Registration for the 2016 SuperContest began on July 1st and we have noticed that the Westgate has made a few changes to the contest this year.
First, the Westgate has decided to take an 8% administrative fee from the total entry fees – which will reduce the overall payouts to players. The top fifty places will still receive payouts (this number was increased from 30 places last year), but those in the money will simply receive a smaller percentage than previously. For years the contest had returned 100% of the entry fees as prize money, but with the growth of the contest and rising costs it could be that the Westgate decided it needed to at least cover its costs. In fact, for years the contest returned more than 100% as the casino had always put up extra prize money for the “mini-contest” and the “67% bonus” which totaled an additional 30K that players received. All in all, this is reasonable change and should not really affect the player experience. With the growth of the contest, the payouts have more than tripled from ten years ago, so players who pick well can still reap substantial rewards even while sharing the pie with the contest sponsor.
The Second change is again cost related. The Westgate has begun charging a 3% service fee for using your credit card to pay the entry fee. Frankly, I was amazed that they allowed credit card payments without a fee because they were basically eating the fees taken out by the credit card companies for all these years. They will still accept personal checks for your entry fee (up until about a 4-5 days before start of the contest) and of course, they accept cash.
Third change — you are now required to have a players card in order to sign up for the contest. This change does not present any financial cost to the player as it is free and they will set one up for you at the window, but it does present a cost in the extra time that it takes to get registered. I imagine that the lines during SuperContest Weekend will be quite long if people have not obtained their player’s cards in advance. So, if you would like to make the process a little smoother, don’t forget to bring your player’s card or if you don’t have one try to get it before registering for the contest.
The Fourth and Fifth changes actually benefit the players… Yay!!!! OK – sorry I could not help myself. The Westgate has raised the prize money for the “mini-contest” and the “67% bonus” from 15K to 20K. So, at least part of that 8% administrative fee is being put back into the players’ pockets.
Even though people may not agree that all the changes have been for the better this year, the fact still remains that the SuperContest is the premiere football handicapping contest in the country. You get to compete against the best and may be handsomely rewarded for your efforts.
Registration for the 2016 SuperContest began on July 1st and we have noticed that the Westgate has made a few changes to the contest this year.
First, the Westgate has decided to take an 8% administrative fee from the total entry fees – which will reduce the overall payouts to players. The top fifty places will still receive payouts (this number was increased from 30 places last year), but those in the money will simply receive a smaller percentage than previously. For years the contest had returned 100% of the entry fees as prize money, but with the growth of the contest and rising costs it could be that the Westgate decided it needed to at least cover its costs. In fact, for years the contest returned more than 100% as the casino had always put up extra prize money for the “mini-contest” and the “67% bonus” which totaled an additional 30K that players received. All in all, this is reasonable change and should not really affect the player experience. With the growth of the contest, the payouts have more than tripled from ten years ago, so players who pick well can still reap substantial rewards even while sharing the pie with the contest sponsor.
The Second change is again cost related. The Westgate has begun charging a 3% service fee for using your credit card to pay the entry fee. Frankly, I was amazed that they allowed credit card payments without a fee because they were basically eating the fees taken out by the credit card companies for all these years. They will still accept personal checks for your entry fee (up until about a 4-5 days before start of the contest) and of course, they accept cash.
Third change — you are now required to have a players card in order to sign up for the contest. This change does not present any financial cost to the player as it is free and they will set one up for you at the window, but it does present a cost in the extra time that it takes to get registered. I imagine that the lines during SuperContest Weekend will be quite long if people have not obtained their player’s cards in advance. So, if you would like to make the process a little smoother, don’t forget to bring your player’s card or if you don’t have one try to get it before registering for the contest.
The Fourth and Fifth changes actually benefit the players… Yay!!!! OK – sorry I could not help myself. The Westgate has raised the prize money for the “mini-contest” and the “67% bonus” from 15K to 20K. So, at least part of that 8% administrative fee is being put back into the players’ pockets.
Even though people may not agree that all the changes have been for the better this year, the fact still remains that the SuperContest is the premiere football handicapping contest in the country. You get to compete against the best and may be handsomely rewarded for your efforts.