When he moved from Chicago to Las Vegas in August 1992, Chuck Edel did not have definite plans to be a professional sports bettor. He was in the hotel business and initially took a job as a bartender.
“I was always betting from the day I came out here,” Edel said. “Sports betting was my passion. I didn’t know exactly how it was going to work out. It was probably an unrealistic goal in the back of my mind.”
What led Edel down a different career path? He will detail the story Sept. 5 when visiting the VSiN studio to pick up his green jacket and trophy for winning the Circa Friday Football Invitational handicapping contest, which is set to return for a fourth year. Edel collected the champion’s $15,000 check a long time ago.
Edel’s dominant performance during the 2024 season — 79-44-3 against the spread — is an example of why Circa owner Derek Stevens sees value in bankrolling the contest.
“What I love about the Friday football contest is that it gives bettors across the country the ability to see what all the sharp bettors are doing over the next 48 hours,” Stevens said. “The contest allows VSiN listeners to hear the latest and greatest information from respected bettors.”
Edel, known as “The Iceman” for his resemblance to former UFC great Chuck Liddell, earned a five-year exemption into the Friday Football Invitational field. He will be joined by former champions Chris “The Bear” Fallica (2022) and the “Mad Russian” Jeff Petch (2023). Fallica, a Fox Sports analyst, finished fourth last year.
Edel spent last season serving up football winners instead of drinks. After working some different jobs in Las Vegas for a decade, he said, “Betting became my only job around 2003.”
The contest’s top five finishers earn exempt status for the following year, so Alex White, Chris Macero and Weston Stradtman are also automatically included in the 25-handicapper field for 2025. White, a Las Vegas handicapper and the daughter of veteran oddsmaker Kenny White, placed second with a 73-49-4 ATS record. Macero, a San Diego pro bettor, was third and posted the contest’s top Best Bet record (13-5). Stradtman, a handicapper from Nashville, Tenn., finished fifth.
The Circa Friday Football Invitational is a VSIN-produced event featuring a comprehensive format that includes the college football and NFL schedules and is designed to crown the season’s most successful all-around handicapper.
All contestants submit seven plays — college and NFL sides and totals — using the Circa Sports lines posted at 10 a.m. PT each Friday. All contestants use the same lines and the seven plays must be submitted no later than 3 p.m. PT. The plays will be revealed on a VSiN show airing Friday nights and also will be published on VSIN.com.
Stevens said he especially appreciates the contest’s survivor element: At the conclusion of Week 9 of the NFL schedule, the two contestants with the lowest point totals will be cut. A similar elimination process continues through Week 16. The two contestants with the lowest point totals will be cut each week through Week 15; at the conclusion of Week 16, the three contestants with the lowest point totals will be cut, leaving the eight remaining contestants to compete to the end.
The contest begins Friday, Sept. 5 and continues each Friday through January 16, 2026. The format features two significant changes this year:
- The contest is expanding from 18 weeks to 20 to include more NFL and college playoff games.
- The prize money has increased from $25,000 to $30,000 and the top five finishers will be paid instead of only the top three.
A year ago, the field was expanded from 16 to 25 contestants, with the 25th spot awarded to the winner of a VSiN subscriber promotion. Pete Wilder of Los Angeles won that initial promotion and finished eighth in the Friday contest. Drew Bridges, a retired California lawyer, won the 2024 “Average Joe” contest on VSiN.com and earned an automatic spot this year. Bridges posted a 75-49-2 ATS record to top a field of 157 contestants.
The subscriber contest will return in 2025, and prizes will be awarded in addition to the champion earning an automatic spot in next year’s Circa Friday Football Invitational.
Stevens is putting up the $30,000 in total prize money: $15,000 for the winner, $8,000 for second place, $4,000 for third, $2,000 for fourth and $1,000 for fifth.
Unlike the Circa Million and Survivor contests, which require a $1,000 entry fee, the Friday Football Invitational is free to play and requires an invitation from Circa and VSiN contest management.
Stevens’ decision to boost the prize money this season is consistent with his trend of bumping up the guarantees in his other contests. Stevens oversees the two biggest NFL handicapping contests in the world — the Circa Survivor ($15 million guaranteed) and Circa Million VII ($6 million guaranteed). He added the Circa Grandissimo ($100,000 entry fee and $1.5 million guaranteed) for this season.
“When we started the Million, we thought the contest would be a great way to get sports fans to visit our new property, Circa Las Vegas,” Stevens said. “We wanted to grow our football contests and thought a few new elements we brought to the contests, specifically quarterly payouts, guaranteed minimum payouts, no rake and some fun, catchy advertising would allow us to grow our contests quickly. Today, our football contests have grown to levels we never dream about.”
