Good Morning! FanDuel has some beef with its private equity sponsors KKR and Shamrock… and is suing the two firms for fraud. Adults with lemonade stands are juicing profits out of the childhood business model. Streaming costs keep going up for consumers. Sweetgreen and Shake Shack are leaning into robot automation, and remote work is becoming more difficult to find if you’re not a CEO. Plus can rizz really help you at work?

The Dividend Kings are an elite group of stocks with 50+ years of rising dividends. Get Sure Dividend’s free list of all 53 Dividend Kings here.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Sports Betting = New Stock Market

Sports gambling has exploded in popularity over the past few years. Not long ago, betting on sports was still a shady, under-the-table activity, requiring a call to that sketchy friend of a friend who ran a book. But since the rise of platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel, online gambling has been legal in most states since 2018, making it easier than ever to place a bet on your favorite game.

There's just one problem - more and more Americans are pulling money out of their stock brokerage accounts to fund their online sports betting habits.

One study found that, for every dollar spent on sports gambling in the United States, investments in stocks dropped over $2. It’s a significant relationship - and goes to show that some unsophisticated investors really don’t see much of a difference between the two.

There are a few loose parallels between gambling and stock investing - both involve a little risk-taking and financial reward. But is it fair to compare the positive expected value of investing with sports betting, which is arguably more of a form of entertainment?

That’s why platforms like Robinhood are nudging their users away from speculative meme stocks and toward more stable index funds. But with Americans moving their money from the stock market to gambling, we have to ask: do they trust their gut on sports bets more than they trust Wall Street?

Takeaway: You might be a savvy gambler and trust your college football picks more than you do the CEOs of public companies to deliver shareholder value. But it turns out that many Americans don’t have much faith or patience to stick out the investing game in the long run, particularly in unsophisticated, lower-income households. Remember, the house and compound interest always win—so let’s hope betting on your favorite team doesn’t become your new retirement plan!

_{PRESENTED BY SURE DIVIDEND}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• FanDuel founders sue private equity firms for fraud (Axios)

• Adults with lemonade stands now squeezing money out of business model (Fox)

• Private equity firms desperate for cash turn to a familiar trick (WSJ)

• Streaming is getting more expensive for consumers (CNBC)

• Bronfman moves closer to Paramount counter-bid (Axios)

• Private jet flights are down 15% in two years as Covid-era demand wanes (CNBC)

• Sweetgreen, Chipotle, Shake Shack leaning into robot automation (YF)

• Remote work is becoming less available if you're not a CEO (Axios)

• US equity funds see biggest weekly outflow in two months (YF)

• Inside the $93 million Wall Street heist that stemmed from Russia (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher thanks to soft landing hopes.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Bavarian Nordic A/S ($BVNRY) +15% because the mpox vaccine maker is poised to benefit from the current outbreak.

• (+) Sphere Entertainment ($SPHR) +5% after JPMorgan upgraded the entertainment company.

• (–) Amcor ($AMCR) -4% after the online packaging company reported slowing sales.

Private Dealmaking

• Lone Star Funds bought the commercial and residential fire unit of Carrier Global for $3 billion

• EQT bought PropertyGuru, a property platform, for $1.1 billion

• Caresyntax, an AI surgery platform, raised $180 million

• Quantum Circuits, a super-conditioning architecture developer, raised $60 million 

• Zanskar, a geothermal exploration company, raised $30 million

• Exowatt, a modular energy platform for data centers, raised $20 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The Biggest Bluff

It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him to be her mentor.

But she knew her man: a famously thoughtful and broad-minded player, he was intrigued by her pitch that she wasn't interested in making money so much as learning about life.

She had faced a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance had led her to a giant of game theory, who pointed her to poker as the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish between what can be controlled and what can't.

So, Seidel was in, and soon she was down the rabbit hole with him, into the wild, fiercely competitive, overwhelmingly masculine world of high-stakes Texas Hold'em.

“You’re not lucky because more good things are actually happening; you’re lucky because you’re alert to them when they do.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

The Economy Is Doing Just Fine

_{PRESENTED BY DOLLAR FLIGHT CLUB}

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• Round trip to Paris from $293

• Hawaii from $161

• Orlando from $38 (no joke)

Don’t wait, try for $1 now.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Listening

In a world full of noise, true listening is a rare and powerful skill.

It's not just about hearing words, but understanding meaning and intention.

How often do you listen to understand, rather than to reply?

Great leaders, from Mahatma Gandhi to Richard Branson, are known for their exceptional listening skills.

It builds trust, fosters understanding, and strengthens relationships.

Practice active listening.

Give your full attention.

Seek to understand before being understood.

Remember, we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• Can rizz help you in the workplace?

• Top red flags CEOs see in employees

• 3 mistakes to avoid when it comes to psychological safety at work

• The difference between time blocking and time boxing

• How to reduce distractions at work

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day