KAILUA-KONA — Robert Atkinson, Sr. caught the Football Fever, and now he’s Las Vegas bound.
KAILUA-KONA — Robert Atkinson, Sr. caught the Football Fever, and now he’s Las Vegas bound.
The Kailua-Kona resident won the grand prize of West Hawaii Today’s football pick contest — a trip for two to Las Vegas and $500 cash.
“I’m stunned. I don’t win anything,” Atkinson said with a laugh.
Each week readers attempted to pick winners in college and NFL games. Ballots that beat the panelists (Rick Winters and J.R. De Groote of West Hawaii Today, Sean “Peaman” Pagett of Frozen Pea Productions, Josh Pacheco of ESPN Radio, and Kapena from The Wave) qualified participants to win $250 weekly, and put them in the drawing for the grand prize.
Atkinson acknowledged he didn’t have a complex system of breaking down the lines or matchups. He spent just five minutes on the ballot that was picked.
“I’m a big football and sports fan,” he said. “I’m not good at the spread thing, but I knew the teams well enough to make the picks.”
Atkinson would usually come to the West Hawaii Today building to drop off his ballot, but changed it up for Week 13 of the contest and submitted it at Hawaiian Solar.
“I walked in there and the lady told me she had a good feeling about it,” Atkinson said.
He got a little nervous when it wasn’t picked during the weekly contest, but the wait was well worth it.
“I’m going to go back and show this to her and so she can know that she was right.”
Atkinson said he is shooting to visit the Entertainment Capital of the World in May, as a celebration of receiving his Associate degree. He will walk the line in May, and hopes to catch a Sanata concert at the House of Blues.
“It’s so perfect,” he said. “I’m very glad I played.”