A tiebreaker rule that neither finalist knew existed turned a planned $750,000 split into a $1 million windfall for Chris Coyne and a $500,000 consolation for Thomas Patochek and Jeff McElmurry in the Circa Sports Million NFL handicapping contest.
Both entries finished the 18-week regular season with identical 60-29-1 records against the spread, which under most circumstances would have meant each claiming $750,000. But the contest’s fine print stipulates that the first-place prize of $1 million goes to the entrant with the most winning weeks. Coyne, using the alias “Coynehop,” had 15 winning weeks to Patochek and McElmurry’s 14.
“We have the tiebreaker because we want one entry to get $1 million,” said Mike Palm, vice president of operations for Circa, The D and Golden Gate casinos, during Friday’s check presentation ceremony at Circa. “This way, it’s guaranteed. We don’t want eight people chopping first. We want somebody to get that check for $1 million.”
The contest, which costs $1,000 to enter, drew 5,685 entries. A record $31.6 million was awarded across all Circa contests.
Coyne, a 34-year-old from Brooklyn, New York, said he went to bed thinking he would split the top two prizes evenly. “I didn’t know there was a tiebreaker,” he said. “I went to bed thinking it was a chop for $750,000. You can’t complain about that. Then I turned over the next morning and see all the texts from my buddies saying, ‘You won the Million on a tiebreaker.’”
Patochek, 59, of Nashville, Tennessee, and McElmurry, 47, a Las Vegas resident, celebrated their final-week win on “Sunday Night Football” when the Steelers (+3½) beat the Ravens 26-24. They assumed they had secured a $750,000 payday. “Until about 11 p.m. Nashville time,” Patochek said, when they learned via social media they had lost on the tiebreaker. “It was a high mitigated by a low that night going to bed to waking up going, ‘You can’t complain.’”
Patochek admitted he would have hedged differently had he known the tiebreaker existed. He had placed a $39,000 hedge on Baltimore. “If Pittsburgh covers, we tie for first. If Baltimore covers, we tie for third. The difference being $750,000 versus $350,000. I hedged myself accordingly to soften it a little bit. But I didn’t read the rules about the tiebreaker,” he said. “It’s a cautionary tale for people. It’s on me for not reading the rules.”
Coyne, who held a one-point lead entering the final game, chose not to hedge. “It’s either $750,000 or a million. Am I going to be that much happier?” he said. “Had I done it, I would’ve won $1.1 (million).”
Coyne, who works in finance and sales and is married with two children, said he relies on gut instinct and fading the public rather than models. “I have no models. I have no Excel spreadsheets. I’m sitting there putting in picks changing diapers.”
Patochek and McElmurry, longtime friends, entered the contest after being eliminated from Circa Survivor in Week 14. They had started the Million 9-11 before going 35-9-1 to force the tie. Patochek had predicted four years ago that he would win the contest before he died. “He said he’d win before he dies. He tied for first. I’d say he delivered on that,” McElmurry said.
