#some have been opened since the pandemic 💛

[meetmymouth]

down from 500 🫰🏼

[studioweus]

hello frankie!!!

aah i'm glad you received it! tumblr often eats up asks or notifications so i'm not too surprised lol

i had a feeling you already knew day6 since you like kbands lol shoot me is just so good. as for btob, missing you is just one of those songs i can't skip it's been on my top 100 tracks for like 3 years (so since the first time i heard it lol) and i really recommend their most recent music (as a quartet and then as a full group).

i hope you've had time to listen to the songs, i enjoyed discovering the ones you mentioned 🥰 i actually already had flowering by lucy and hoppipola's cover of creep but i hadn't listened to them in a long time so it was nice to go back to them (i love that hoppipola makes long songs it's so rare). the guitar solo in montage is insane and i have a mutual who's really into yonghoon and he really has an amazing voice so i ended up listening to the whole album!

the dreamcatcher's concert was my first kpop concert (and it was so fun even if i was on my own)! i started listening to kpop like a year before covid hit so by the time i was enough of a fan of groups to consider going to their concert they had stopped touring (or they did online concerts which were technically my first concerts lol) - hopefully there'll be more! what about you, have you been to any concert?

oooh i knew hweseung could play guitar well but i had never seen that performance, it's so nice! i love their lol medley too (love the vid and that dongsung got to sing) but aside from that my faves are probably their live don't cry cover and their don't start me now and leave the door open covers, i really wish they could be on spotify so i could listen to them more easily (seunghyub and hweseung also have great solo covers!) but i think it's already really cool that they have full videos for them with different sets and styling to fit the song, it's liek they really make the songs theirs

as for my holidays traditions, i celebrate christmas 🎄 when i lived with my parents we used to put up the christmas tree together with my brothers but now that i live on my own i don't have enough space to have a tree lol so i'll be going back to my family this weekend to celebrate together 🥰 and other than that i took part in a christmas market at my church (we sell handmade cards and other stuffs as well as some food so that's always nice) and i also really like finding presents for everyone in my family in the weeks leading up to christmas. when it comes to new year's eve i used to do a movie evening with my family but i'll be working that day so i won't go back and i don't know yet what i'll do probably a movie evening of my own! what about you?

and now it's already time for my last question (next time you'll get a notification from me, it'll be your gift!): if you went to an nflying concert, what are the songs you'd like on the setlist?

your secret nfia ✨

i know what you mean 😔 it's a gamble sending asks sometimes. haha but thankfully i got the last ask, and this one too!

so far, i've listened to btob's newer releases (i just let the eps/albums play while i was working earlier!) some of the nct 127 songs - namely favorite and simon says - were familiar! i feel like i listened to parts of those songs. i love the chill vibes for gold dust 🥺 i also got the chance to listen to kihyun's ep, and ended up loving youth too 💛 i'll probably end up listening to the rest of the song recs while i work again. thank you for the recs 🥺💛

i also love that hoppipolla has longer songs too! i feel like it really lets the instrumentalists play around and showcase themselves more~ whoa that's cool! o: and i agree, yonghoon's voice is just *chef's kiss* was there a particular song that left an impression when you listened to the album?

aww that's a bit of poor timing getting into kpop 😔 but i hope the pandemic/quarantine period gave you the time to get into other groups! i actually attended one of the seventeen stops in north america this year during their world tour, and that was my first concert ever. it was so much fun 😭 i also hope there will be more opportunities to see seventeen again / and other groups of course! you said you saw dreamcatcher in their europe tour so i'm assuming you're from there/near europe 👀 unless you traveled to see them ofc. have there been any announcements for n.flying near you? i know they announced a north america one this january! as much as i want to attend, the nearest stop is still a bit far from where i live ;-;

i had to look up the don't cry cover and wow??? their vocals are insane, and hweseung's range is 😲 the rock vibes were very strong. i love don't start now too!! the bass line is so good 😭 leave the door open was great too! haha it's hard to choose fave covers because n.flying always does above and beyond with their arrangements.

it's always nice to spend time with family during the holidays 💛 sorry about the tree LOL the christmas market sounds interesting!! what gifts did you get your family! ah it sucks when work gets in the way of festivities 😔 i also spend christmas with the family! we normally have a big extended family party, but we held off on that during the pandemic so this will be the first time we'll be doing something big in a long while.

hmm setlist... i would definitely want video therapy on there, just because of that one live clip. everything down to the special effects was just great, i would love to see that live! moonshot as well, and of course their recent cb i like you! mainly because that's my first comeback with n.flying as a proper n.fia ☺️ how about you? o:

i can't wait to see the gift!! thank you for the fun conversations 🥺 i hope your week is going well 💛

[omocute-wobble]

Slice-of-Life Slapstick Omo

The omo with that clumsy-whumpsy flavour.

