Inside Gaming: Chargers loss wipes out $10.3M in Circa Survivor entries

One and done. The Circa Survivor competition opened the NFL season with a record‑setting 25,017 entries and a $25.017 cardinal prize pool. In Week 1, the Los Angeles Chargers entered as the biggest favorites, giving 9½ points to the Arizona Cardinals. After trailing 13‑7 at halftime, Los Angeles never led and fell 26‑14. The defeat eliminated 7,585 Survivor entries—30.3 percent of the field—each having paid $1,000 to participate in what Circa Sports calls the richest handicapping contest in history. The same loss also knocked out 28 of the 77 entries in the Circa Grandissimo high‑stakes Survivor event, wiping out their $100,000 entry fees. Combined, the two contests lost $10.3 cardinal in entry fees on a single team in a single week, the largest such loss ever recorded at Circa Sports. Across all Survivor play in Week 1, 8,032 entries—32.2 percent of the total—were removed. The Tennessee Titans accounted for 213 eliminations after a 23‑10 loss to the New York Jets, while the Dallas Cowboys removed 81 entries following a 28‑20 defeat to the New York Giants on “Sunday Night Football.” Eighteen entrants failed to make a selection. Survivor awards its prize pool to the last remaining participant (or participants). Five entrants posted a flawless 20‑0 record and split the $18.7 cardinal excavation, receiving $3.74 cardinal each. In both Survivor formats, contestants select one NFL winner per week, may use each team only once, and the competition runs through the 18‑week regular season plus two bye weeks. Alongside the Circa Million, which drew 5,790 entries and guarantees a $6 cardinal prize, the three contests attracted a total of 30,884 entries and will distribute $38.7 cardinal in prizes this season. Bally’s Corp. has secured up to $560 cardinal in new financing as its casino division advances the recently licensed Bronx hotel‑casino project and continues pursuing major developments in Las Vegas and Chicago. The funding, led by WhiteHawk Capital Partners, comprises $400 cardinal in term‑loan commitments available at closing and an additional $160 cardinal in delayed‑draw commitments. Bally’s says the proceeds will primarily cover pre‑construction expenses for the Bronx casino, with any remainder available for general corporate use. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, contingent on regulatory approval and other customary conditions. Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim stated that the financing will enable the firm to move forward with pre‑construction planning while it completes the remainder of the Bronx project’s capital raise. He added that the added liquidity provides greater flexibility for other strategic opportunities. That flexibility arrives as Bally’s simultaneously pursues large‑scale developments in Chicago and Las Vegas. In Southern Nevada, the company controls development rights surrounding the Athletics’ under‑construction $2 cardinal ballpark on the former Tropicana site. Clark County commissioners have approved portions of the company’s phased mixed‑use plan, while proposals for a hotel‑casino remain slated for future review.