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Rush Street Interactive has been a leader in US online gaming and recently announced a merger with dMY Technology Group. The deal will find it listed on the New York Stock Exchange as RSI and valued at $1.78 billion.
Poker legend Phil Hellmuth was an investor in dMY and now has a chance at a nice return. Hellmuth recently spoke with PlayUSA about his role and investment and provided USPoker with some insight as well.
He also offered some comments that will interest online poker fans. Hellmuth says that Rush Street will be moving into the online poker space in the US.
“I believe that Rush Street will have online poker up-and-running soon,” he told USPoker.
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Poker player turned deal maker
While Hellmuth didn’t offer details beyond that, the news could mean another player in the US online poker market. This comes at a time when operators have experienced record revenue numbers.
Rush Street could be a big player in the industry. The company is the leader in the US in online casinogaming and also offers sports betting in several states.
dMY is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) founded by Niccolo de Masi and Harry You. These types of companies look for investors to help fund asset acquisition and major stock purchases.
Rush Street apparently proved a nice target for dMY and Hellmuth helped facilitate the deal. He received a nice fee for his work and also stands to gain significantly from his investment.
“I invested $300,000 and it was a gamble because I could have lost 100% of it had we not selected a company to take public within 18 months,” Hellmuth told PlayUSA. “On the other hand, my $300,000 investment became worth multiples of what I invested when the SPAC traded at $10 a share, now at $15 a share.”
De Masi spoke with FOX Business Channel about the deal on Sept. 25 and how RSI differs a bit from competitors.
“Rush Street is a leader in sports betting but it’s actually the number one player in the online casino space,” he said. “We are bigger than DraftKings or FanDuel or anybody else when it comes to online table games, slots, bingo, et cetera.”
Rush Street is already currently profitable, de Masi also noted. dMY chose RSI because it already had “the best product, best ground game, and highest return on investment capital,” de Masi added.
Go @NiccoloDeMasi and RSI (Rush Street Interactive) Founder Greg Carlin, go!! Interview sheds some light on how we (DMYT-UN) are taking RSI public for $2.2Billion
dMY Technology CEO: We’re merging with Rush Street | Fox Business https://t.co/SS5PRD1tuo
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) September 25, 2020
Another potential online poker operator
In the US, online poker is currently live and legal in New Jersey, Nevada, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. two others, Michigan and West Virginia, have also legalized online poker as well, but both are still in the licensure stage.
The ongoing battle regarding the Wire Act remains a thorn in the industry’s side. The Department of Justice has argued that the act applies to other forms of gaming beyond than sports betting.
The gaming industry won the first round in court, but the issue remains in a federal appeals court. That’s put growth of interstate compacts on hold until courts resolve the dispute.
WSOP.com currently runs the only interstate compact in Nevada and New Jersey and with 888poker in Delaware. If the DOJ opinion is struck down, more interstate agreements offer a chance at real growth in online poker.
The expansion of online poker and gaming has been slower than the rapid growth of sports betting. Many in the industry hope sports betting can lead to more online poker and gaming eventually. As the thinking goes, “If you’re going to legalize one form of online gambling, why not others?”
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Rush Street could be a nice addition to the US online poker market. That has been dominated by PokerStars, partypoker, and WSOP.com so far.
For casino gaming, RSI uses its own proprietary software. That seems likely for any online poker launch, but remains to be seen. If courts rule the Wire Act applies to poker, companies like Rush Street may not see online poker as a smart business decision.
Hellmuth seeks like a likely face for any Rush Street online poker product. However, he told USPoker that he’s in the process of talking with three companies about a possible online poker and sports betting sponsorship.
A role in the Rush Street merger
RSI derives from Rush Street Gaming, which operates Rivers Casino properties in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia), New York, and Illinois. The company also offers online sports betting in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Rush Street is already approved for online poker in the Keystone State. A launch into both PA and NJ seems possible, but the company would be battling for a small gaming segment despite recent gains.
Beyond his initial investment in dMY, Hellmuth also had a role in orchestrating the merger between the two companies. Thanks to a previous relationship with RSI CEO Greg Carlin, he helped lay the groundwork.
Those negotiations led to a healthy fee for his efforts, Hellmuth says. Fittingly for a poker player, he said that was “like finishing fifth in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event.”
That spot at the final table paid out $2.2 million. He remains bullish on RSI’s place in the market and where the company’s headed after the merger.
“RSI is crushing it,” Hellmuth says. “We are the number one online casino in the USA, and we are completely regulated and legal. Fifty percent of our revenues come from [online] gambling and fifty percent from sports betting, which is a nice balance. Unlike other companies in our space, we are profitable.”
Rush Street Interactive (RSI), one of the fastest-growing onlinecasino and sports wagering companies in the US, announced a reverse merger with dMY Technology Group in late July. As a result, RSI will become a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.
The combined company is expected to have an initial value of $1.78 billion. Another interesting twist is the involvement of poker legend and 15-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. The Poker Hall of Famer is an investor and spoke with PlayUSA about the company, its future, and his unique role with Rush Street/dMY.
