Billion Dollar Fantasy, Albert Chen
Billion Dollar Fantasy, Albert Chen
1 Rating(s)
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Billion Dollar Fantasy
The High-Stakes Game between FanDuel and DraftKings That Upended Sports in America

Author: Albert Chen

Narrator: Chris Abell

Unabridged: 8 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/10/2019


Synopsis

The story of the rise of daily fantasy sports, and the brilliant entrepreneurs disrupting the way we consume sportsThe inside story of the rise, fall, and rise of FanDuel and DraftKings—two companies that began as obscure start-ups and, seemingly overnight, became billion-dollar companies, and just as quickly found themselves the target of the FBI and Department of Justice and the center of a national scandal.Veteran sportswriter Albert Chen draws on candid, unprecedented interviews with every key player in tech, sports, gambling, and the fantasy leagues to create a breakneck narrative around a group of entrepreneurs, players, and gamblers. Billion Dollar Fantasy recounts the origins of modern gambling and fantasy sports in America, and follows the unlikely rise of the fantasy sports world through the lens of the two start-ups at the center of the story.For fans of The Big Short, The Facebook Effect, or Bringing Down the House, this book tells the tale of a culture of risk, hubris, greed, redemption, and a group of larger-than-life characters trying to make sense of the complex new world they’ve created.

About Albert Chen

Albert Chen has been a writer and editor at Sports Illustrated since 2000. He is currently the editor of SI’s Scorecard section and oversees SI’s baseball, college football, and gambling coverage. He lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Evan

While I play and have played DFS for many years, this book was too long for the subject matter. Although pretty well written, most of the material was fairly boring in nature. Unless you’re a DFS fan, stay away.......more

Goodreads review by Korryn

An insightful and enjoyable read. The subject (DFS) is not enough to carry the book, so Chen's character development and interweaving storylines across chapters that are more vignettes carried the book.......more

Goodreads review by Jeremy

I just checked off a book from my 2022 Gospel eBooks reading challenge. It was a monthly themed challenge where I read "a book about a hobby of yours". I got interested in fantasy sports when Draftkings released their Reignmakers NFT game this year. I'm a huge believer in NFTs and one form of utility......more

Goodreads review by Mike

Who knew a book detailing the building of a billion-dollar industry, sprinkled with a few stories about those who won millions playing the online sports games the industry built, could be so boring? Me, after reading this. Albert Chen details the rise and almost fall of DraftKings and FanDuel, the fan......more


Quotes

“[An] insider account of the dizzying rise of fantasy sports websites.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The brisk narrative moves nimbly through the online entertainment industry and will find fans among those intrigued by fantasy sports.” Library Journal

“An exhilarating, cinematic account of the rapid rise and fall and rise again of a pair of odds-defying unicorns and the bootstrapping impresarios who created them.” Ben Reiter, New York Times bestselling author

“A rollicking, riveting account of an improbable start-up war that invaded all of our living rooms and paved the way for sports gambling across America…It’s both an inspirational story and a cautionary tale.” L. Jon Wertheim, 60 Minutes correspondent and New York Times bestselling author

“Chen answers all the questions about the strange intersection of sports, gambling, start-ups, and fast money that spawned these improbable companies. A great read.” Peter King, NBC Sports


Awards

  • Apple Best Book of the Month