By Vegas Matty
Hundreds of potential contestants in the 2011 Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest have been on edge due to the recent NFL lockout, wondering if they will get the opportunity to win their share of what was $517,500 in prize money last year. But none of them have been more worried than Las Vegas Hilton Vice President of Race and Sports Operations Jay Kornegay, who is already thinking ahead to the possibility of a shortened season with some key rule changes also on tap regardless of what happens.
“I try not to think about it too much,” Kornegay said. “We’re taking alternative measures. It creates some extra work for us.”
Part of that work has involved possibly changing the entry deadline to the Saturday before the first Sunday of regular-season action. The traditional deadline day for contestants to sign up has been the Saturday before the first Sunday of the regular season with the early-bird deadline on the previous Monday. If the start of the season is pushed back, the early-bird deadline will be on the Friday before the first Sunday of games. Contestants who sign up by the early-bird deadline are eligible for a Mini Contest over the last three weeks of the regular season with the winner taking home $10,000.
Kornegay also said there will be a couple major rule changes for 2011. Line cards which previously came out every Tuesday by 5 p.m. Pacific time will be pushed back to Wednesday at the same time in order to limit bad numbers that could obviously still change later in the week. In addition, all games will need to be played by Tuesday rather than Monday to avoid being counted as a loss.
The infamous roof collapse at the Metrodome in Minneapolis last year forced the Minnesota Vikings to change their game plans on multiple occasions toward the end of the regular season, impacting Hilton SuperContest contestants as well. Week 16 saw the Vikings shock the Philadelphia Eagles 24-14 as 17-point underdogs according to the Hilton SuperContest lines in the first Tuesday game since 1946. Contestants who had the Eagles or Vikings on their cards received a loss under the old rule.
The rule stating that the regular season must be a minimum of 10 weeks to be official will still apply for this year’s contest, something Kornegay is not as concerned about at this point. He said a college football contest will not replace the SuperContest if the NFL season is canceled altogether.
“I certainly believe there will be a season,” Kornegay said. “Right now, we just need to prepare for all the different scenarios.”
