Aug 15, 2020 This free-to-play $1 million football survivor pool gives all players at DraftKings the opportunity to join one of, if not the most potentially lucrative survivor pools out there. With no-risk, an immediate cash reward, and a shot at $1 million, there’s absolutely no reason not to get involved. FanDuel $100K NFL Survivor is all about playing the matchups. Luckily, the football experts at numberfire are here to help. Introduction to Survivor. As we do every week, let's dive in and analyze the five most popular survivor pool picks of NFL Week 8 using the 'Holy Trinity' of survivor pick strategy data: Win odds, pick popularity, future value. Track every DraftKings Millionaire Maker winning lineup for the past two seasons. Break down how past winners built their winning lineups and put that knowledge to work in your lineups. We updated this list with the NFL Week 8 Millionaire Maker winner.Remember, DraftKings offers more Millionaire Maker contests than any DFS platform out there.
If it’s free, it’s me.
That’s what at least 150,000 DraftKings patrons essentially said by signing up for the $100 million Golden Ticket Giveaway that launched last week. Just by entering the freesurvivor pool, customers are eligible to win $1 million in a drawing. And it all starts during NFL Week 1 in September.
And did we mention it’s free?
It’s free to play for everyone. Meaning that anyone can participate, even if sports betting is not legal (or not available yet) in their home state.
What’s the over-under for people signing up for this promotion? A million?
“We are excited about the response, it’s going to be a big number,” said Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings.
“This is a brand-new contest; we did not do it last year. One of the great aspects of this is the logical progression of people who are already on our site then deciding to bet the NFL games. This is real content, people want to play sports and this seems like a real natural.”
How to join the Golden Ticket Giveaway at DraftKings
Simply put, this massive giveaway takes into account the rewards for entering the contest and various promotions throughout the NFL season. So as you watch the Eagles, Jets or Giants play on the gridiron, you can play against other fans across the US in a survivor pool.
Customers just need to sign up for an account or log intoDraftKings Sportsbook or the DFS app and reserve your entry in the $1 million NFL Survivor Pool. Once you have opted into the pool, you will automatically have access to the Golden Ticket Giveaway.
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Just before Week 1 kicks into gear, DraftKings will post survivor picks on Sept. 8, two days before the first game of the season between the Houston Texans and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, the $1 million pool prize could go to a single winner or be shared with multiple winners. But once you’ve got your entry, you can claim a free reward of between $5 and $25,000. After that, it’s all about the Golden Ticket Giveaway.
What’s so golden about it? One winner is guaranteed to walk away with $1 million. The first drawing takes place on Sept. 13.
As the NFL season continues, more contests will be available and customers will have more free shots at a $1 million top prize.
In total, DraftKings will be giving away up to $100 million in prizes. Now that’s a golden giveaway.
What is a survivor pool?
Survivor pools are one of the more exciting — and compelling — season-long competitions. Take one team to win a game each week, but you don’t get to use them again for the rest of the season.
Submit your weekly pick before 1 p.m. ET Sunday mornings during the regular season for all Sunday and Monday games. Thursday picks are due before that game’s kickoff.
If you “survive,” you can make your picks for the next week. The last one standing at the end of the season wins. If multiple players are still standing, the prize is shared.
The process seems easy early in the season, especially if one can avoid the big major upset that usually marks NFL Week 1.
From there, a player may take some major chalks in the early weeks and advance to the next rounds.
But it gets really hard when the bye weeks kick in. The schedule gets reduced to 12 games and top-flight teams have been used. Eventually, you will need a sub-500, even a weak team, to come up big for you.
Strategy tips to consider
But on which week does one stake the season-long position on a non-playoff team?
Strategy is significant. Some players want to build up wins and wait for competitors to take a stab with early-week longshots. Others take their risk early, preserving top teams for down the stretch.
I came close to winning one of these in recent years. I went with the chalk early, sweated out three one-point wins in the middle weeks, and had a loaded lineup at the end. There was a major risk in Week 15, when I took the New Orleans Saints to beat the Atlanta Falcons on the road. But they did.
That left me with the Philadelphia Eagles as a seven-point favorite against the Minnesota Vikings at home in Week 16. And the Falcons in my pocket for Week 17. But with all that, I still lost, as the Vikings upset the Eagles on a Tuesday game after the teams were snowed out on Sunday. Of course, the Falcons romped in Week 17.
DraftKings survivor pool vs. a pick’em contest
While this pool and Golden Ticket Giveaway will resonate with players, Avello also touts the widening popularity of DraftKings’ Pro Football Pick’em Contest.
The big difference between the two contests (survivor pool and the pick’em) is that the pool is free to play; the pick’em contest has a buy-in. It is also only available in New Jersey for now.
To play the pick’em contest at DraftKings requires a $1,500 buy-in, five weekly games against the spread, and payouts to multiple places. It has a $1 million top prize and total payouts of at least $2 million.
Prepping for NFL betting in New Jersey
Besides fun-to-play pools, bettors in the Garden State see the New York Giants, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles in divisions that look winnable this season.
Although the Giants and Jets are +8000 to win the Super Bowl and the Eagles +1800, their division battles should be fierce and generate bets, Avello asserted.
“Last year, I was expecting a lot of money to come in on those teams and it did,” Avello indicated. “You look at the divisions. Every year people say it’s going to be the Cowboys’ year to win the NFC East but the Eagles are usually pretty strong (they won the division last season) and the Giants always get on some of these runs, if you watch them year to year.
