Sure you may plunk a few dollars down on the office pool, send in a few wagers on a few select point spread plays each week, and take your fantasy football very seriously. Still, if you want to take your "games" to the next level, you should consider entering one of the large scale NFL 2005 prediction contests.

Handicapping Contests

Comments: we love the Hilton tournament, and finished in a tie for 17th last season. Our research suggests though that you'll need to typically hit in the vicinity of 65% to win the contest, so to be victorious here truly represents a remarkable season. Picks must be submitted in Las Vegas, so you will need to either be a regular or establish a proxy.

Station Casinos "The Gambler's Challenge"
Entry fee: $1,000
1st Place: ~$100,000
Rules: Pick five plays every week of the NFL regular season, with options on two NFL totals and two college games.

Comments: a smaller version of the Hilton, with usually about half the participants. The extra twist of having a couple of college games to choose from as well as some pro totals may add to the fun for some. You must register at Palace Station, but can submit picks each week at any Las Vegas Station's property. Station's also offers a low budget 'pick them all' contest for only $25 that attracts thousands of players and has prizes for best record, worst record, closest to 50/50 and so on!

Coast Casinos' "Pick the Pros" (see PTP home page)
Entry fee: $25
1st Place: $100,000
Rules: Pick the straight up winner of every NFL game.

Comments: we would be remiss if we didn't mention the 'longest running football contest' that allows even the smallest bettor to take a stab at a big money triumph. Again you have to submit picks every week in Las Vegas, but the contest has great weekly prizes so you can collect with just one really great week.

Fantasy Football/Player Projection Contests

Comments: now in its fourth year and THE fantasy football contest, we'll be giving it a try for the first time, despite not being very fantasy focused in our analysis!

Fantasy Football Tournament of Champions (see FFTOC home page)
Entry fee: $250 (also a $50 league and a 12-player only $1,000 league)
1st Place: ~$15,000
Rules: select one QB, two RB's, three WR's, TE, PK, Team Defense each week to accumulate fantasy points -- can only use a player/defense ONCE per season!

Comments: one of the complaints about conventional fantasy football setups is that there is too much luck in who ultimately wins. The FFTOC model has dramatically different rules, and while projecting player performance each week is the main gist of it, there is strategy in that the first twelve weeks are used to qualify for the playoffs, so some people hold back big stars for the "money moments" but at the risk of not qualifying. Ahem, we were guilty of this last year. This is also one tournament done entirely ONLINE so no Vegas treks needed.