Over $14 Million Claimed by Circa Survivor Pool’s Eight Winners

Patrick Everson Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Circa Survivor is so intriguing, and so gut-wrenching, that even if you're not in the contest, you feel the emotion of winners and losers. NFL Week 18 brought the sheer exhilaration of eight entries cashing out for nearly $2 million apiece.

When the 2024 Circa Survivor pool began, there were 14,266 entries, at $1,000 apiece. Heading into Week 18, there were 18 remaining. After the dust settled Sunday, there were eight winners claiming their share of the massive $14.266 million pot.

Here's everything you need to know about the Circa Survivor pool as it concludes its fifth season.

Circa Survivor Pool

Down To The Wire

Circa Survivor's final 18 entries spread their last picks among just five teams. Four of those teams played in Sunday's early window, and what an insane window it was.

Eight entries pinned their hope for millions on the Atlanta Falcons, vs. the Carolina Panthers. Five entries took the two-touchdown-favorite Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the New Orleans Saints.

Two entries took the Green Bay Packers, double-digit faves vs. the Chicago Bears. And two entries took the Indianapolis Colts at home vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars. From there, it was high drama.

All four results went to the final minutes, including two games going to overtime.

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"It's really never played out like this before," Circa Las Vegas owner Derek Stevens said of his sportsbook's huge Circa Survivor pool. "The last hour of the opening window of games was incredible."

Atlanta fell in overtime 44-38, eliminating almost half of the 18 entries. Green Bay tumbled 24-22 on a final-seconds Chicago field goal.

Tampa Bay trailed New Orleans 16-6 at halftime, but rallied for a 27-19 victory. And Indy got dragged to overtime, too, edging Jacksonville 26-23.

"You never know. That's what is so beautiful with Survivor," Stevens said. "You could never even dream of how this plays out on the last day. It's crazy."

They Have The Meats

A group of buddies who call themselves The Meatballs – they all work in the meat-selling business – held one of the eight winning entries. The Meatballs had the Colts in Week 18 and rode the emotional roller-coaster through overtime of Indy's win.

That gave the group a windfall of $1,783,250 to split among each member. Colby Strilaeff, one of The Meatballs, explained part of the logic of taking the inconsistent Colts: necessity.

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"We didn't have the Falcons, Bucs or Packers available. So it was the Colts or the Cardinals," Strilaeff said. "It's Joe Flacco, maybe in his last game, and the Colts are at home. And not many entries would have the Colts.

"So we felt good about it."

Just in case, though, The Meatballs hedged, as did surely all 18 entries in the running for the big pot. As fate would have it, they won the hedge, too. Rather than taking Jaguars moneyline, they put $120,000 on Jags +5 (-120) on the spread.

The Colts' 3-point win added another $100,000 to The Meatballs' winnings.

Praising Arizona

Along with two entries that took the Colts and five entries on the Bucs, the only other winner in the Circa Survivor pool was an entry that took the Arizona Cardinals. In fact, that was the only pick of the final 18 that didn't involve a team in the early window.

Arizona hosted San Francisco in Sunday's late window, and it was tight through three quarters, with the Cards up 26-24. But Kyler Murray & Co. outscored the Niners 21-0 in the final 15 minutes, posting a 47-24 rout.

As the early games unfolded and the prospect existed of the Bucs, Falcons, Packers and Colts all losing, that Cardinals play looked genius-like.

"The guy who had the Cardinals could've had it all. He was staring $14.266 million right down the barrel," Circa Sports director of operations Jeff Benson said.

Instead, he got got the only sweat-free win of the bunch, collecting his $1,783,250 share. But that wasn't nearly as exciting as four games going on at the same time, with literally life-changing millions on the line for the Survivors.

"When you think of fairytales, that was a storybook ending," Circa Sports director of operations Jeff Benson said. "Everybody talks about Week 18 being awful, the games not being meaningful. Circa Survivor changes that.

"You're simultaneously living and dying with every throw, every run, every kick."

Patrick Everson

Patrick Everson is a senior reporter for VegasInsider. Based in Las Vegas since 1994, he's worked in the sports betting journalism/content space for more than a decade. He's most known for his deep roster of contacts behind sportsbook counters, providing readers and viewers with the ins-and-outs of how events are being bet. He's also a thought leader in the sports betting space, often appearing on or moderating panels at national conferences. More from Patrick Everson