The Smart Money: Atlantic City girds for football fantasy drafts

The approach of Labor Day has traditionally meant shopping for school supplies and last-chance trips to the beach.

Unless, that is, you're among the seemingly zillions of folks whose lives revolve around fantasy football in the fall. In that case, the coming of September means that it's time for The Draft.

And if you're hard-core into fantasy football and living in the Philadelphia area, then there's only one place to be for The Draft: Atlantic City.

On the second weekend in September, two major fantasy football organizations will hold their live drafts in Atlantic City, attracting hundreds of owners of make-believe teams playing for very real money.

How real?

The winner of one of the fantasy competitions being held in Atlantic City will win $300,000, plus an expenses-paid trip to the Super Bowl in Dallas.

The two outfits conducting their drafts in the casino resort town are the World Championship of Fantasy Football and RosterDoc.com, which organizes the RotoBowl. The two drafts are distinctive enough in their approaches to appeal to different levels of fantasy football enthusiasts.

The WCOFF, based in St. Louis, is the granddaddy of fantasy football events that patterns itself after the World Series of Poker and is held in four cities during roughly the same time period - Atlantic City, Chicago, Orlando and Las Vegas. In Sin City, thousands of fantasy players are expected to attend.

The draft at the Shore will be Sept. 10-11, at the Sheraton Atlantic City.

The buy-in for the WCOFF Main Event is $1,800 and the top prize is $300,000. And that's not even the priciest draft the WCOFF conducts. There's a $25,000 buy-in Platinum League among its several types of leagues.

RotoBowl - and this happens to be RotoBowl VI - is locally based and charges considerably less for its major tournament with a corresponding smaller prize. RotoBowl VI, being held Sept. 11 at the Atlantic City Convention Center, has a $259 entry fee and the top prize is $20,000 plus two tickets to the Super Bowl.

"For anyone who does fantasy football, there really is nothing like coming to a live draft like this," said Matt Falkow, one of the RosterDoc.com operators.

"It's intense but not tense. There's a passionate energy in the room."

At both drafts, the atmosphere is festive, featuring stadium food and drink, draft hostesses, fancy draft boards and staff administrators to keep things running smoothly. The WCOFF charges a $150 event fee with food and drinks included while RotoBowl has no event fee but food and drink cost extra.

Frequently, there are after-parties and cocktail gatherings, sometimes organized and sometimes ad hoc.

"It really has developed into a community of people who share this interest," said Dustin Ashby, who runs the WCOFF. "It's been fun watching it grow because there's a real camaraderie where experienced players welcome newer ones."

Of course, it might be argued that novice players are welcomed with open arms because they're seen as easier pickings, but that's the nature of any competition, especially when there's cash at stake.

The deadline for registering for the live RotoBowl draft in Atlantic City is Sept. 9, but players can participate in earlier drafts online beginning Sept. 5.

Registration deadline for the WCOFF Atlantic City draft is Aug. 25, and two Main Event drafts will be held - Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 11 at 1 p.m.

In both cases, players are assigned randomly to 12-team leagues and operate with 20-players rosters. Specific rules vary by draft organization.

For more information, go online to www.RosterDoc.com and www.wcoff.com.