Pool Shark

About Pool Shark

The Polymarket ad campaign debuted less than 48 hours before Wednesday’s NFL regular-season opener. The matchup is a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl as the Seattle Seahawks host the AFC Champion New England Patriots.

Last February in Santa Clara, the Seahawks held the Patriots scoreless through three quarters en route to a 29-13 win. That said, the defending champions are not the favourites to win the Lombardi Trophy this year. Nearly every US operator has installed the Los Angeles Rams as the overwhelming choice to capture the title.

As of 6pm ET, the Seahawks had a 62% probability on Polymarket to defeat the Patriots in Wednesday’s opener. Conversely, Polymarket traders gave the Patriots a 39% chance to pull the upset. At those odds, a $100 contract on the Pats carries a payout of $247.35.

What is Pool Shark?

The group’s website features an interactive slot machine where the spin always lands on an alleged negative consequence such as “addiction,” “bankruptcies,” “divorces,” “mental health issues,” “fatal accidents,” “child neglect,” “human trafficking,” and “poverty.”

Voters in DeKalb and Steuben will also weigh in on casino authorization. House Bill 1038, signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) in March, authorizes a single casino in one of the three counties.

The law came at the request of Full House Resorts, the Las Vegas-based regional gaming operator that expressed interest in relocating its Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun to a more attractive market, specifically in the northeastern part of the state.

What is Pool Shark?

Many top gaming stocks have underperformed relative to the broader market in recent years, and most of the M&A activity has been facilitated by private equity and other institutions that can more readily capitalise on depressed valuations. There had been hope that rates would start to fall and help alleviate those pressures.

“Publicly traded valuations are a reflection of the current interest rate environment,” Chad Beynon, lead gaming analyst for Macquarie, told iGB. “Whether it’s a long-term financial model on a growth company, you’re going to discount that back at a higher rate, or if it’s just a standard four-wall business, the cash flows in a higher interest rate environment are worth less.”

According to data from Yahoo Finance, the resort and casino sector is -41% over the last five years, and the overall gambling sector, which includes major sportsbooks and online operators, is +7%; the benchmark S&P 500 index, by comparison, is +71% during that span.