UPDATE: Notorious ‘best bettor in the world’ loses $1.1M on Super Bowl

Sports bettor Sean Perry is also a well-known high-stakes poker player. (Antonio Abrego/PokerGO)

Sean Perry, who achieved notoriety for refusing to chop the $9.2 million Circa Survivor pot, placed the biggest bet yet on the Super Bowl.

Perry made a $1.1 million wager to win $1 million at Circa Sports on Saturday night on the 49ers -1½. The bet lost when San Francisco fell 25-22 in overtime to Kansas City.

He posted an image of the ticket Sunday morning on X but concealed which team he backed.

In a text message to the Review-Journal before the game, Perry said he would reveal whether he bet on the 49ers or Chiefs “after the game starts.”

“Went MASSIVE last night. I got 1.1 Mill on tonight’s Super Bowl. I have won the last 5…trying to make it 6!!,” he posted on X (@seanperrywins). “HOORAHH BABY!”

Circa sportsbook operations manager Jeff Benson (@JeffreyBenson12) replied to Perry’s tweet, “Good luck with your bet, Sean. Thanks for your business!”

Circa moved San Francisco from a 1½-point favorite to -2 on Saturday night, when Perry placed his bet.

Benson also posted a tweet Saturday night showing the book had bumped the line to Niners -2.

“49ers money finally showed, here is our current position on the game,” he wrote. “$500k limits on the side and money-line. Holler at your boy if you need more.”

The $1,000 buy-in Circa Survivor contest involved picking one straight-up NFL winner each week, but entries could use a team only once. The contest attracted a field of 9,267 entries with a winner-take-all prize of $9.2 million.

When the Survivor field was whittled to 13 contestants, 12 of them agreed to a partial chop of the prize pool. The deal was that each entry would get $400,000, and they would continue to compete for the remaining $4 million.

Perry declined.

“I said, ‘With all respect, I’m the best bettor in the world. There’s no way I’m ever chopping. I wish you guys all the best. I’ll see you at the finish line,’” he said at the time.

Perry was eliminated when the Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots on Christmas Eve.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.