Whether applying an antibiotic cream to your infected toe, or preparing to clean your shower with stalwart grime-fighting chemicals, it's probably best to never do anything before evacuating your bladder. - I repeat: Never. Do. Anything.

On the other hand, when you write a character who has even the slightest need to pee, make them do everything. - Within reason, of course -- so no 3-hour drives or taming lions or whatever. Just those little innocuous things that could change their still-bearable discomfort into a writhing, clenching reason to cry. Simply because they have eyeballs.

Imagine the following:

💛 The infected toe. Doctor's advice: soak foot in soda solution, and apply antibiotic cream, three times a day. In practice this means you sit down with a (big/caffeinated) beverage, foot in a bucket of warm (but rapidly cooling down) liquid, for 20--30 minutes. Then you have to dry your foot, and apply the cream. Normally you'd get up to wash your hands at this point, and pee if you want to. - But... your character decides to call the doctor about their unimproving monster toe, and promptly is put on a three-callers-before-them hold. They play with the excess of cream on their toenail as they try to ignore the increasing fullness of their bladder. - After finally having made a new appointment, they are free to get up. They oof and urgh a bit, mutter some overdramatic "I'm getting old", and rub the itch in the corner of their eye -- touching their eyeball with the finger that still has some antibiotic cream on it...

AHHHHHHHH hurry to the nearest tap to rinse their eyeball with running water for omg no less than 20 minutes asdasfasdfasdf

💛 The bathroom cleaning. Your character decides it's high time to scrub their living space. After thoroughly cleaning the kitchen, they've been hearing enough running water to have been inspired to make some water of their own -- but since they're in the flow, they think they should first prepare a fresh bucket of chlorinated water, or a sturdy bleach solution. - As they run the water, they see all kinds of little things they can move beforehand to make cleaning easier, and oh, hang on, they have a special sponge for the faucets... - The bucket is full enough, so they close the tap, somewhat squirmy on one foot as they try to open the child-safety cap of their grime-fighting chemical bottle; they succeed! but not without losing balance and squeezing the bottle, which causes the substance to splash in their face, and, indeed, their eye---

AHHHHHHHH hurry turn back on the tap to rinse their eye with running water for OMG no less than 20 minutes asdasfasdfasdf

Of course, especially if your character lives alone, they could simply decide that being the owner of several changes of clothes and a mop means it'd not be the end of the world to let go. - So let's find a mundane thing to bork outside.

💛 Disinfectant hand gel. Your character is outside, perhaps travelling or shopping, and eagerly on their way to find a toilet. Whether for pandemic reasons, health concerns, germophobia, or simply because they just had a particularly sticky chocolate éclair, they use a generous glob of hygienic hand gel to clean their hands as they walk. - Just as they put the glob on their hand, the wind picks up and blows a pamphlet or someone's long hair in the direction of their face. They automatically shield their eyes with their hand, but someone bumps up against them from behind, and in a clumsy motion your character gets some of the gel in their eye---

AHHHHHHHH hurry into the nearest building and ask where they can rinse their eye with running water for OMFG no less than 20 minutes asdasfasdfasdf

...Okay, I'm done. <.<

Remember to Never Do Anything, peeps, and take care. 💛

[jonginnation]

*Win Super One Album*

PRIZES 💕

SuperM Super One Album - Super Version

SuperM Super One Album - One Version

SuperM Super One Album - Unit C. Version (Kai/Ten)

Super M x Kim Junggi ‘Tiger Inside’ Coloring Postcard

First TWO (2) winners will be content creators on tumblr for SuperM, or for any of the super M members, or their respective groups.

Second TWO (2) winners will be anyone who runs a SuperM tumblr blog, or a blog dedicated to any of the SuperM members, or their respective groups. (You don’t have to be a content creator.)

Content creators will have first dibs to show them some love! 💛💛💛

RULES 💕

You DO NOT need to be following me to enter. Follow me if you like the content I reblog and wanna see it on your dash.

You MUST run an active blog for SuperM, or one of the SuperM members, or one of the member's respective groups.

