Sean Perry is out of the Circa Survivor football contest after the Denver Broncos lost 26-23 on a last-minute field goal by the New England Patriots. The high-stakes poker player had refused to chop the $9.3 million prize when 13 contestants remained.
Of the ten entries that were left in the contest for Week 16, six picked the Broncos, while the remaining four players split their choices among the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, and Green Bay Packers. All three teams won, which leaves just four entries to fight for the $9.3 million prize — or chop it if they wish.
The popular contest is held by Circa Sports every football season and the 2023 edition attracted 9,267 entries at $1,000 apiece to create a winner-take-all prize of $9,267,000. Players choose a winner each week and they can only pick each team once per entry. Entries are eliminated when players choose a losing team and the contest ends when one entry remains.
“Why Would I Chop When I Have an Edge?”
The loss comes after Perry went public in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal to explain his reasons for refusing to split the prize pool. Perry turned down a chop that would have given each player $400,000 while the rest would go to the winner.
“Why would I chop when I have an edge?” Perry told Todd Dewey of the LVRJ. “If you do $400K each, any money I take out of the prize pool is money I’m, in theory, losing because I have an edge. I believe I have the best team left, and I’m confident in my ability. This is what I do. I’m a big-time crusher. I’ve been the biggest winner in sports for the longest time.”
There are no consolation prizes, so Perry will win nothing for his deep run. Each remaining entry is worth about $2.3 million if all four players decide on an even chop. Only three weeks are remaining in the contest, with Christmas Day counting as its own Week 16b.
Live Reporting Executive
Las Vegas-based PokerNews Live Reporting Executive, originally from Chicago, IL