Bryan Boren, a 46-year-old Henderson resident and Buffalo native, cashed in big at the Westgate SuperContest, taking home $321,630 in prize money after going 61-28-2 against the spread. His entry, “Biffs Almanac,” finished atop a field of 751 entries, winning the main prize of $231,630 plus an additional $90,000 from three in-season contests. Boren, who works in software sales and typically bets $20 or $50, entered the contest for $1,500.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Boren said. “To stamp this in the history books is just super cool for me. The money’s obviously the best part, but the validation means a lot. My personal action is pretty small, so this has made me a profitable sports bettor in life.”
Boren started strong, going 33-12 (73.3%) over the first nine weeks, and held a five-point lead entering Week 18. He clinched the title when the Minnesota Vikings (-7½) covered in a 16-3 win over the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings held sentimental value: purple was his mother’s favorite color, and the team was his father’s favorite. “I immediately went online and ordered a Vikings hat,” he said.
Boren relies on point spread movement rather than heavy analytics. “I’m not a big fan of analytics. There are some stats I look at here and there, but really it’s just tied to that number and how that number moves, and why it moves is really what I’m trying to decipher,” he explained.
His winning picks included the Raiders (+3) in Week 9, when Las Vegas lost 30-29 in overtime after a failed two-point conversion. “It was a very intense week for me. I had never been in a position before to win this kind of money doing this,” Boren said.
SuperContest Gold
Barry Witlin, 72, a lawyer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, won the $5,000-entry SuperContest Gold with a 56-33-1 ATS record, taking the $335,000 winner-take-all prize. His entry, “Integrity Alert,” topped 67 entries. Witlin also placed three entries tied for fifth in the main SuperContest (over $50,000) and three tied for 30th in the Circa Sports Million (over $50,000). After starting 1-4 and 2-3, Witlin and his partner rebounded. “It’s such a long grind. It’s a lot of sweating. You have to understand it’s a marathon, not a sprint. You’re going to have bad weeks,” he said. Witlin, a Chicago native, was introduced to betting by his grandmother’s brother, a bookmaker during the Al Capone era. He took a one-point lead into Week 18 and went 4-1, recommending underdogs overall: “I don’t think you can do great taking favorites more than taking underdogs. The lines are too tight and too good.”