You MUST reblog this post. Likes don’t count because I’m trying to encourage reblogging for content creators. (Please don’t tag it as a giveaway. I heard that messes up something with tumblr.)

You can reblog multiple times, but no giveaway blogs and no spam reblogging please.

Please get your parent/guardian’s permission if you are under 18 since you will have to give me the address to receive your album/merchandise. If you win, then I will ask you to confirm that you are above 18 or have gotten your parent/guardian’s permission before asking for a mailing address.

The giveaway will end on Friday November 6th at 11:59pm EST.

Winner will be picked using a random number generator.

Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be picked.

Please have Instant Messaging or Ask Box open so I can message the winner.

Will ship worldwide if it's available through US Postal Service. The USPS website has a list of countries where international mail service has been suspended because of the pandemic.

This giveaway is not affiliated with tumblr.

Please continue supporting SuperM and the content creators on tumblr! 💛💛💛

Nov. 12, 2020 EDIT: Give Away Has Officially Ended 🥳 and the prizes have gone out!

👀 and yes.. I’m doing a give away for KOLO 😭

[burninghoneyatdusk]

2020 Fic Year in Review

Tagged by: @pawprinterfanfic, thanks love! 💛

Total number of published stories:

16 (4 WIPs, 12 complete)

Total published word count:

I just passed 450k this week which was pretty exciting.

Fandoms written in:

Only t100 for now, but eyeing the new shadow & bone show for 2021

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?:

Way more. I only started writing last year which was just two WIPs that were unfinished going into 2020. Both having the free time during the pandemic and filling prompts for @t100fic-for-blm had me writing a lot more this year.

What’s your own favorite story of the year?:

Tie between All Because of You and Voices in the Water

Did you take any writing risks this year?:

Hmm I guess just opening up prompts and writing things that I didn’t ✨choose✨ to write. I decided before I did that I wouldn’t say no to a prompt unless it was a topic that made me uncomfortable or something extreme in that sense, so some prompts have pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year?:

To just keep up writing as much as I can. I know with going back to work full time and having a social life again it might not be realistic to write as much as I did this year.

Next up:

New Voices in the Water chapter. You can view my list of upcoming prompts/WIP updates here - I try to include expected publication dates too.

Most popular story of the year?:

All Because of You blew all my other stories out of the water with hits, kudos, and comments, but that was first published in 2019. If we’re going off 2020 alone, my most popular is actually a fic I published anonymously lmao. Rip.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

Chasin You’ for sure, but I know that’s because the story has barely gotten started and it’s been a while since I updated. However, I have a couple updates for it coming up towards the end of February.

Most fun story to write:

I actually don’t think I have one - I’m always in the mood to write different stories at different times, which is why I never stick to one WIP at a time.

Most unintentionally telling story:

I’m not sure what this means. Like most revealing, about me? I mean some of my smut tags are probably revealing lmao. I also adore unplanned pregnancy and kid fics, so maybe All Because of You.

Biggest surprise:

Generally speaking, just how much @t100fic-for-blm has grown since we started in June. For fic, maybe my Graduation Pact series. I didn’t think people would love the fic so much but it’s my 4th most popular and 2 other fics have been prompted in that universe.

Tagging: all @t100fic-for-blm writers | @bookwormforalways | @icantloseyou-too | @eyessharpweaponshot | @bellamyblake | @immortalcockroach | @immortalpramheda | @arysafics

[jimkirkachu]

Idk if you saw but I sent you some messages in the notes of your last post and basically just know that I’m here if you ever wanna talk and also your feelings are valid and it’s totally ok to not feel ok right now. Also to keep in mind that this quarantine period won’t last forever and that we will all get through this together. And even if you did see sit I just wanted to say that to you again because it is important to remember and it’s true. You got this!!

(This turned into a long post so more under the cut.  Trigger warnings for coronavirus, mental illness, depression, anxiety, ptsd, isolation, low self esteem)

(2/4) I wonder if it would help you if I distracted you? Maybe I could send you a funny crack fanfic I wrote one time? It’s about 100 words and it’s about Star Trek

(3/4) Oh! I also know what could maybe also help! A list of things that you could do if you get bored! Ok so what I’ve been doing is texting my friends and look at memes mostly. So you could do that! Or maybe, you could watch a tv show. Like it could be Star Trek or a totally new show! Or maybe you could throw a pillow at the wall (idk I do that when I’m stressed sometimes and it helps?) or you could do some crafts! Or you could read a fanfiction. Or do anything you want.(I realy hope this is helpful)

