to be about 53 wins for the season. Right now, the cutoff point is a 50-34-1 season record. Our best ticket stands at 44-38-1 (TICKET 4). You can see that even if this ticket goes a perfect 5-0 in the final week, that will not be enough wins to catch the win cutoff. Our best possible finish is 49.5 wins, and it likely takes 53 to make the top-100. But to be realistic, we've never been in contention all season long, even with a strong close to the season.

The other tickets are just playing out the schedule, perhaps for bragging rights only.

Final Summation----In this final week the picks aren't meaningful, except perhaps on TICKET 5, if we can go 5-0.

TICKET #1 (Record: 45 - 44 - 1)
CAR +2.5 v TB...W
NWE -10.5 v MIA...W
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
NOR +3.5 v ATL...W
DEN -13.5 v LAC...W

TICKET #2 (Record: 45 - 43 - 1)
HOU -10.5 v IND...L
CIN -7.5 v CLE...L
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
WAS +4 v PHI...W
DEN -13.5 v LAC...W

TICKET #3 (Record: 45 - 44 - 1)
MIN -8.5 v GB...W
NWE -10.5 v MIA...W
BUF -7 v NYJ...W
BAL -3.5 v PIT...L
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L

TICKET #4 (Record: 49 - 40 - 1)
MIN -8.5 v GB...W
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
WAS +4 v PHI...W
NOR +3.5 v ATL...W
LAR -7 v ARZ...W

TICKET #5 (Record: 43 - 45 - 2)
CAR +2.5 v TB...W
MIN -8.5 v GB...W
DAL -3.5 v NYG...L
WAS +4 v PHI...W
LAR -7 v ARZ...W

< This completes the picks for Week 18 >

CIRCA MILLIONS NFL FOOTBALL CONTEST -- WEEK 17
-- 5 entries / $1000 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 5,685 entries

Notes: Look for a comprehensive report on all the funds, contests, results, pending futures, etc. coming up soon. We have almost no shot of cashing at this point in the overall contest. We also lost any chance to finish in the bottom of standings, which pays cash prizes. What remains is the final quarter mini-contest (WEEKS 15/16/17/18). So, all tickets will be focused on performing well in the finale. I hope we can at least make a run at something. This same logic and strategy will also apply to the Westgate contest (see the other post). If anything is "LIVE" for a possible cash, that will be highlighted in next week's report, the final weekend of the season.

TICKET #1 (Record: 41 - 43 - 1)
HOU +1.5 vs. LAC...W
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
NYG -1.5 vs. LV...W
MIA +5.5 vs. TB...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W

TICKET #2 (Record: 43 - 41 - 1)
WAS +7.5 vs. DAL...W
MIN +7.5 vs. DET...W
DEN -13.5 vs. KC...L
CIN -7.5 vs. ARZ...W
NWE -13.5 vs. NYJ...W

TICKET #3 (Record: 42 - 42 - 1)
HOU +1.5 vs. LAC...W
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
NYG -1.5 vs. LV...W
PHI pk vs. BUF...W
ATL +8.5 vs. LAR...W

TICKET #4 (Record: 45 - 39 - 1)
HOU +1.5 vs. LAC...W
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
MIA +5.5 vs. TB...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W
ATL +8.5 vs. LAR...W

TICKET #5 (Record: 38 - 45 - 2)
HOU +1.5 vs. LAC...W
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
MIA +5.5 vs. TB...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W
SFO -3.5 vs. CHI...W

< This completes the picks for Week 17 >

WESTGATE SUPERCONTEST NFL CONTEST -- WEEK 17
-- 5 entries / $1500 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 741 entries / $1,126,000 prize pool

Notes: Here's a reminder that none of our tickets are playing for last place now. Everything focuses on the final mini-contest, which is Weeks 16/17/18. Full disclosure----I made an error today. If this mistake ends up costing us $25,000 in the mini-contest, I apologize. You will read about me jumping off the Stratosphere later. I accidentally hit LA CHARGERS rather than HOUSTON on one ticket, which in the worst possible example of bad luck was the one ticket that's very much in contention for one of the prizes. I always double check the entries, but somehow erred on that ticket. I'll update where we stand after this week, heading into final week coming up the first week in Jan.

