Family Entry Turns $25 into $150,000 in Station Casinos Last Man Standing
Jeff Gryczkowski turned a $25 family bet into a $150,000 payday after outlasting more than 7,000 entrants in Station Casinos’ Last Man Standing contest.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The 52-year-old from Las Vegas clinched the elimination-style contest in Week 14 of the NFL season when the Los Angeles Rams overturned an early deficit to beat the Arizona Cardinals 45-17, covering an 8½-point spread. Gryczkowski had begun the season treating the pool as a friendly family rivalry – competing against his son Jesse, his sister Jaime Holden and an ex-brother-in-law – but his lone remaining entry after Week 4 kept winning through a mix of favorites, strategic underdogs and timely breaks.
Last Man Standing entries pick one NFL game against the spread each week; a losing pick eliminates that entry. With a $25 buy-in per entry (maximum five entries for $100), Station Casinos attracted 7,141 entries this season. Gryczkowski’s single surviving slip won 14 consecutive weeks against the spread, turning a modest wager into one of the larger prizes in the casino operator’s seasonal contests.
He only realized he had secured the title late in the Rams-Cardinals matchup, after his son noticed the competitor’s Week 14 selection on social media and confirmed that the other finalist had already been eliminated when the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-22.
“When I saw the game was out of hand, I told my son to check the other guy’s pick, and that’s when I knew I had won”, Gryczkowski said. “It felt unreal. I’m still kind of in disbelief.”
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Strategy, Background and Expert Reaction
A native of Buffalo who moved to Las Vegas at age 10, Gryczkowski comes from a household that long treated contest play as entertainment. He traced his early interest in sports handicapping to a childhood memory of his father winning a newspaper contest, an experience that left a lasting impression.
Gryczkowski started the season with five entries but was reduced to one by Week 4. His path included several razor-thin escapes: in Week 5, he survived when the Minnesota Vikings scored a late touchdown to cover as 3½-point favorites against the Cleveland Browns in London. In Week 11, he needed a late touchdown and two-point conversion from the Green Bay Packers to overcome the New York Giants, a sequence that only finished when the Giants’ final drive stalled with an interception.
“Those last-minute swings were terrifying”, Gryczkowski said. “I wanted it to be decided – I couldn’t handle the suspense anymore.” He described his selection process as pragmatic: leaning toward home underdogs, avoiding divisional matchups when possible and seeking durable historical trends rather than chasing flashy futures.
Industry observers say contests like Last Man Standing have broad appeal because they combine low entry cost with straightforward rules, producing high engagement and large entry pools. “These promotions are designed to scale”, said a gaming industry analyst. “A simple weekly elimination format encourages casual players to enter alongside more experienced handicappers, which inflates prize pools and media interest. For operators, it’s an effective acquisition tool; for players, it’s a mix of skill, strategy and variance.”
Gryczkowski, who works in retail grocery distribution, attributed part of his composure to his personal faith and to resisting outside temptations to hedge when the contest narrowed to two players. He said friends suggested cutting an even split for a guaranteed payout, but he elected to stick with his picks through the finish.
“All the glory goes to God”, he said. “I just did this for fun and trusted my process.”
Gryczkowski’s win highlights both the chance element and the planning that define single-elimination sports pools. For Station Casinos, the contest delivered the engagement they sought during the NFL season; for one family, it provided a nerve-rattling run that culminated in a life-changing payout.
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