(4/4) Also if it makes you feel any better I’ve been pretty stressed out too. Like I haven’t done any homework and I was supposed to do an assignment in each class for the last three days lol… now I’m way behind. So in other words, I hope it brings you comfort that you aren’t the only one? Although idk what you are going through and it might be harder who knows but I just hope you know that you aren’t alone

Oh my goodness dear, first things first, I am so sorry it’s taken me until now to respond.  I’m so overwhelmed by how thoughtful and sweet you are, and all of your ideas and suggestions are wonderful.  (Oh, and absolutely feel free to send me ANY Trek stories ANY time!!) 💙💛💙💛💙💛🖖

The ironic part about my feeling so lonely is that it’s not the pandemic itself or the social isolating/distancing that have been getting me down.  (I’m actually kind of a hermit even without a global disease outbreak.)  As it turns out, my best means of coping with the stress and fear of the whole coronavirus thing (and with upsetting local/national/world news in general) is talking it out with people, discussing and brainstorming and just getting it out of my head and out in the open.  Somehow that process makes me feel less like I’m drowning in my anxiety and depression and ptsd…?  But the thing is, the 3 irl friends I have are apparently super triggered by talking about current events, including (as I found out the hard way) anything about covid.  I had no idea one of them in particular was suddenly having panic attacks any time it came up (they’re all in isolation together, where I’m in a totally different state) and when I mentioned it one day (the day of the first covid-related death in my state, so I was sort of terrified and just looking for reassurance or comfort or sympathy I guess, especially since the 2 people I live with were gone for the week at that point so I was literally alone), I was scolded big time right there in the group chat for causing so much pain and anxiety.  I’ve now spent the last 2 weeks feeling like a horrible, atrocious, despicable friend/human being because, well… my only coping mechanism for this situation is actively harmful and triggering to the only friends I have in real life.

So… I’ve been keeping busy with writing, reading, knitting, and replaying an old video game from my childhood that sort of feels like a security blanket.  But I immensely appreciate your sentiment that I’m not really alone (even if my dumpster fire of a brain doesn’t always believe it).  Especially with the cocktail of mental health issues I have that already make me feel isolated in my own body/mind every day, plus my extreme sensitivity to anything rejection-/discipline-like, the whole plague thing has really pounded me into the ground the last couple weeks and I’m so grateful for your kindness, compassion, and support that I’m afraid I can’t really put it into words.  Just… thank you so so so so much, dear. 💜💜💜

[lawrencedienerthings]

With big sports back, Colorado’s betting scene exploded with $59 million in pent-up wagers

#highschool🏀🏈⚾️ 🐰 🎓 🎓 🌏 💆‍♂️ 💛 🆘

get headlines https://thecherrycreeknews.com

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down major sports in the U.S. and around the world this spring, Peter Jennings felt the sting as more than just a fan. Entrepreneurial since high school and with a head for numbers that helped earn him a degree in finance, he parlayed his love for sports into an unconventional career.

The 32-year-old former stockbroker shifted his attention in 2012 from what he calls “the biggest casino in the world” — the stock market — to making big money playing daily fantasy sports, and then into developing data tools and services for other players. He’d been eagerly awaiting the legalization of sports betting in Colorado because it offered a much-anticipated chance to grow the industry for which he has offered online content while also making a good living with his own analytical approach to wagering. 

Suddenly, just as Colorado’s new law went into effect, he found himself looking overseas and to relatively obscure competitions for action. Not that he was bored. There was still Korean pro baseball in full swing, though he could never bring himself to bet the high-level table tennis or darts that surfaced as wagering options. Golf came back slowly. The shutdown also opened his eyes to the possibilities of esports, the video-game competitions that, he notes, are by their very nature pandemic proof. He’s bullish on that market.

“It was a strange time, with so much uncertainty,” says Jennings, who now runs sports-related business ventures — including his personal bets — from an array of TV and computer screens in the home office of his Greenwood Village condo. “A lot of times during recessions, gambling goes up. And people always love sports, so it’s a great escape during bad times. But I didn’t project a pandemic.”

Now, with major pro sports returning, under a protective bubble in some cases and with fans socially distanced to their living room couches, Colorado’s foray into legalized betting has finally launched in earnest. 

