This Week in DraftKings
Not a good week for me on DraftKings and some signs point to this not being a great one for DraftKings as a company. I had my clock cleaned during week 13 while the company itself continued their wait for a decision from a New York judge to determine their legality in that freedom strangling state.
I lost each head to head contest and didn’t even win my entry fees back on the three GPP tourneys I entered. Who do I blame? Myself, for thinking I could compete with these sharks and football nerds who line their beds with spreadsheets nightly.
Just kidding, I blame the Texans defense for laying an egg in my head to head matches after they looked dominant the prior three weeks. Also, CJ Anderson and Julius Thomas didn’t do me any favors with just 15.9 points between them.
My tournament problems can be blamed on my stupidity for forgetting to mix up my lineups. I had the exact same roster three times in the same contest. Yes I’m an idiot and was too busy last weekend to make the late swaps. I built those rosters around Matt Hasselbeck, so I had little shot of cashing anyway as he looked more like a senior league bowler than an NFL QB against Pittsburgh.
Hasselbeck was a bust last week along with the list below provided by DraftKings Playbook.
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Julio is suffering because of Matt Ryan’s woes. It won’t get any better this week as he will be covered by Carolina’s Josh Norman. UGH!
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Jarvis Landry is on a team going nowhere with Ryan Tannehill going 9/19 last week. Don’t look for Landry to do much going forward.
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Brandon LaFell may be the most unreliable receiver Brady has ever had to tolerate. He is good for a long shot in a GPP, but nothing else.
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Adrian Peterson just ran into a buzz saw that remembered they are the fearsome Seattle defense.
Now onto the usual legal news concerning DraftKings and the DFS industry.
FanDuel and DraftKings are still waiting on a decision in New York as to their legality there. This past Tuesday the New York State Assembly met to discuss daily fantasy sports. The hearing lasted about five hours according to Forbes.
New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow, chairman of the Racing and Wagering Committee, ran this little meeting that looks to try to figure out what to do about the daily fantasy sports industry once New York Supreme Court Justice Manuel Mendez rendered his decision on DFS legality in his state.
Many of these assemblymen have no idea what a “head to head” or “GPP,” is. Some probably just found out about daily fantasy sports mere weeks ago. Many of these old folks running the political scene in New York aren’t exactly on top of the latest trends. They’re more into smoking jackets, brandy, fine cigars, and eating $1000 meals provided by lobbyists.
Lawyers for DK and FD made the same arguments in this meeting as they have all along, that DFS are games of skill, not luck. They can stick to that until Shady McCoy invites Chip Kelly over for Christmas dinner, but these politicians aren’t going to buy it. Pretlow said as much during the hearing.
I agree of course. DFS is gambling. You pay to play and win more money if you win the game. You lose money if your roster fails to get enough points. Pretty simple.
Daily fantasy sports should remain legal, though. Pretty simple too. Adults should be able to gamble if they choose. It’s the powers that be who want to control how we gamble.
There was some good news during the hearing when Mr. Pretlow stated that even if Justice Mendez determined DFS to be illegal in New York, ““We’ll do something probably to legalize it.”
Not exactly a guarantee, but maybe the most promising thing we’ve heard out of any politician in New York since their attorney general, Eric Schneiderman put a hit out on FanDuel and DraftKings.
The bottom line is that the vast majority of New York politicians do not have a clue about daily fantasy sports. That clearly doesn’t bode well for an industry that can be destroyed by those who are ignorant about the technology, the game itself, those who choose to wager a few bucks, and the jobs that DFS creates. Not to mention the jobs that will be created in the future if this new sports phenomenon is allowed to grow instead of being snuffed out.
Be sure to check back next week for the latest in DraftKings and DFS news. We could have a decision from New York very soon.