{"id":28888,"date":"2020-12-07T09:25:24","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T17:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=28888"},"modified":"2020-12-16T07:51:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T15:51:01","slug":"wall-street-crowns-draftkings-hsieh-grey-goose-vs-cold-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wall-street-crowns-draftkings-hsieh-grey-goose-vs-cold-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Wall Street crowns DraftKings; Hsieh: Grey Goose vs. cold turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Credit Suisse<\/strong> analyst Ben Chaiken<\/strong> is initiating coverage of DraftKings<\/strong> but not getting carried away. He’s put a “neutral” rating on the heavily hyped stock, with a $48 price target that mirrors its recent trading range. “We believe there is a lot to like,” Chaiken writes, pointing to DraftKings’ sheer scale and the propensity of sports bettors to stick with a brand once they’ve tried it. He also cites the company’s “roots as a leader in daily fantasy sports that have resulted in first-mover advantages with branding, a targeted user base, and a scalable technology\/regulatory platform.” That said, he is nonplussed by DKNG’s high valuation (7X sales) compared to its peers or to other Internet stocks. He fears that this may not be sustainable and “increasing competition in USSB\/iGaming could elongate DKNG\u2019s path to profitability.” Chaiken is somewhat skeptical of the number of states that will actually enact sports betting and Internet gambling, which obviously would be a headwind for DraftKings and its fellows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We believe DKNG\u2019s premium multiple and stock performance (+181% since its public listing in April) reflect its position as the largest and most liquid pure-play in the fast-growing USSB\/iGaming industry, acting more as a vehicle for investor sentiment\/enthusiasm than closely reflecting fundamentals,” Chaiken writes. His cautious forecast of 2025 revenues for sports betting and Internet gaming respectively is $9.2 billion and $4.9 billion, making Chaiken more circumspect than his peers. He predicts that 10 more states will legalize sports betting (bringing the total to 36) and four more will sign on to i-gaming, for a total of nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Chaiken’s opposite number at JP Morgan<\/strong>, analyst Joseph Greff<\/strong> surveyed 150 punters in Colorado<\/strong>, Illinois<\/strong>, Indiana<\/strong>, New Jersey<\/strong> and Pennsylvania<\/strong>, states chosen for “robust” online sports betting. He found that “while the industry is still in the early stages, OSB platforms have been successful with their strategy of using promotions to drive trial\/activation, but then rely on a superior product offering to drive long-term player stickiness and monetization.” DraftKings and another, unidentified, operator were preeminent. DraftKings had 41% market share and \u201cDFS Operator #2\u201d (clearly FanDuel<\/strong>) another 29%. These “were the platforms viewed as having the best product (superior user experience, reliable technology) and most well-known\/trusted brands, but also offered the best\/most favorable odds and generous promotions.” Are you listening, competitors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brand equity and generous odds were the leading customer criteria, as well as promotions. Easy funds transfer doesn’t hurt either. DKNG “the best user experience (41%) and most reliable technology.” As far as any platform is concerned, customers described their loyalty as either “strong” or “somewhat strong.” (Once you’ve got ’em, they’re yours.) Since last November, 89% of respondents are still with the same OSB platform, although that could change as operators like Barstool Sports<\/strong> enter more states. In the last quarter, 63% of those surveyed had placed bets with DraftKings, 57% with FanDuel, er “Operator #2” and 25% with Caesars Entertainment<\/strong>\/William Hill<\/strong>, with 15%-20% also placing bets with the also-rans. The ‘stickinesss’ of sports-betting fans, as Wall Street<\/strong> calls it, of course favors the leaders of the pack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as the customers themselves, 40% placed two to four bets a month, 27% bet five to nine times and 15% were in the 10-to-19 wager range. A third of them bet large, between $50 to $100 a flutter (let’s hope they didn’t take the points on yesterday’s Las Vegas Raiders<\/strong> game), while 26% wagered between $26 and $50 at a time. 19% were in the $101-to-$500 range. Only 6% were whales, averaging over $500 a bet. 55% were male and 45% female (there goes a stereotype; Madison Avenue<\/strong> should pay attention), with an average age of 21-34 (53%) or 35 to 50 (39%). Baby Boomers generally opt out, only 8% participating. The plurality of bettors (44%) make between $50K-$100K a year, while 25% more are in the $100K-$200K range. Even those making less than $25K were enough to comprise 9% of the totality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for other pastimes, the highest-paid sex worker in the U.S. is reported to be horse-faced Alice Little<\/strong>, who pulls in a cool million a year at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch<\/strong> in Nevada<\/strong>. She’s suing the State of Nevada for lost income, describing her job as “psychologist, relationship coach, and sexpert all rolled into one.