Jeff Edelsteon, Sportshandle
Thanos: Supervillian capable of wiping out half the world with the snap of his fingers.
Chanos: Super hedge fund manager capable of boosting the stock price of DraftKings while simultaneously ticking off nearly 100% of the sports betting public.
So yeah: Jim Chanos is a longtime, soon-to-retire, and famed — he called Enron going belly up — hedge fund manager. His specialty is, and remains, short-selling.
And DraftKings was in his crosshairs. He started shorting the company in May of 2021, according to a Financial Times article. But then this past July — and after taking a $10 million profit — Chanos dramatically shifted his position. The man who made a living betting against companies turned bullish on DraftKings — and on sports betting companies in general.
“The betting numbers have continued to be strong in the U.S., stronger than we thought they’d be,” he told the Financial Times. “The thing that we underestimated — that I think is going to be a benefit for all these companies for a while anyway — is what bad bettors the U.S. gamblers are.”
Ooof. Snap.
Rest is here…