TICKET #1 (Record: 38 - 44 - 3)
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
HOU +2 vs. LAC...W
MIA +5.5 vs. TB...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W
SFO -3 vs. CHI...W

TICKET #2 (Record: 42 - 41 - 2)
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
HOU +2 vs. LAC...W
MIA +5.5 vs. TB...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W
SFO -3 vs. CHI...W

TICKET #3 (Record: 42 - 41 - 2)
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
HOU +2 vs. LAC...W
NYG -1 vs. LV...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W
SFO -3 vs. CHI...W

TICKET #4 (Record: 39 - 44 - 2)
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
HOU +2 vs. LAC...W
TB -5.5 vs. MIA...L
NOR -2.5 vs. 2.5 vs. TEN...W
BUF -1 vs. PHI...L

TICKET #5 (Record: 42 - 42 - 1)
GB -3 vs. BAL...L
LAC -2 vs. HOU....W
NYG -1 vs. LV...W
IND +6.5 vs. JAX...W
SFO -3 vs. CHI...W

< This completes the picks for Week 17 >

WESTGATE SUPERCONTEST NFL CONTEST -- WEEK 16
-- 5 entries / $1500 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 741 entries / $1,126,000 prize pool

Notes: A reminder that none of the tickets are playing for last place now. Everything focuses on the final mini-contest, which is Weeks 16/17/18.

TICKET #1 (Record: 34 - 43 - 3)
SEA -1 v LAR...P
NOR -4.5 v NYJ...W
TB -2.5 v CAR...L
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W
SFO -6.5 v IND...W

TICKET #2 (Record: 38 - 40 - 2)
NOR -4.5 v NYJ...W
TB -2.5 v CAR...L
TEN +3 v KC...W
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W
CIN -4 v MIA...W

TICKET #3 (Record: 38 - 40 - 2)
NOR -4.5 v NYJ...W
TB -2.5 v CAR...L
TEN +3 v KC...W
HOU -14 v LV...L
CIN -4 v MIA...W

TICKET #4 (Record: 37 - 41 - 2)
NOR -4.5 v NYJ...W
TB -2.5 v CAR...L
TEN +3 v KC...W
HOU -14 v LV...L
CIN -4 v MIA...W

TICKET #5 (Record: 38 - 41 - 1)
PHI -6.5 v WAS...W
NOR -4.5 v NYJ...W
TB -2.5 v CAR...L
TEN +3 v KC...W
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W

< This completes the picks for Week 16 >

CIRCA MILLIONS NFL FOOTBALL CONTEST -- WEEK 15
-- 5 entries / $1000 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 5,685 entries

Notes: Look for a comprehensive report on all the funds, contests, results, pending futures, etc. coming up after this week. I won't bore the investing group with regrets or apologies or beats, but prefer instead to keep a businesslike approach in the final three weeks of the season. We have almost no shot of cashing at this point in the overall contest. We also lost any chance to finish in the bottom of standings, which pays cash prizes. What remains is the final quarter mini-contest (WEEKS 15/16/17/18). So, all tickets will be focused on performing well in the finale. I hope we can at least make a run at something. This same logic and strategy will also apply to the Westgate contest (see the other post).

TICKET #1 (Record: 37 - 41 - 1)
PHI -6.5 v WAS...W
NOR -5.5 v NYJ...W
NYG +3 v MIN...P
TEN +3.5 v KC...W
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W

TICKET #2 (Record: 39 - 40 - 1)
NOR -5.5 v NYJ...W
TEN +3.5 v KC...W
ARZ +3 v ATL...L
HOU -14 v LV...L
CIN -4.5 v MIA...W

TICKET #3 (Record: 38 - 41 - 1)
PHI -6.5 v WAS...W
NOR -5.5 NYJ...W
TEN +3.5 v KC...W
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W
CIN -4.5 v MIA...W

TICKET #4 (Record: 40 - 37 - 1)
NOR -5.5 v NYJ...W
NYG +3 v MIN...P
TEN +3.5 v KC...W
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W
CIN -4.5 v MIA...W