There are seven automatic qualifiers in this year’s Circa Friday Football Invitational. The remaining 18 contestants will be announced over the next four weeks.
Former champions
Chuck Edel @chuckedel
Professional bettor from Las Vegas; 2024 Circa Friday Football Invitational champion and 2022 CFFI runner-up.
Jeff Petch @MadRussianNFL
Professional handicapper from Florida; 2023 Circa Friday Football Invitational champion, 2021 Circa Million runner-up.
Chris Fallica @chrisfallica
Fox Sports analyst; 2022 Circa Friday Football Invitational champion and 2024 CFFI fourth-place finisher.
Top 5 finishers last year
Alex White @alexwhitee
Las Vegas handicapper and media personality; 2024 CFFI second-place finisher, winner of Station Casinos Last Man Standing College Football contest in 2022.
Chris Macero @RealGadge
Professional bettor from San Diego; 2024 CFFI third-place finisher, Circa Million top 20 finish in 2019.
Weston Stradtman @guyincornfields
The original “Average Joe” and a handicapper from Nashville, Tenn.; 2023 Circa Friday Football Invitational fourth-place finisher and 2024 CFFI fifth-place finisher.
VSiN.com Average Joe Contest winner
Drew Bridges @DrewfromBoise
Retired California lawyer who lives in Boise, Idaho; VSIN.com “Average Joe” contest champion with a 75-49-2 ATS record in 2024.
CIRCA FRIDAY FOOTBALL INVITATIONAL 2025 OFFICIAL RULES
Twenty-five invited handicappers compete — with no entry fee required — in a season-long contest with $30,000 in prizes awarded.
When: Friday, September 5 through Friday, January 16, 2026 (20 weeks)
Where: VSiN studio in the Circa sportsbook
Contest plays: Seven plays per week for each of the first 18 weeks, and the plays must be college and NFL full-game sides and totals (no props, team totals or first-half plays) with one designated as the Best Bet (BB). Contestants are limited to four college football totals per week.
—Three plays per week for Week 19 and Week 20, and the plays will come from the NFL and College Football Playoff schedule, with the January 19, 2026 national championship game representing the final game of the contest.
—Plays will be graded as one point for a win — a Best Bet winner is worth 1.5 points — and a half-point for a push. If a game is canceled or postponed, it’s graded to be worth a half-point; all games, including any postponed games, must be played by the following Thursday; a postponed game would be graded to be worth a half-point.
—The Best Bet (BB) point total will be used as a tiebreaker if needed.
Use the Circa Sports lines posted at 10 a.m. PT Fridays. All contestants are using the same lines. Any contestant failing to designate a Best Bet will get a zero for the Best Bet record that week.
—All plays must be submitted via VSIN.com no later than 3 p.m. PT each Friday; any contestant who misses the deadline gets zero points for the week.
Prize structure: Circa owner Derek Stevens is awarding $30,000 in total prize money: $15,000 for the winner, $8,000 for second place, $4,000 for third place, $2,000 for fourth place and $1,000 for fifth place. The winner also receives a trophy and a green jacket.
Contest field/format: The contest begins Friday, September 5 and continues each Friday through January 16, 2026.
—In December and January during the college bowl season, any games scheduled through the following Thursday can be used in the contest (and any games must be scored as final on that Thursday to count). For the final week, only games scheduled through Monday, January 19 can be used in the contest (and any game must be scored as final on that Monday to count).
—If there is a disruption to the weekly football schedule and more than 50% of the scheduled NFL games get canceled, all remaining contestants will continue to the following week.
Elimination rounds: At the conclusion of Week 9 of the NFL schedule (the Friday, October 31 contest week), the two contestants with the lowest point totals will be cut.
The same elimination process — with one exception — will continue each week for the following seven weeks through Week 16 of the NFL schedule (the Friday, December 19 contest week). The two contestants with the lowest point totals will be cut each week through Week 15; at the conclusion of Week 16, the three contestants with the lowest point totals will be cut.
—At the conclusion of NFL Week 16, the eight remaining contestants compete to the end.
—If there is a tie for last place in any elimination week, the Best Bet (BB) point total for the two or more contestants will be used as a tiebreaker to cut one contestant; if there still is a tie, the most recent week’s Best Bet (BB) result will be the tiebreaker, and that process of grading Best Bets continues in reverse order until the tie is broken.
(Derek Stevens has the authority to make a final ruling on any contest rules disputes.)