Getting in on the ground floor with dMY Tech
Rush Street Interactive is the iGaming offshoot of Rush Street Gaming. The gaming arm owns four Rivers-branded casinos in:
• Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania
• Schenectady, New York
• Des Plaines, Illinois
• Schenectady, New York
• Des Plaines, Illinois
RSI has expanded beyond those states and runs online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana and Illinois. The company also operates onlinecasino gaming in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Hellmuth bought a piece of the dMY when it launched earlier this year, considered a “sponsorship money” investment. dMY is a $230 million special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) founded by Niccolo de Masi and Harry You. The company was founded for asset acquisition, stock purchases, and other business combination activities.
“I invested $300,000 and it was a gamble because I could have lost 100% of it had we not selected a company to take public within 18 months,” Hellmuth says. “On the other hand, my $300,000 investment became worth multiples of what I invested when the SPAC traded at $10 a share, now at $15 a share.
“I thought, ‘I trust [company co-founder] Niccolo DeMasi and if he chooses the right company, then I could make a seven-digit return from my $300,000 investment. Even if Niccolo brought in an average company I could triple my money.”
dMy meet Rush Street, Rush Street meet dMY
The announcement that Rush Street and dMY would combine forces came with an additional Hellmuth twist. A relationship with Rush Street CEO Greg Carlin played a part in the merger.
“Who knew that I would come up with the company that we took public?” Hellmuth says. “I knew I was considered ‘influencer money,’ but near the end of a phone call with my friend Greg Carlin, CEO of Rush Street Interactive, he mentioned that they were going to go public through a SPAC.
“I mentioned that I was involved with a SPAC and that my best friend [venture capitalist and businessman] Chamath Palihapitiya had launched two SPACs the week before. I connected Carlin with both, but asked Chamath to hold off and give my team a chance to negotiate for a week or two.”
Go @NiccoloDeMasi and RSI (Rush Street Interactive) Founder Greg Carlin, go!! Interview sheds some light on how we (DMYT-UN) are taking RSI public for $2.2Billion
dMY Technology CEO: We’re merging with Rush Street | Fox Business https://t.co/SS5PRD1tuo
— phil_hellmuth (@phil_hellmuth) September 25, 2020
Both sides asked Hellmuth to vouch for the other in what looked to be close to a $2 billion deal. Both companies took care of Hellmuth for his efforts, similar to “finishing fifth in the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event.”
That wasn’t a bad deal for the “Poker Brat” when RSI and dMY came to an agreement. (For the record, Kevin Maahs earned $2.2 million last year for finishing fifth at the WSOP in Las Vegas.)
What’s ahead for Rush Street with online casinos and online poker?
No timetable has been announced yet for completing the merger, but Hellmuth sees big things ahead for RSI.
The company has done well in the young Pennsylvania online gambling market and has managed to compete in a crowded NJ industry.
“RSI is crushing it,” Hellmuth says. “We are the number one onlinecasino in the USA, and we are completely regulated and legal. Fifty percent of our revenues come from gambling and fifty percent from sports betting, which is a nice balance. Unlike other companies in our space, we are profitable.”
It’s a little difficult to say if Hellmuth is right on “No. 1 casino” based on reporting in PA and NJ, but it is undoubtedly one of the top operators.
Projections for 2021 have pegged revenue at $320 million and “RSI” is expected to become the stock in October. The success of its onlinecasino gaming differs a bit from companies like DraftKings.
Hellmuth believes RSI will soon be launching onlinepoker, which is legal and live in:
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- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Delaware
- Nevada
Michigan and West Virginia have also legalized onlinepoker, but nothing has gone live yet. US onlinepoker has seen record revenue numbers during the coronavirus pandemic. Hellmuth believes Rush Street will be part of that as the market slowly grows.
“They are 100% planning on onlinepoker,” he says.
With RSI already operating in two of the legalized onlinepoker states, entering the market definitely seems possible. That’s especially true if onlinepoker revenue continues near 2020 numbers. Rush Street already has been approved for onlinepoker in PA.
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RSI momentum from sports betting
Onlinecasino and poker may be important revenue streams, but expanded sports betting also offers big growth opportunities for RSI. While states have been slow in legalizing online gaming in general, sports betting has spread across the country quickly in two years.
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. That ended a ban on legal sports betting outside Nevada.
Since then, 18 states and Washington D.C. have legalized sports betting. Four states have approved legislation but haven’t gone live yet, and others are considering legalization. In many states, a whopping 80 percent of wagering is from mobile betting.
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Hellmuth believes RSI could be well-positioned for the continually growing sports betting market.
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“I think that everyone will bet sports online,” he says. “Why have a bookie and phone calls when the bookie may not even be able to pay you every week? Online sports betting offers new bets every few seconds: ‘What will the next play call be? What is the current line on a live game now where one team is up 7 points?”
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Beyond RSI/dMY, Hellmuth works with some other companies as well. He enjoys his role on seven advisory boards including: End Game Talent Agency; Lasso Gear; Muzik Headphones; and PrizePicks.
Hellmuth also recently invested $500,000 to help launch a second SPAC (DMYD-UN). He’s also in talks with three companies about a possible onlinepoker and sports betting sponsorship deal. While he may be a poker player, Hellmuth likes his life in the business world.
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“I have been looking around for another great company to take public through our new SPAC,” he says. “It’s a business dream to take one of the companies that I’m advising public in one of my SPACs … maybe 2022.”