TICKET #5 (Record: 35 - 43 - 2)
SEA -1.5 v LAR...L
NWE +3 v BAL...W
TB -3 v TB...L
LAC +2.5 v DAL...W
SFO -5.5 v IND...W

< This completes the picks for Week 16 >

CIRCA MILLIONS NFL FOOTBALL CONTEST -- WEEK 15
-- 5 entries / $1000 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 5,685 entries

Note: Similar situation here to the Westgate contest and picks. The mini-contests mean were resetting again at 0-0, and we need to go 13-2 or better to have any shot of cashing in the mini. That will commence NEXT WEEK. Also see my comments about one ticket playing for contest overall last place.

TICKET #1 (Record: 29 - 36 - 0)
CIN +2.5 v BAL...L
LAC +5.5 v KC...W
NYG -2.5 v WAS...L
CAR -2.5 v NOR
DET +6 v LAR

TICKET #2 (Record: 35 - 34 - 1)
CLE +75 v CHI...L
CIN +2.5 v BAL...L
LAC +5.5 v KC...W
CAR -2.5 v NOR
DAL -5.5 v MIN

TICKET #3 (Record: 31 - 34 - 0)
CLE +7.5 v CHI...L
NY -2.5 v WAS...L
CAR -2.5 v NOR
DET +6 v LAR
DAL -5.5 v MIN

TICKET #4 (Record: 33 - 30 - 2)
CLE +7.5 v CHI...L
CIN +2.5 v BAL...L
LAC +5.5 v KC...W
NYG -2.5 v WAS...L
CAR -2.5 v NOR

TICKET #5 (Record: 27 - 41 - 2) *we want to lose these picks because we are playing for last place
CHI -7.5 v CLE...W (of course!)
BUF (pk) v NWE...W (of course!)
BAL -2.5 v CIN...W (of course!)
WAS +2.5 v NYG...W (of course!)
NOR +2.5 v CAR

* FOOTNOTE: Deciding to go for a "lose" strategy on tickets is an imprecise judgment. We flipped back to the "win" strategy on all but one ticket once we reboot the mini-contests (and this starts a new one this week). Since one of these "bad" tickets continues to lose, we will maintain the same strategy of picking losers because that's probably optimal strategy to cash someplace in the contest. Ticket #5 is the s**t ticket. This strategy could change next week, with the final mini-contest.

< This completes the picks for Week 15 >

WESTGATE SUPERCONTEST NFL CONTEST -- WEEK 15
-- 5 entries / $1500 each / 5 picks per ticket
-- closed with 741 entries / $1,126,000 prize pool

Notes: My apologies for posting this late. This week isn't as consequential as usual, mostly because we are likely down to one final mini-contest which begins next week (Weeks 16-18). Unless we get super hot, we're likely playing out the contest with little chance of cashing. More commentary coming later.

TICKET #1 (Record: 30 - 38 - 2)
ARZ +9.5 v HOU...L
CLE +7.5 v CHI...L
NWE +1 v BUF...L
CIN +2.5 v BAL...L
GB -2 v DEN....

TICKET #2 (Record: 34 - 34 - 2)
JAX -13.5 v NYJ...W
CLE +7.5 v CHI...L
NYG -2.5 v WAS...L
GB -2 v DEN
CAR -2.5 v NOR

TICKET #3 (Record: 34 - 35 - 2)
CIN +2.5 v BAL...L
NYG -2.5 v WAS...L
CAR -2.5 v NOR
DET +6 v LAR
MIN +5.5 v DAL (note-this was a mistake, I clicked wrong side!)

TICKET #4 (Record: 33 - 35 - 2)
CLE +7.5 v CHI...L
CIN +2.5 v BAL...L
LAC +4.5 v KC...W
NYG -2.5 v WAS...L
CAR -2.5 v NOR

TICKET #5 (Record: 28 - 41 - 1) *we want to lose these picks.
CHI -7.5 v CLE...W
BAL -2.5 v CIN...W
KC -4.5 v LAC...L
WAS +2.5 v NYG...W (faaaaaawwwwwk!)
NOR +2.5 v CAR

< This completes the picks for Week 15 >