“There is going to be a lot of interest in the divisions. With the Jets, for example, being +850 to take the AFC East, that is going to generate betting support.”
Avello noted that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is now a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. “The big dog is gone,” he said, and so that division has opened up. “Buffalo looks to be the favorite right now, but that division is going to be much more wide open.”
The numbers may startle NFL betting fans. The BuffaloBills, at +120, are the AFC East favorites. This is the first time in perhaps 15 years that the favorite wasn’t New England.
Dallas is -110 to win the NFC East, while the Eagles are +140 and the Giants are +1000.
Nfl Survivor Pool Picks
You know the old saying if it sounds to be good to be true, it probably is. Therefore, when I first heard about the $100 Million Golden Ticket Giveaway at DraftKings Online Sportsbook, with a FREE chance to win $1 million, I was skeptical. How could this be? There must be a catch–or maybe not.
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My curiosity led me to read the fine print so I could fully understand what this offer entails. If your curiosity has been piqued, too, read on.
When DraftKings will hold the free Golden Ticket Giveaway and are you eligible?
This promotion got underway at 9 a.m. ET on August 14. But you have until 10 a.m. ET Sun., Sept. 13 to opt-in. DraftKings is calling it the $100 Million Golden Ticket Giveaway, and the 2020 NFL regular season marks the first time ever that this gambling website is offering it.
The DraftKings Golden Ticket Giveaway is open to registered DraftKings account holders only. Therefore, if you wish to enter but are not already signed up, the first thing you need to do is open an account with the site.
NJ residence is not required. Anyone with an active DraftKings account in good standing who resides anywhere in the US except Florida and New York who meets the minimum age requirements for gambling in his or her state can participate.
How the DraftKings Golden Ticket Giveaway works
The Golden Ticket Giveaway itself will be run as a sweepstakes. No purchase is required to enter, and spending money on the site will not increase your odds of winning. Everyone who participates has an equal opportunity to win.
On September 13, the first Sunday of the 2020 NFL regular season, DraftKings will randomly pick one individual to win $1 million in cash.
The math isn’t clear how the total amount that DraftKings will give away equals $100 million. But that’s the total amount of prize money that DraftKings claims is up for grabs.
However, in order to have a shot at the September 13 million dollar prize, you must also agree to participate in the DraftKings NFL Survivor Pool. The Survivor Pool is also free to enter but requires not just good luck but great handicapping skills. It comes with a winner takes all prize of $1 million as well.
Get an instant reward just for entering
Of course, as great as it would be to win $1 million even once or maybe more than once, especially since it costs you nothing, the odds are overwhelmingly stacked against you. So assuming that neither the Golden Ticket Giveaway nor the requisite Survival Pool contest turns you into a millionaire, does that mean you walk away from this promotion empty-handed?
Not at all. Simply for opting-in to the free DraftKings NFL Survivor Pool, besides automatically receiving a free entry into the Golden Ticket Giveaway as well, you also receive an instant reward.
The reward can be for any of these seven amounts: $5, $10, $20, $100, $500, $1,000, or $25,000.
The $5, $10, $20, $100, and $500 rewards are all issued in the form of a site credit that you can only use at DraftKings and must use by September 30. Otherwise, the reward will expire. However, the $1,000 and $25,000 instant rewards are dispensed as immediately withdrawable cash.
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If you’re the Golden Ticket Giveaway winner of $1 million–
On September 13, DraftKings will hold a random drawing among all eligible Golden Ticket Giveaway entries to select the winner of the $1 million prize. The recipient will have up to 72 hours to claim the prize.
The potential winner must also satisfy other eligibility and compliance stipulations and agree to interviews with the sponsor and media.
Draftkings Survivor Pool Rules Ties
Any applicable federal, state, and local taxes associated with the million-dollar prize will also be the sole responsibility of the prizewinner.
The separate $1 million season-long Survivor Pool
Each week of the 2020 NFL regular season, starting with the opening week, the task is to pick one team that you think will win its game outright. If you pick correctly, you “survive” to make another pick the following week.
However, you cannot pick the same team more than once.
You must submit your one pick for the week before 1 p.m. ET on Sunday for a Sunday or Monday game and before kickoff on Thursday for Thursday night games.
Picking correctly will probably be easier early in the season than later, especially after the bye weeks start, and the better teams will either not be playing or you will have already used them. You may have no choice then but to depend on a lesser team to rise to the occasion.
Draftkings Survivor Contest
The last player standing will win $1 million. Or at the end of the season, if multiple players are still standing, they will share the prize.
The bottom line
There you have it--a guaranteed reward of at least $5 but possibly as much as $25,000 just for entering plus free shots at two $1 million prizes. How can you say no to an offer like that?
I told you about another golden opportunity to win big money in my July 27, 2090 article on NJ Gambling Websitesentitled “Win Up To $1 Million in DraftKings NFL Pick’Em Contest.” However, as of now, participation is limited to players in New Jersey and New Hampshire. The contest also comes with a steep $1,500 entry fee.
So in case the NFL Pick’Em Contest is not a viable option, now you have an exciting alternative to consider with the DraftKings Golden Ticket Giveaway. Or enter both promotions. Either way, this could be your winningest football season yet!
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