Announcing Edge Boost Average Joe Contest
Last season, Matt Youmans and I asked VSiN listeners and viewers why they should get a spot as the “Average Joe” to play against the “Pros” in the Circa Friday Football Invitational.
We received such a huge response and such compelling emails that we created the Average Joe Contest with the winner to earn a spot in this year’s Friday Football Invitational. It seemed like a fair way to make a decision in the future and to save me and Matt from making a difficult call with so many deserving nominations.
Drew Bridges, a retired lawyer from Boise, won last year’s contest and will be this year’s Average Joe in the Friday Football Invitational.
I’m happy to say the contest is back with a sponsor (Edge Boost) that will enable us to offer weekly prizes to the top points-winner. Plus we have quarterly prizes and even an award for last place.
The contest format essentially mirrors the Friday Football Invitational because, after all, we want to see how you do against the pro bettors and handicappers in that contest.
>Read the complete rules and sign up for the contest on this page.
Key information: It’s free, but you need a VSiN login and a password so you can enter your picks. If you are a VSiN Pro subscriber or a registered VSiN.com user, you go to the link, log in and register for the contest. If you don’t have a free account yet, you can take care of that on the contest home page.
Speaking of the Friday Football Invitational, Matt has added four more names to the 25-handicapper field.
Steve Fezzik: Professional bettor from Las Vegas; only two-time winner of the Westgate SuperContest (2008, 2009).
Tony Gordon: Professional bettor from California; 2021 Circa Million champion with the best ATS record (63-27) in contest history.
Randy McKay: Professional gambler from North Dakota; three-time major contest winner, including two at DraftKings.
Cris Zeniuk: Professional bettor from Las Vegas; winner of multiple Las Vegas football contests.
>>See who else is already in the Circa Friday Football Invitational field.
Top 40 CFB betting trends
Steve Makinen has collected his top 40 betting trends for the college football season.
Like this one:
Notre Dame is 30-9 ATS (76.9%) in road/neutral games over the last six seasons
Steve’s thoughts: This is simply an amazing trend, and with Notre Dame’s incredible national following, it astounds me that oddsmakers haven’t adjusted, or perhaps greatly over-adjusted to this point, to account for the incredible success. You don’t get to national title games by not being able to win away from home, and HC Marcus Freeman has kept this team doing so.
Potential ’25 spots: The Irish face what looks to be a challenging road schedule in 2025 with five games, starting in the opener at Miami.
>>39 more betting trends from Steve.
Check our Week 0 CFB Hub for everything we will post this week.
The VSiN College Football Betting Guide is 186 pages of previews and Best Bets. >>Download here.
MLB Today
Greg Peterson has five Best Bets for today’s MLB menu.
Adam Burke, Steve Makinen and Josh Appelbaum will file their daily contributions later this morning.
Quick Hits
NFL: With the Bengals (-3.5/43.5) routing the Commanders on Monday night, preseason Week 2 favorites finished 9-6-1 SU and 9-7 ATS. Overs went 8-8. Heading into Week 3, dogs still lead 16-13-3 SU and 18-13-1 ATS; Overs are 22-10.
Horse Racing: “Mr. Ed” Sehon handicaps the five-horse field for Saturday’s Travers Stakes. Horse racing coverage is sponsored by 1/ST BET. Get your $250 sign-up bonus.
Tennis: VSiN Pro subscribers should check the tennis picks page for plays from Gill Alexander and Zach Cohen.
Circa Football Contests: It’s Circa Contest Week here in Las Vegas. Festivities include Thursday: Cocktail party at The D; Friday: Open bar at Stadium Swim, a blackjack tournament and then a get-together at the Legacy Club; Saturday: NFL preview panel hosted by Mike Palm. Special hotel offers based on the number of entries. >>Details.
>>Need a proxy? Winners Circle Proxy is the official proxy for VSiN.
>>Watch Circa Survivor: The Quest for $14.2 Million on the VSiN YouTube page.