\u201d (And you thought Woody Allen<\/strong> romanticized prostitution.) Bordellos in the Silver State were closed March 17 and remain so, but Little has found a chink in Gov. Steve Sisolak<\/strong>‘s armor: “the fact that massage parlours, aestheticians, salons, escort services and other non-essential businesses have been allowed to reopen lead me to believe that the governor\u2019s decision to keep brothels closed is just blatant discrimination against Nevada\u2019s legal sex workers.” The state government has long had an ambivalent and uncomfortable relationship with legalized prostitution, so Little may be onto something. \u201cI just can\u2019t let the governor arbitrarily decimate the livelihoods of an entire class of hard-working women. That\u2019s why I decided to take legal action,\u201d she told the Daily Star<\/em>. Little has scraped together $5,500 through GoFundMe<\/strong> for her lawsuit and she says she’s not just in it for herself, telling the British newspaper of the ban, “it affects an entire network of working women and staff who are all suffering financially as a direct result of Governor Sisolak\u2019s refusal to reopen these respected adult businesses\u2014hence the need for legal action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Las Vegas<\/strong>, by the way, is hanging on to its title of Sin City, or so says WalletHub<\/strong>. The list of vices is biblical in nature and one wonders at how WalletHub managed to quantify Vegas’ rank in vanity (#3), sloth (#6), lust (#13), jealousy (#24), and anger and hatred (#34). We’re all the way down at #52 at excesses and vices, which is literally incredible, based on experience, and only 13th in greed, a rank that probably should be much higher. If you want to live a virtuous life, try South Burlington<\/strong>, Vermont<\/strong>, or Pearl City<\/strong>, Hawaii<\/strong>. Las Vegas leads America<\/strong> in most tanning salons per capita and most adult-entertainment establishments per capita. Make of that make you will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wuhan<\/strong>, China<\/strong>, whose outbreak of Coronavirus we were onto back in January<\/a>, is rebranding itself. It could follow the example of Kazakstan<\/strong> and adopt Borat<\/strong>‘s catchphrase, “Very nice!” What it’s actually doing is releasing a promotional video (hopefully not featuring the city’s live-animal markets), full of fulsome prose<\/a>. \u201cWuhan never hesitates to show its beauty, and those who love it deeply hope that more people can understand it,\u201d it rhapsodizes. \u201cFrom the myriad twinkling lights along the Yangtze River<\/strong> and the amazing dance and music from the Zhiyin cruise, to the glittering light and beautiful voices from the livehouse … give me five! Everyone! Looking forward to meeting you in Wuhan.\u201d It’s all well and good to poke fun at Wuhan but it did implement an anti-Covid lockdown last Jan. 23 (yes, almost a year ago) that brought the virus relatively swiftly to heel. Would that we could say the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irony alert<\/strong>: According to the New York Post<\/em>, late philanthropist Tony Hsieh<\/strong> “spent some of his final hours planning to enter rehab.” Which totally explains why he locked himself in a shed, and got bombed on Grey Goose and nitrous oxide, if early reports are to be credited. According to the Post<\/em>, psychedelic mushrooms may have played a role in Hsieh’s demise as well, brought on by cabin fever prompted by Coronavirus<\/strong> lockdowns. (Yes, even the rich have some of the same problems we do.) As for his final, fatal binge, Hsieh supposedly told his companions to check on him every five minutes. Whether they did so\u2014and, in so doing, could have saved Hsieh’s life\u2014is an open question at this point. Post-mortem, the list of Hsieh’s eccentricities is piling up<\/a>: holding his water as long as humanly possible, his “alphabet diet”<\/a> and his habit of lowering his oxygen intake (which was related to his nitrous oxide addiction). As Sir Dirk Bogarde<\/strong> once said, the line between genius and madness is as slim as cigarette paper and Hsieh definitely walked that thin margin. As for the circumstances of his death, Hsieh will instant go from legendary to notorious\u2014perfect for Vegas immortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jottings<\/em><\/strong>: Having eked out a Nevada win for Joe Biden<\/strong>, the Culinary Union<\/strong> is setting its sights<\/a> on a new goal. It wants a Right to Return ordinance in Clark County<\/strong>, one that would entitle all workers (unionized or not) first dibs on jobs lost due to the Great Shutdown … Citing “growing concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic,” Ute Mountain Casino Hotel<\/strong> in Colorado<\/strong> has closed through December and January is TBD. All 470 employees will be kept on and are promised their jobs when business resumes … Congratulations to Rancho Mirage Resort Casino Spa Agua Caliente<\/strong>, the only casino resort to be Sharecare Health Security verified by Forbes Travel Guide<\/em>. The newly created badge is “addressing the critical need to establish confidence with guests and travel planners in the age of COVID-19.” In other words, “Each recognized hotel on the list goes above and beyond the basic required standards in health and hygiene protocols, cleaning product technology and protocol, ventilation, physical distancing, guest experience and healthy safety communications for the guests” … In a sure sign of the Apocalypse, eight-year-old Joseph Deen<\/strong> has been recruited by esports organization Team 33 for a new gaming system and a $33,000 signing bonus. Deen, aka 33 Gosu<\/strong>, has been training since age six and was scouted only by Team 33, which obviously believes in robbing the cradle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit Suisse analyst Ben Chaiken is initiating coverage of DraftKings but not getting carried away. He’s put a “neutral” rating on the heavily hyped stock, with a $48 price target that mirrors its recent trading range. “We believe there is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[291,244,34,275,27,151,227,277,220,278,283,58,68,37,53,248,95,33,258,292,19,20,38,252],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28888"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28888"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28891,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28888\/revisions\/28891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}