Sports bets officially emerged from the shadows on May 1, and like many other businesses suddenly pivoting during the shutdown, this one initially featured a limited menu. That first month, bettors laid down only $25.6 million before a surge to $38.1 million in June — nearly a 50% increase that, under the circumstances, encouraged state officials and supporters. 

Still, early estimates of more than $1 billion in annual wagering seemed eons away.

But after July, that projection doesn’t seem so far-fetched. With major U.S. sports like baseball slowly returning to play, the action kicked up a notch. 

The state Department of Revenue reported on Wednesday that more than $59 million was wagered in July, just over a 55% increase from June and more than double May’s relatively modest number. After payouts to winners, operators reported more than $2.4 million in net sports betting proceeds and almost $242,000 in taxes due to the state.

And that still doesn’t reflect the full schedule of hockey and basketball playoffs, at a time when the NHL and NBA are normally dormant, that got underway in August.  Baseball, at 15.6%, accounted for the most betting on a single sport in July.

On Wednesday night, some sports halted again — this time in a powerful gesture seeking to draw attention to racial injustice. In the aftermath of a white police officer shooting Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin, players for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks announced they would not take the floor for their playoff game.

The NBA playoffs already have been making strong statements on the issue of police violence, but this latest police incident — aggravated by the fatal shooting of two protesters by a civilian — prompted the players to take additional action.

“Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” the players said in a statement.

Within hours, all three NBA playoff games Wednesday night had been postponed, and players met to discuss possible further steps that could include additional postponements or even canceling the season. The Milwaukee Brewers also postponed their baseball game as the action by players continued to gain momentum by the minute.

Having already been buffeted by the pandemic, sports took a back seat to the pressing issue of police violence in a year unlike any in memory.

Rep. Alec Garnett, a Denver Democrat, pushed for Colorado’s sports betting referendum with big bipartisan support, though voters then narrowly approved it last fall. He notes that even with growing revenues, accurate projections won’t come for a while yet. The “handle” (total amount bet) and the tax revenue earmarked for future water projects should become clearer once the pandemic has passed and the sports schedule resumes some semblance of routine.

Tax revenue from May fell just short of $100,000, while June brought in $217,023. That money will go toward repaying $1.73 million in startup costs before any revenue starts flowing to the Colorado Water Plan. Through July, there were 10 online operators and seven retail, or in-person, operators licensed in Colorado. Many more have been approved but haven’t yet begun operations. Only six online operators took bets in May.

I don’t know who would’ve thought $25 million would be bet in May when no sports were available. It shows we captured the 21st-century model of sports betting.

Rep. Alec Garnett, supporter of legalized sports betting in Colorado

Meanwhile, pro football has so far stuck to its plans to play — think of all the Denver Broncos fans in orange-tinted glasses eager to put their money where their heart is — even as the college game remains divided on a fall season. Garnett figures that while the rollout has been challenging, it’s hardly a worst-case scenario.

“The worst case would’ve been if we’d abandoned the vision of where this market is going and followed the lead of some and did nothing online and just do (in-person) betting windows across the state,” he says. “If we’d done that model, we’d be looking at a market not delivering on any level the way people expected it to. I don’t know who would’ve thought $25 million would be bet in May when no sports were available. It shows we captured the 21st-century model of sports betting.”

While in-person sports books still play a role — electronic signs tout them outside Colorado casinos in Central City, Black Hawk and Cripple Creek — the new model Garnett describes employs apps to make online betting easy from anywhere within the state. Turn on a television and you’re bound to see commercials for companies like DraftKings and FanDuel, two of the most popular sites, as they jockey to bring on new customers.

Together, those operators spent $1.5 million backing the ballot measure.

The temporary sportsbook at the Monarch casino in Blackhawk features two kiosks where bettors can place their wagers, with a more expansive space to come. Retail locations at the casinos so far have played a small role in Colorado’s betting action. (Kevin Simpson, The Colorado Sun)

With the major U.S. sports shutdown happening just as they were set to cultivate Colorado’s new market for betting, both needed to pivot quickly to provide alternatives. Spokesman Kevin Hennessy notes that because FanDuel is an international company, it had a relatively easy time setting up new betting markets for overseas sports.

“We’d been dealing with South American soccer because it’s popular, so it was just a matter of regulators approving it,” Hennessy says. “For a couple weeks, we had Korean baseball available. Darts we have on a regular basis, and table tennis is popular in some parts of the U.S., though ‘popular’ is relative in a pandemic.”

