Circa Ultimate Contest Weekend Recap
Sean Green (@SeanTGreen) and Ryan Kramer (@KramerCentric) broadcast live from Circa Ultimate Contest Weekend in Las Vegas, sitting down with former NFL running back Austin Ekeler, SIN Money Moves’ Jonathan Van Tobel (@ItsMeJVT), Circa proxy Vegas Maddie, The Morning After’s Jared Smith, Last Man Standing’s Tony Farmer, and Pick Six Previews’ Brett Ciencia to break down Circa Survivor and Circa Millions strategy, NFL win totals, and college football futures ahead of the 2026 season.
Sean and Ryan set up shop on Circa’s radio row for the whole weekend. They taped six interviews back to back. Meanwhile, the contest numbers were flying off the board while they recorded. Everyone who sat down had money in play. Ryan even threatened to tackle Austin Ekeler on air. This is the show for anyone building a survivor map or shopping win totals before Week 1. Circa Survivor and Circa Millions ran through nearly every conversation, and the college futures closed it out.
Austin Ekeler Took The Stairs To The NFL
Ekeler is 5-foot-8, 195 pounds. He built a nine-year career out of being underestimated. He had one D-II offer out of a Colorado farm town, Western Colorado. He led the entire NFL in tackles on punt coverage as a rookie. That was the only way onto the field. His first career handoff went for a 34-yard touchdown against the Eagles. The 2017 Jacksonville game is the one that put him on the fantasy map. He scored twice in relief of an injured Melvin Gordon. He also told the Hard Knocks goal-line leap story. Anthony Lynn stacked five bags on barrels. The only guy who had cleared it before Ekeler was LaDainian Tomlinson.
Ekeler is running his own free contest this year at Fantasy Royale. About 8,000 people have signed up already. There are leaderboards by state, city and fan base. His running back read is worth stealing. The committee guys scare him for fantasy, but the split kept his body fresh. His most efficient season came in Year 8 with Washington rotating three backs. He ran 5.2 yards a carry and around 11 a reception. He felt good walking off the field every week. And when Ekeler drafts a fantasy team, he trades up to take himself.
The Circa Survivor Math With JVT And Vegas Maddie
JVT laid out his contest slate with co-host Stormy. They have a couple of survivor entries plus his own Circa Millions ticket. He is leaning Jacksonville in Week 1. Sean and Ryan are sitting on the chalky Chargers. His live dog is Arizona. He wants the Cardinals as a double-digit underdog, ideally 10 or 10.5. He made the case on Jacoby Brissett‘s 23-touchdown, 6-interception season. He also loves Houston catching a point at home against Buffalo as a teaser leg. The Carson Wentz Colts scar tissue is still real. He once had a 50-1 AFC futures ticket die the same week they used Indy in survivor.
Vegas Maddie is Circa’s proxy to the stars. She gave the actual pace. Circa Survivor sat around $25 million while they taped. That is roughly 60% ahead of last year. There are three Saturdays and two full weeks left to sign up. She thinks it could push toward $28 million. Meanwhile, Circa Millions has never hit 6,000 entries. It is the harder ticket, five picks against the spread every week for eighteen weeks. Her biggest proxied score was a survivor haul between $1.5 and $3 million. Last year a client finished third in the Millions for $400,000, one point short of the whole thing. Here is her best pitch for a proxy. Over 100 people forgot to submit a Week 1 survivor pick last year. The deadline is 1 PM Pacific. She once dragged a no-picker to a $200,000 finish after he went 13-2 down the stretch.
Jared Smith’s Island Takes And The Dallas Fight
Jared Smith brought the win-total island takes. He is off New Orleans. He called the Saints quarterback’s passing prop way too high and took the under as a big preseason position. He is on Tampa Bay over 8.5. He is also fading Baltimore at 11.5. He points to a rookie head coach and a Lamar Jackson who ran for about 350 yards last year. His award angles are fun. He likes Joe Burrow for MVP with the best receiving room in football. He also wants a safety to win Defensive Player of the Year off New Orleans’ rebuilt secondary. His Week 1 lean is the home divisional dog. He wants the Giants plus the field, up to 3.5. He also wants points on the international games, including the Niners in Australia.
Then came the disagreement of the episode. Smith went slightly bullish on Dallas. He said this is the year they figure it out. The hosts jumped him for it. He walked it back to the honest version. He does not have them as a Super Bowl team. He does see a culture change on defense with a new coordinator after the Micah Parsons fallout. His reminder landed: everyone trashed Brian Schottenheimer a year ago, and now they call him a good coach. Sean and Ryan stayed off. Ryan’s counter was an Abdul Carter strip-sack of Dak Prescott tanking the whole bet.
Tony Farmer’s Rabbit Holes And Brett Ciencia’s CFB Board
Tony Farmer of Last Man Standing ran through the media stories he has been reporting. The Diana Russini Coach of the Year ballot cost him real money. She left Ben Johnson off despite his 29 first-place votes. He is also digging on the Kyle Shanahan crash and the Palo Alto records fight. The Jed York board removal broke just hours before taping. On the contest side he is playing 10 entries. He is running a Grand DCMO syndicate for the first time, 10 investors with him as the trigger man. He is torn between Jacksonville and the field in Week 1. He still will not forgive the Cowboys for an overtime Thanksgiving loss to the Raiders in 2021. His survivor projection lands near the 24.5 consensus. And Circa takes no rake, so every dollar goes back to the players.
Brett Ciencia of Pick Six Previews closed it out with the college futures. He is calling Oregon to win the national title. That would be the Ducks’ first ever. Also, eight of his top 16 teams come from the SEC. His value playoff longshots at plus money are Oklahoma, Ole Miss and USC, all around +200 to +250. He is going under Penn State’s 9.5 wins. He also flagged a Heisman trend. The preseason favorite has not won since Marcus Mariota in 2014. So he is shopping arms deep down the board. He likes Washington’s Demond Williams at 60-1 and SMU’s Kevin Jennings at 80-1. His Week 1 card starts with TCU over UNC. That line opened 6.5, and his own number has the Frogs by 12.
NFL Previews
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
00:44 Circa Weekend Recap & Guest Preview
04:08 Austin Ekeler: Career Path & Chargers Stories
17:12 Austin Ekeler: Fantasy Royale & RB Value
26:08 JVT: Circa Entries & Survivor Strategy with Stormy
35:27 JVT: NFL Week 1 Card — Cardinals, Saints, Bills & More
42:32 Vegas Maddie: Circa Proxy Service & Pool Projections
55:46 Jared Smith: NFL Win Totals, Island Takes & Media Buzz
01:11:42 Tony Farmer: Racini, Shanahan Crash & Jed York Deep Dive
01:23:41 Tony Farmer: Circa Survivor, Grand DCMO & Week 1 Picks
01:32:27 Brett Ciencia (Pick Six Previews): CFB Playoff Picks, Heisman Watch & Week 1
01:44:34 Thank You for Participating in the Sports Gambling Podcast
