Added Cuomo, “At a time when New York faces a historic budget deficit due to the … pandemic, the current online sports wagering structure incentivizes a large segment of New York residents to travel out of state to make online sports wagers or continue to patronize black markets.” So it took him a while but he finally gets it. We dig. How big could the handle be? At least $837 million a year but probably billions, according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. In the meantime, who stands to benefit? Bet Rivers, bet365, FoxBet, FanDuel and DraftKings already have boots on the ground. It’s not a slam-dunk. The Lege has been reluctant in the past and tribal exclusivity is almost certain to be litigated. But Cuomo’s volte-face should prove decisive. After all, this is a guy who previously said, “There’s no gimmicks. There’s no new casino revenue.” What a difference a year makes.
JP Morgan analyst Daniel Politzer envisions mobile wagering coming to the NY market in 2023. He projects revenue to hit $1.25 billion in revenue within two years, assuming favorable tax rates and regulations. Compare that to the Garden State’s $375 million revenue last year. BetMGM and Twin Spires could also get into the game if Cuomo expands his definition of ‘casino’ to include racinos. Even Caesars Entertainment could participate, as it is believed to have an agreement with Turning Stone. If tribes get exclusivity (unlikely, in our opinion), Caesars and FoxBet (via Akwesasne Mohawk Casino) stand to benefit. If not, DraftKings can leverage its relationships with the New York Giants, New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden, giving it substantial first-mover capability. Hey, DKNG, how about taking over the troubled MSG Sphere in Las Vegas? “DraftKings Sphere” has a nice ring to it.
Speaking of DraftKings, while FanDuel has opted to use humor to promote its product during NFL season, DraftKings dropped a new ad last weekend and it’s the same old Big Swinging Dick approach. The company should recognize that a substantial number of sports bettors are women and dial back the overworked machismo.
While we’re on the subject of the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs are viewed by oddsmakers as a near-lock to repeat as Super Bowl champions, with odds shortening from +600 to +220. Next-best are the Green Bay Packers at +450 and Buffalo Bills at +700. Of course, K.C. and Green Bay will be watching games from home this weekend, having clinched first-round byes. That includes Aaron Rodgers, a “prohibitive” favorite for league MVP at -2500. The only thing close to a blowout projected for Wild Card Weekend is the 9.5-point edge given the prolific New Orleans Saints over the slow, plodding Chicago Bears offense, with an over/under of 47.5. The “Washington Football Team” should be roadkill against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are given an eight-point cushion, with an over/under of 46.5.
The two shootouts are projected to be Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills (Bills by seven), with a 52-point over/under, and the favored (by 3.5) Baltimore Ravens at the Tennessee Titans, for an over/under of 54.5. That leaves the Cleveland Browns, expected to lose by four to the Pittsburgh Steelers (over/under: 46.5) but that was before Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and four others tested positive for Coronavirus. Finally, the Seattle Seahawks are projected to fend off the Los Angeles Rams by 4.5 points with a 42.5 over/under.
If you’re a Las Vegas Raiders fan, you can console yourself with a virtual tour of Allegiant Stadium, created from drone footage. There are 3-D and virtual-reality versions available. It’s not as good as having a winning team but it should provide a distraction. The tour was created by the Raiders’ official real estate partner, Homie. The latter matter-of-factly states, “This space is perfect for entertaining, with a main room that seats 65,000 of your closest friends, more than 100 bathrooms, 25,000 nearby parking spots, and 6 modern kitchens.” Hey, rent the stadium out and invite all your Facebook friends. It can’t be that expensive, can it? Host your own super-spreader event today!
As someone who’s covered Donald Trump for over 25 years, his recent conduct—while shocking by legal, moral and ethical norms—is not the least bit surprising. It was all there to see during his casino career: the self-absorption, the pathological lying, the paranoid conspiracy theories, the empty promises, the inflation of his enterprise value, the double-dipping, the bullying, the obstructionism and intransigence, his flagrant insistence that the rules didn’t apply to him, and (yes) the racism all should be old news by now. Perhaps business reporters should have been covering the last five years of Trump, not political ones. After all, we knew what a megalomaniacal sham he is from the wayback.
My Cuban staunch republican brother in law is a perfect example of what Trump has brought to the table, Chris was born in Miami, he is an emergency room doctor in New York City. If you lived in New York you saw with your own eyes what Trump did and is, he is a two bit con man. When Chris and Tanya visited before the 2016 election he rocked my world by telling me he was sickened by the takeover of his beloved party, the lies and bigotry were and are just too much for even a lifelong republican brought up as one in a Cuban neighborhood. The last four years were even crazier than any of us could have conceived, hundreds of thousands of Americans are dying, and he is just thinking of himself and his own interests, January 20th needs to happen very soon…
We all got to see today what happens when the President riles up his supporters with bogus election claims that every single court of law has rejected. The venue to dispute elections is the court system, not a single court found any of the “fraud” he is screaming about. Obviously this was going to become violent, why the Capital Police were not prepared for this is a scandal. During the Brett Kavanaugh demonstrations every single person who went on the Capital stairs was arrested, today they congregated there for hours. Protests in Washington DC are routine, law enforcement always prepares beforehand, they knew tens of thousands of angry people were coming and they did virtually nothing to prepare. If two dozen BLM protestors are slated to meet, they have the National Guard on hand in advance. This is just a horrible day in our countries history…