How Monkey Tilt Hijacked Super Bowl Weekend With a $1 Million Giveaway

Football wasn’t the only thing popping in New Orleans last February. Monkey Tilt’s activation had everyone lining up for a shot at the vault.

Super Bowl LX is just around the corner, landing on Sunday, February 8, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bad Bunny and Green Day will bring the spectacle this year, but last season’s big game in New Orleans had its own unforgettable moment — and it didn’t happen on the field.

In February 2025, crypto gaming platform Monkey Tilt rolled into the city with a custom West Coast Customs-designed truck and a vault holding $1 million in cash. Anyone who could punch in the correct six-digit code would walk away with the grand prize.

The activation took place at Complex's Family Style Food Festival at StudioBE, just one day before the Philadelphia Eagles crushed the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX. Attendees lined up in front of a glass-doored vault for their shot at the money. But as Complex later recapped on February 14, “Many tried. Nobody won. But everyone had a great time.”

For a little context, Monkey Tilt had been setting the stage well before kickoff. A month earlier, the company announced its Super Bowl plans, explaining the partnership with Complex. "This exclusive activation offers attendees a chance to experience the innovation, rewards, and culture-defining excitement that Monkey Tilt always brings to the table," Monkey Tilt’s founder, Sam “Señor Tilt” Kiki, said at the time. "Our partnership with Complex sets the stage for a new era of entertainment and connection."

Monkey Tilt launched in March 2024 with the goal of making online gambling feel more social and less transactional. In an interview with Fortune, Kiki explained his vision for the platform: "I'm looking at the future as you log in and you're hanging out on the site for a few hours, talking to your friends. You're gambling together. You're having fun the same way you would in Vegas." Think of it as an online casino meets social hangout, powered by cryptocurrency.

By November 2024, the publication reported that Monkey Tilt had raised $51 million from investors including Pantera Capital and Polychain Capital and reached roughly $200 million in monthly betting volume within its first eight months.

While no announcements have been made about a repeat Super Bowl activation this year, Monkey Tilt has stayed busy. The platform is currently running a promotion called “Level Up Bonanza,” which rewards players for progressing through loyalty tiers with bonus funds, giveaway entries, and higher-end prizes at the top levels, according to the company’s promotions page.