The great Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest, in which players choose five games per week against the Hilton spread, has people rooting for teams rather than individuals.

A season-long price tag of $1,500 places one in a tournament guaranteed to pay down to about 20 places, with last year’s winner receiving $210,000 from an entry field of 350. This event creates bragging rights and entrepreneurs, coaxing some past winners, for instance, to open their own handicapping service. Its risk-reward component compared to fantasy is proportional: a higher entry fee, but a much smaller field to compete against.

What a life-changing event for one sustained streak. We’ve all been there, riding one bountiful season that presents the illusion of handicapping immortality. What if that hot season came in this tournament? The 2008 winner, named Fezzik, was 54-26-5. Twentieth position had 49 wins—five wins over nearly four months was the difference between hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Jay Kornegay, one of the nation’s premier sports book operators, indicates some rules have changed to allow more entries. The selection deadline has been moved back from Fridays to Saturday morning, encouraging people who work or travel in from out of state to make their weekly selections, which must be done in person (or via proxy).

The SuperContest began taking entries July 31. Players receive one point for each correct selection, with ties counting as a half. It’s a tantalizing proposition. The season has enough selections, 85, to avoid being a luck-dominated crapshoot. Yet the sample is small enough to demand precision and penalize a cold spell.

The season-long tie-break only applies to first place and is awarded to the best total over the final three weeks of the season.

Think of the crazy bounces, crucial calls, tipped passes, last-second covers and blown field goals, and 1,500 might be your blood pressure.

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.