In May, table tennis actually accounted for the most money wagered on a single sport in Colorado at nearly $6.6 million, and did so again in June with $9.1 million. But in July some of that action was suspended by the Division of Gaming, which must approve all leagues and events for legal betting. 

The state received “credible information” from its integrity monitoring organizations of potential match-fixing and inconsistent betting patterns in at least one foreign country on Ukrainian table tennis. Though there were no known betting issues in the U.S., the state Division of Gaming suspended betting on the Ukrainian matches.

“The division uses multiple sources of information, including data from integrity monitoring associations, along with some of the operators that have internal integrity monitoring departments, to monitor the sports betting market,” Suzanne Karrer, a Department of Revenue spokeswoman, said in an email. “Colorado is one of the first in the nation to set up a system of sports betting integrity and reporting, as established in our sports betting rules. We have an entire rule on this specific issue.”

Rule 8 in Colorado sports betting regulations requires licensed operators in the state to provide aggregate data as well as have internal controls in place to identify unusual betting activities. Operators must routinely report information on wagers including time, amount, odds, type of bet, winning payout and team to the Division of Gaming and the state’s independent integrity monitors, including U.S. Integrity and the Sports Wagering Integrity Monitoring Association.

Although table tennis had its moment in the Colorado spotlight, the return of major sporting events has been momentous. FanDuel’s Hennessy reports that ice hockey bets right now — in the sweltering middle of August — are four times what they were in February. And the NBA, as it begins its playoffs, ranks at the top of the list, which in a normal year would never happen as Major League Baseball dominates the summer schedule.

But this is no normal year. Not only has the usual sports schedule been rearranged by the coronavirus, but those sports once largely ignored by U.S. bettors haven’t gone away.

“We’re still offering the Premier League of Darts” says Johnny Avello, Las Vegas-based director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings. ���KBO (Korean baseball), that’s still going. Cricket is going. That menu that we were using is still around. I learned a lot myself. As oddsmakers, we had to learn more about how to make offerings for it. And we got better at it. 

“Some people have learned to like those sports.”

Peter Jennings’ first legal sports bet in Colorado did not go well.

On May 24, golf legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson paired with superstar NFL quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, respectively, for a charity match, with the pandemic-tinged telecast offering the intimacy of mic’d-up players and broadcasters delivering a running, often humorous, commentary. 

Jennings, an avid golfer himself, couldn’t resist — he bets his highest volume on golf — and became one of the millions who made “The Match” the highest-drawing cable golf event in history.

 “People were dying for something live with the lack of real sports,” he says. “It was a great concept. Peyton and Brady were a good dynamic.”

But strictly speaking, it was a low-stakes event. The only money on the line went to COVID-19 relief, and with various celebrities chiming in with side bets during the telecast, the total grew to $20 million. But while it was great entertainment and raised money for a good cause, how do you intelligently bet on the outcome when you can only guess at how seriously the participants take the competition?

“My thought was to get as much information as I could on Brady and Peyton, get their handicaps,” Jennings says. “But I think Phil Mickelson definitely wanted to win. He was so stoked about the match, talking trash. Tiger has a ton of pride, but I was thinking Phil was a little more motivated. But still, there was a randomness to it.”

Peter Jennings, co-founder of daily fantasy sports site FantasyLabs, is pictured at Cherry Creek Country Club on Sunday, August 16, 2020. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Jennings bet the moneyline on the underdogs, Mickelson and Brady. That type of bet lays out how much he would win on a bet of $100, and Jennings shopped around and found a sportsbook that paid close to $200 for every $100 he risked.

“By no means did I deem that a wildly profitable bet,” he says. “But of course I was going to bet it. I fell into the camp where the best part of betting is that it makes any sporting event that much more entertaining. You’re that much more engaged in any sporting event you have money on.”

The match was, indeed, entertaining, as the viewership indicated. But the pair of Woods and Manning won.

“Yes, I lost my first bet,” Jennings chuckles. “One of many, many losing bets that I’ll make.”

He can smile when he says this, because unlike the occasional, recreational bettor, those who bank their livelihood on the outcome of their wagers tend to approach betting from a big-picture, analytical system that disregards distractions like fan allegiance and strips down the process to math and probability. 

For Jennings, there were few better teachers of the analytical approach than online poker, which he started playing in high school. He continued to hone his game through college at Colorado State University, where he managed to win “in the low six figures, which at the time seemed like all the money in the world.” 

“By no means was I the best poker player, but I was certainly good enough to win,” he says. “I was playing at a good time, working hard on my game, trying to take an analytical approach.”

