Media & Blog

Betting

Basketball Playing in Championship Tournament

The Road To The 2024 College Basketball Championship

By Aaron Oster | Mar 19, 2024

The 2024 college basketball season has gone through many twists and turns to get us where we are today, just days before the tournament is set to start. As the brackets were being released, the team at Circa Sports briefly took down the futures markets to analyze how the bracket would shake out. When the odds came back online, this is what they looked like. To properly look ahead, it’s always good to take a look back. Days after the season ended last year, Circa Sports put out odds on next year’s champion. Here were the favorites at that point.…

Read More

Prop Betting on the Rise at Circa Sports

By Aaron Oster | Dec 19, 2023

We’re midway through the football season, and we have seen a lot of action. One thing that the oddsmakers at Circa Sports has seen this season, and has seen for several years now, is the growth in appetite for prop betting. For those unaware, prop (short for proposition) betting is a term used for any bet that isn’t a side or total. Instead of betting on full-game, you are betting on an aspect of an event. A player prop bet could be something along the lines of a player going over or under a certain number of yards, or scoring…

Read More

Week One From Circa Sports!

By Aaron Oster | Sep 10, 2023

It’s been seven long months since the last Sunday with football. Fans have been waiting for this day all summer. It’s here now, Circa Sportsbook is packed, and I’ll be bringing you the scene from the sportsbook live! Of course, we’ll be monitoring the biggest games for the Contests, Circa Survivor and Circa Million. The three biggest games to watch for Circa Survivor are Washington/Arizona, Baltimore/Houston and Minnesota/Tampa Bay.   10:05 AM – We’re off! A huge cheer raised from the book as the first Sunday of the year began. The games have kicked off, the sportsbook is packed. 10:10…

Read More

Betting Advice From The Circa Football Season Preview

By Aaron Oster | Sep 6, 2023

At Circa’s Ultimate Contest Weekend, VP of Operations Mike Palm brought together a panel of football and gambling experts to help preview the upcoming season. They discussed strategies for both contests and gambling in general, and also got their opinions on aspects of the season. The panelists were: Wes Reynolds: VSiN Host and prior contest winner in Vegas Eric Eager: VP at SumerSports. Previously was at Pro Football Focus Mike Somich: VSiN Host Dylan Sullivan: Risk manager at Circa Sports For those interested, you can watch the entire panel here. Here are some of the highlights from the panel.  …

Read More

Team Futures Rolling Out At Circa Sports

By Aaron Oster | Aug 20, 2023

  As the football season gets closer, bettors are are looking closer at their futures bets. Yes, they’ll look at the basic things. Who will win the championship? What win totals are best? But some try to look deeper at unique props to bet their teams of choice this season. Circa Sports has been rolling out more futures bets over the past few weeks towards these bettors. Yes, there are championship, conference, and division winners. And while Circa Sports also has standard win totals, there are also alternate odds for a win total that is higher and lower than the…

Read More
Professional Hockey Player in Championship Playoff Game

2023 Hockey Playoffs Bring Potential Longshot Bet Payoffs

By Aaron Oster | May 31, 2023

Sometimes in sports, things fall the way they’re supposed to. When Philadelphia met Kansas City in football this February, that was an expected outcome. When Golden State met Boston in basketball last year, nobody batted an eye. However, sometimes in sports, you get a true outlier to make a run. And that’s what we’re seeing in hockey this year as the 2023 NHL playoffs head to the finals with the Florida Panthers vs the Vegas Golden Knights.   Panthers 2023 NHL Playoffs Run   Florida’s run through the playoffs has been surprising, and has led to the possibility of some…

Read More

Setting the NFL Draft Odds at Circa Sports

By Aaron Oster | Apr 27, 2023

With most betting markets, there’s a perception that sportsbooks oddsmakers simply know more. They have models, or they’re the first to get information. They dictate the market, and the old saying that it’s impossible to beat the house gets repeated over and over. Whether or not that’s true in general can be debated for sure. One time a year where it certainly isn’t true, however, is for the NFL Draft.   Setting the NFL Draft Markets   Nick Bogdanovich was in charge of setting the draft markets for Circa Sports this year. Bogdanovich, a veteran of the industry for nearly…

