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So DK tweeted out millionaire maker ownership here http://playbook.draftkings.com/nfl/millionaire-maker-percent-owned-week-3/ which as of 230pm still includes ownership data for games that have not yet started. IMO this is a big leak and should never happen. It also seems like something that your average analyst should probably not have access too, and able to tell his buddies who is owned and who the best players have. Hey did you know that CSURAM has Randall Cobb going late? Given that they can access the macro results it seems probable they can access specific users during and/or before contests start.
They definitely should no be sharing it publicly, if they’re going to do it just list the full rosters in the contest and call it a day.
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Honestly, I hope it is alarmist for the sake of dfs. I sincerely hope it turns out that nothing shady has been going on for who knows how long.
I’d gladly concede my wrongness at that point. I would just rather be safe than sorry again.
Just applied for a job at FD through Linkedin.
See you guys at the top of the grinder leaderboards!
cries
But seriously – especially with the whole piece regarding the rapid ascension of PetrGibbons in a 5 month period to the top of the DK Grinder Leaderboards. If nothing else, it LOOKS incredibly suspicious in light of this.
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I shut up after Cal said a statement was coming.
Unfortunately, the statement does not outline which employees have access to competitors lineups prior to lock, which employees have access to player profit/loss info and what exactly sites are doing to prevent employees from using this information to profit from playing in DFS contests.
With that being said, I’m not sure that I have the answer on how to fix this problem. If you prevent employees from playing in the industry, what stops them from just passing that info on to a friend that can legally play?
One thing I am sure of though, is that the people here, and writers for other publications, that are inferring that Ethan had ownership information before lock are either uneducated on the situation, or jumping to a conclusion that is 100% untrue, and I hope he takes action against you for tarnishing his good name.
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Or maybe he’s just that good at DFS and didn’t do anything wrong
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That doesn’t surprise me at all. If he is an integral part of putting the salaries together for Fanduel, why would he not be a good DFS player in his own right?
He doesn’t have to be “cheating” to have an advantage/knowledge base considering his current role with Fanduel.
The petrgibbions thing is very interesting, how does he find the time to build hundreds of MLB lineups while working during the day at FD?
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I don’t think they worked together at all on scripting responses.
If both sites, instead of just one site, end up with tighter controls on employees playing on other sites I think almost everyone posting here would consider that a good thing. Hopefully the statements come out soon so that the discussion can advance past this limbo.
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@dp47, This ^is a small minority and I think the bulk of the issue is that this information was accessible to begin with. Calling Ethan a cheater is different that Ethan having the opportunity to cheat, if he felt so inclined. It appears the effort to prevent this was negligent at best, which begs the question: How long and how often has this happened in the past and to what effect?
I am not confident you/we will ever receive the answers to the questions you outlined in the front of your post.
Not to in any way make light of the current DFS situation, but this is an apples and oranges comparison — the UIGEA put laws into place to prohibit banking transactions related to online poker while specifically legalizing daily fantasy sports.
Has 3 seats to the DK FFWC already!!!
i realize most people are digging for reasons to explain why they lost but if anyone legitimately wants responses to all these questions just read Stew’s posts throughout this thread.
Agreed, I hope he spends large amounts of his completely earned and not-at-all ill gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars (100% not sarcastic, please don’t sue!) on frivolous lawsuits.
Thanks Cal, though to be honest it might be wise to not “guess” what might be coming down the road. Your initial discussion with Matt Kalish and subsequent post detailed what you assumed was going to be addressed by DK in their important statement. I know many of us were hoping to see something like you detailed in the statement based off what you heard, which in fact didn’t happen at all with their generic response. I know you are giving us as much inside scoop as possible which is greatly appreciated, but I think we all need to step back and really see what the heck is going on. Time will tell, but unfortunately this hasn’t been a good week.
You really don’t see the problem with someone setting salaries on one site then making hundreds of thousands off the similar pricing function at another site?
Really hope you don’t work in finance.
The most valuable piece of information is the lineups of established players like Condia, Max, etc.
DK allows you to download a csv file containing all of the lineups after the contest finishes. If we know Ethan has access to ownership % prior to the Monday night games beginning, it’s not a stretch to think that one or more people at DK might have access to this type of file before the contest even begins.
Ownership % give you an edge, sure. But imagine knowing what Max’s core of players is after he submits his 500 MM lineups?
I don’t know PetrGibbons personally but I do know that I used to crush him in NBA h2h’s then all of the sudden he became this incredible player. Funny thing was I kept winning everywhere else, it wasn’t a slip in my performance but a significant jump in his. Always hit me as weird when I all of the sudden saw him in the biggest of tourneys with multi entries finishing near the top. Never thought anything of it until now….
Just a question: Does DK have a PR department or an outside firm on the payroll?
This is exactly the problem, he already knows who the best plays are based on the FD pricing algorithm. He can then use this information to his advantage on DK by finding players who are under priced. On top of this he probably uses a script to enter his lineups because it would be very hard to get off work at say 5-530 from FD and then build hundreds of MLB lineups by 7pm.
Yeah…you’re right. Everyone that does not agree with you and takes the position of anger and frustration over these important issue are just jealous, losing DFS players. Give me a break…
Dude, do you actually think/read your posts before you submit them?
They have internal PR staff and an external firm that works with them, as well.
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can vegas line makers bet games? im sick to my stomach over this. i’m not accusing anyone of cheating. just unreal that this data is made available to players. protect the integrity of the game or the game will cease to exist.
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I think it’s kind of funny that he worked for the illegal (under US law) sportsbook pinnacle for years and now he works for the LEGAL DFS industry.
Yes they can, actually