In 2011, when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the top online poker sites and froze their assets in what players dubbed Black Friday, he gave up his “entrepreneurial aspirations” with regard to poker and, armed with a degree in finance and his Series 63 license, found work as a stockbroker at Charles Schwab. But the same federal law that shut down online poker created an opening for daily fantasy sports.

I’d front load, be on the phone early in an effort to free up time to play daily fantasy sports — basically take a long dinner break ahead of the sports schedule. That started to become more lucrative than my job.

Peter Jennings, on his decision to leave his job as a stockbroker

“You had to be on the phone a good percentage of the day at Schwab,” Jennings recalls. “I’d front load, be on the phone early in an effort to free up time to play daily fantasy sports — basically take a long dinner break ahead of the sports schedule. That started to become more lucrative than my job.”

Daily fantasy sports is a variation on traditional fantasy leagues, in which groups of fans draft teams in various sports and usually compete against each other through a point system over the course of a season, with the winners taking various shares of a prize pool. The daily version operates online and with a drastically shorter timeline — as short as a single day to determine winners and losers and provide quicker payoff. 

Because daily fantasy sports is considered skill-based, playing it for money is not gambling under federal law, although a handful of states consider it illegal. Colorado passed a law that explicitly designated it legal in 2016. Fans can still play a free version of daily fantasy sports that often features prize money but carries no risk for the player.

Garnett didn’t carry Colorado’s bill to legalize pay-for-play daily fantasy sports, but he was involved with amending it and got to know Jennings along the way. They still interact on Twitter and share an occasional text.

“The amendments I put on were all for consumer protection,” Garnett says, “making sure skilled gaming operators identify who are the ‘whales’ and the ‘fish,’ so there are spots for beginners to play each other. I shouldn’t feel like I have to play Peter Jennings. A lot of the work I did was to carve out space for people like me who just do this on the side for fun.”

Companies like FanDuel and DraftKings emerged to take advantage of the growing popularity of daily fantasy sports. FanDuel’s Hennessy says the company noticed that its daily fantasy sports customers throughout most U.S. states were looking to place legal wagers. So when it goes into a new state like Colorado, it already has a database of potential customers.

A DraftKings.com billboard is pictured through the overpasses of the 6th Avenue Freeway near Osage Street in Denver on Thursday, August 20, 2020. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

Jennings’ methodical approach to daily fantasy sports led to enough success that he quit his job as a stockbroker in 2012. Two months later, he qualified for a FanDuel championship and won $150,000, the first six-figure prize. Three years later he banked $1 million in a fantasy baseball tournament. But it was that first big win that he calls “a life-changing moment” that led him to pursue a career in the industry.

For him, that meant becoming involved in aspects other than betting on sports outcomes. He was co-founder of a company called FantasyLabs, a one-stop site for sports analytics and tools for playing daily fantasy sports that attracted investment from Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and an investor on the show “Shark Tank.” That and his other ventures now exist under the umbrella of the Action Network.

Jennings appears on podcasts and live stream interviews, including a weekly look at the PGA Tour, and also does business development to grow the industry, including some current planning for products to assist the serious bettor. But the new sports betting landscape in Colorado means that even recreational bettors among his friends and acquaintances often seek his counsel. 

He shies away from telling people what to bet. He prefers the “teach a man to fish” approach and offers advice on how to make smart bets that may not yield a quick windfall, but can keep the recreational bettor from courting disaster. 

“What people need to talk about is price — helping people find the best price,” he says of shopping sportsbooks for the best terms, such as odds or point spread. “I’m not saying that’s a guaranteed winner, but make sure you check everywhere you can bet and bet at the best price. That’s going to help a lot of people go from very bad bettors to maybe slight losers or even break-even bettors. 

“And anyone who’s taking it more seriously, working hard at it and talented, it can make them a winning bettor. The majority of professional bettors, 99%-plus, are taking advantage of line shopping.”

Jennings contends that Colorado has some of the best legislation from both the operator and bettor standpoint, which is why he says so many operators have come here.

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“Multiple options are fantastic for the bettor,” he explains. “The biggest advantage you have as a bettor is you get to choose when to bet. If you have multiple operators, you get the best price. Having options, the ability to line shop, is paramount and Colorado is set up well for that.”

Jennings’ income is weighted toward his own plays — in daily fantasy sports and now regular sports betting. Generally speaking, he’s able to invest six figures on specific sporting events — particularly golf tournaments or NFL Sundays — through those two avenues in anticipation of a 5% return on investment.