Read More
Basketball Player During Basketball Tournament

The College Basketball Road to March: Basketball Tournament Odds

By Aaron Oster | Feb 28, 2023

As we head into March, it’s a perfect time to take a look at how we got to this point in the college basketball season. To properly put into context some of the aspects of the season, it’s important to start where we are now. Read on to see the current 2023 college basketball tournament odds so you can keep your eye out on your favorite teams leading up to and during the exciting tournament starting March 14.   Current 2023 College Basketball Tournament Odds   Here are the current top 10 teams with the lowest odds to win the…

Read More
Pro Football Player in NFL Championship Game

Early 2024 NFL Championship Bet Possibilities

By Aaron Oster | Feb 20, 2023

The NFL Championship game just ended, and the Kansas City Chiefs are your new champions. However, despite the season just ending, the football betting season never ends. Circa Sports has already released 2024 NFL Championship odds for those who either can’t wait until next season to make a bet, or those who think they have an angle before the offseason truly begins. Read on to see the current odds, favorite teams, and some insight into which teams to keep an eye on in the upcoming season.   Current 2024 NFL Championship Odds   First, let’s take a look at the…

Read More
Interior of Circa Sportsbook at Circa Las Vegas

NFL Championship Exactas

By Aaron Oster | Jan 19, 2023

We’re down to the divisional round of the playoffs and Circa Sports still has plenty of way to bet the NFL Playoffs. While a lot of the value in betting individual teams has disappeared, there’s still at least one interesting way to bet the playoffs while getting a big potential payout while just making one bet. And that’s betting the possible NFL Championship Exacta. Instead of simply betting the Chiefs to win it all at +290, if you think the 49ers are going to be their opponent in the Big Game, you can bet that a much juicier +825. Every…

Read More
Circa Sports Million IV & Survivor Pro Football Contests

2022 Circa Sports Million & Circa Survivor Football Contest Recap

By Circa Sports | Jan 17, 2023

The 2022-23 Circa Sports Million IV and Circa Survivor pro football contests were quite an exciting ride. Between the two contests, a total of 10,824 entrants vied for some serious bragging rights. After an exciting NFL season, the large checks that were given out were well deserved. Circa Sports awarded $12 million in prizes to the winners of its record-setting Circa Survivor and Circa Sports Million IV pro football contests, which concluded on January 8. Every year just seems to get better and better! Marking the largest legal football survivor contest in the world, Circa Survivor awarded two winners a…

Read More
Circa Sports Million IV & Survivor Pro Football Contests

The Final Sweat For Survivor and Million

By Aaron Oster | Jan 8, 2023

Greetings from the world’s largest sportsbook at Circa Resort and Casino. Today is the final day for sweating out games in both Survivor and Million. I’ll be bringing you all the live action, where some of our contestants will be sweating out their final day of games as they look to bring home the prize. You can find the games that our leaders are on in Million here: Circa-Sports-Million-IV-Week-18-Leader-Selections-1.pdf (circasports.com)   8:24 – Utter jubilation. What little restraint that was left completely disappeared after DJ Chark caught the 4th down pass for a first down. Hugs, jumping. I think I’ve…

Read More

Sportsbook Manager Chris Bennett on Be Better Bettors

By Circa Sports | Nov 28, 2021

Circa Sports Sportsbook Manager Chris Bennett joins the Be Better Bettors podcast to discuss his career in sports betting and his bookmaking and oddsmaking philosophy.

Read More

2nd Annual Circa Sports Football Contest Panel Discussion

By Circa Sports | Aug 28, 2021

Topics range from 2021 NFL season predictions to sports betting philosophy as Mike Palm moderates the 2nd Annual Circa Sports Football Contest Panel Discussion with Michael Lombardi, Matt Metcalf, Mike Pritchard and Cristen Zenuik.

Read More

Booking and Wagering on Smaller Sports and Niche Markets

By Matt Metcalf @MMpact | May 26, 2020

With the recent events regarding COVID-19, bookmakers around the world have been forced to become resourceful in their efforts to find additional sports to add to their betting menu. This has created a unique situation for bettors and bookmakers all around the world.

Read More

Why Betting Lines Move: A Bookmaker’s Perspective

By Matt Metcalf @MMpact | Jan 24, 2020

If you hang around sportsbooks long enough, you will overhear countless conversations between bettors speculating about why a certain line has moved. Betting lines move for a variety of reasons and for the most part are in a constant state of flux. In this article, we will run through some of the main reasons why a betting line might move between the time the line opens and the start of the game.

Read More