Carmel Man’s Predictions Earn Him a Ski Trip, Now He Looks Toward The Big Game

Pete Fokine from Carmel had one heck of a football season. In fact, his picks in our season-long Pro Football Pick 'Em contest earned him a ski vacation at Smugglers Notch in Vermont and a shot at up to $10,000.

Since the beginning of football season, Pete has been competing with people from all over the Greater Danbury, Putnam and Dutchess County area. When we talked to Pete, we had to ask him what his secret to success was.

"The one thing I can say is going with your gut feeling, you have to go with what feels right. You gotta know football, that's one thing, and you have to know who's hot and who's not."

Many football fans rely heavily on stat's to make their picks, but not Pete. "I didn't rely on stats at all," said the Carmel, NY resident. "I just went with what felt right -- that seemed to be my best strategy."

He's an avid Giants fan, but Pete did have one team that let him down over and over again during the regular season, but believe it or not, it wasn't the G-men. He was smart and stayed away from picking them. "The team that gave me the most problems during the season were the Dallas Cowboys. I picked them a lot and they screwed me up a lot too."

So now Pete is setting his sights on the big game and a chance at up to $10,000. So just who is he picking to win it all -- the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers? Here's what he had to say about the matchup: "At halftime, it's going to be 10-7 in favor of the 49ers -- I'm predicting a low scoring first half. Then, in the second half, they're going to blow it up and I'm predicting the final score to be 31 to 27, Kansas City over San Francisco. I'm going with the Chiefs, that's a hot hand, their quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a hot hand too -- he's something else."

If Pete continues his lucky streak, and the Chiefs do win, it would be their first NFL title in 50 years. It could also put some serious coin in Pete's pocket. "I hope it comes out that way, but I can tell you I'm very nervous, I'll be watching the game intently I can tell you that."

We'll be watching too, and rooting for Pete to have just one more winning week.