“The power of betting, playing daily fantasy sports relative to other investments, is that you have shorter time horizons for compounding, which can be really powerful,” he says. “Results are up and down, but the goal is to have that trend, and historically that’s been able to play out in my favor.

“If you can win 55% of your bets, you’re doing great,” he adds. “High 50s you’re doing amazing. Even if you’re winning 58%, you’re losing the other 42%. So there’s a lot of losses.”

Virtually all of Jennings’ plays happen online. 

Garnett says that part of the reason Colorado’s law paid such attention to the online model had to do with the proliferation of marijuana dispensaries “that have overtaken some communities.” To avoid that with sports betting, the proposed legislation focused on an online model that would protect consumers, “geo-fence” the state so that online bets could only be placed within its borders and foster competition so that one or two operators wouldn’t dominate the market.

But in-person betting still has its place. At this point, the state’s monthly report doesn’t reflect the volume of bets that happen online vs. in person because of the relatively small number of operators. But casinos like the Monarch in Black Hawk have plans to expand their sports betting space considerably from the current pair of kiosks tucked into a corner by an exit.

The kiosk at the Monarch casino in Black Hawk churned out a ticket earlier this month betting the Denver Nuggets to win the NBA title. The “futures bet” gave 22 to 1 odds, which means that on a $20 bet it would pay $460. (Kevin Simpson, The Colorado Sun)

Erica Ferris, director of casino marketing for the Monarch, says the pandemic pause provided time for the company to perfect its mobile app, even as it completes what it touts as a state-of-the-art sportsbook space.

“I think what is great about an app is it allows you to bet from absolutely anywhere in our state,” she says. “I don’t think it diminishes how people enjoy coming to a sportsbook from time to time. And I think as we get into big fantasy drafts and things like that next year people will still be interested in coming to a sportsbook. Watching a great game is watching a great game, and being able to place a sports wager with knowledgeable professionals is the goal.”

Still, in relative terms, she describes the sportsbook as “an add on. It’s a delightful amenity that we can offer our guests in conjunction with the other slots and table games that we already offer.”

DraftKings’ Avello, noting “big plans” for what’s now a temporary sportsbook at the Mardi Gras casino in Black Hawk, echoed that physical spaces are important for lots of bettors who like the camaraderie of a retail location.

“Mobile and digital is the future, but bricks-and-mortar is important for people who want to make a bet or talk to a ticket writer about a bet,” he says. “Those places are still important.”

Garnett contends that the future may actually be in giving sports bars a “face lift,” with amenities that let fans enjoy the group dynamic, have relevant information at their fingertips, watch multiple events at once and place their bets through the apps on their phones.

For serious bettors like Jennings, the only time he might place a bet at a retail sportsbook is “a total one-off, if I’m ever in Blackhawk and want to bet in cash. But the online conveniences, that’s my business. Cash is just a nuisance more than anything.”

And on those very occasional times when he makes an entertainment bet — like say, if his CSU Rams were playing the University of Colorado — and he wanted to go with his heart rather than his strategic model, he would at the very least shop around for the best terms, whether it be odds, point spread or moneyline.

“I don’t really need that in my life,” he says of betting sports just for fun. “I’m betting all the time. In the instance I do, I’d feel better and justified if I find an outlier price.”

Whether the bettor is a professional like Jennings or one of the many recreational bettors willing to put a few bucks on the home team, one principle applies. Gambling, like investing, is all about risk tolerance. Jennings figures he probably has higher risk tolerance than the average person, but when it comes to protecting his assets in the market, he calls himself a “buy and hold” kind of guy.

Once he got married and started to build a financial foundation, he says, he’s become “hyperaware” of managing what he has, and suspects his risk tolerance will recede as he gets older. That said, he’s excited to see where sports betting goes in Colorado.

“I couldn’t be more bullish on this space,” Jennings says. “Part of the legalization that’s great is the stigma around being a sports bettor or ‘gambler’ is being eroded. The stock market is the biggest casino in the world. It’s just a different value proposition. The majority of the collective value of group betting is entertainment.”

Retail sportsbooks like this one at the Ameristar casino in Black Hawk are the brick-and-mortar locations where bets are taken. They’ve started ramping up as pro sports have gradually returned to play, but online bets far outpace the retail action at this point. (Kevin Simpson, The Colorado Sun)

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