☕ Bet on it

Why Sam Altman wants trillions of dollars... February 10, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Timeline Nutrition]( Good morning and happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating the spring festival. Today we say goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit and hello to the Year of the Dragon—or Wood Dragon if you want to get specific. People born in the Year of the Dragon are said to embody a host of desirable traits, including being strong leaders, energetic, and charismatic. It’s the most auspicious year of any in the 12-year Chinese cycle, and therefore typically sees the highest number of births. —Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,990.66 +1.25% S&P 5,026.61 +0.57% Dow 38,671.69 -0.14% 10-Year 4.187% +1.7 bps Bitcoin $47,243.10 +4.30% Expedia $131.11 -17.78% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The S&P 500 was one big party: The index closed [above 5,000]( for the first time ever, as investors reflected on robust company earnings and data showing inflation rose even less than was previously thought in December. One stock that wasn’t going places: Expedia, which fell after reporting earnings that took a hit from low airfares.  SPORTS [Super Bowl fully embraces sports betting]( [The Fountains of Bellagio launch behind a display of footballs with a Super Bowl LVIII logo on the CBS Sports set being built for the game in front of Bellagio Resort & Casino on February 03, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.]( Ethan Miller/Getty Images There’s a lot more riding on this year’s Super Bowl than the success of your buffalo chicken dip. [68 million]( US adults will be betting on this Sunday’s game, according to the American Gaming Association. The trade group expects 35% more gamblers than last year and a record $23.1 billion worth of bets (up from $16 billion last year). And one analyst says we should prepare for the next ten years of Super Bowls to keep setting records. The surge in wagers reflects a cultural shift that includes the NFL finally embracing gambling by its fans—in the industry’s hometown of Las Vegas, no less. Why did the NFL change its tune on sports betting? The short answer: money. The NFL tried to [distance]( itself from gambling for years, fearing for its credibility. The league even joined other sports organizations in 1992 to lobby for tighter sports gambling rules in the US. But…when the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for [legal sports betting]( in 2018, the league could only resist the stacks of cash on the table for so long. In 2021, the NFL said it was entering a deal with betting companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars that would pay the league nearly $1 billion through 2026. The league even did a 180 on Vegas. This year’s Super Bowl location would have had NFL commissioners of the past aghast. In 2003, the NFL famously refused a Las Vegas ad for that year’s Super Bowl with the slogan “What Happens Here, Stays Here” because it claimed the ad promoted gambling. It’s still come down hard on its own players for gambling, though. Just last year, 10 players were suspended for breaking NFL betting policy. Gambling addiction experts also aren’t all in, as they worry about the ease of putting money on the game. Not all the action will be in Vegas...If you want to bet on what will happen on the field, you can do it at a casino on the strip. But if you’re more interested in putting money on whether Taylor Swift will [cry]( if the Chiefs lose or any other novelty bet, they can’t legally help you, and you’ll have to do it online or between bites of 7-layer dip.—MM   PRESENTED BY TIMELINE NUTRITION [Renew your cell(f)]( [Timeline Nutrition]( Breaking: The solution to your morning slump may not be in your coffee cup. (Say it ain’t so?!) The good news? You can boost your power at the source by unlocking your body’s natural energy. [Timeline Nutrition]( powered by Mitopure, triggers your body’s innate cellular recycling pathway to replace old mitochondria with new ones. The result of this mini biology lesson? [Attaining more energy for the cellular functions]( that keep you up and at ’em. In fact, Mitopure is clinically proven to increase cellular energy, muscle strength, and endurance—just by giving your body access to its energy potential. Ready for your power-up? Brew readers get [30% off full-sized Timeline products]( with code 30BREW. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [People in Rafah in southern Gaza]Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images Netanyahu orders Israeli military to plan for the evacuation of Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the country’s military to come up with [a plan]( to get civilians out of the city, a spot in Southern Gaza to which many Palestinians have fled as a refuge from the war. The UN estimates there are more than 1.3 million people there. Netanyahu’s order came a day after the US warned that an offensive in the city—which Israel considers necessary to defeat Hamas—without a plan for the people sheltering there would be a “disaster.” Everyone’s talking about how old Joe Biden is. President Biden is 81 years old, and while that’s not actually news, it was a hot topic yesterday in the wake of a DOJ report that that let him off the hook legally for retaining confidential documents after his VP stint, but stung politically by saying a jury might see him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” and a [poorly received]( Thursday evening press conference where he tried to refute that image. Democrats pushed back in defense of the president, with Vice President Kamala Harris [calling]( the characterization “politically motivated.” Elon Musk escalates his feud with Delaware. Smarting from a state court ruling nixing his $55 billion pay package from Tesla, Musk has [railed]( against Delaware as a corporate hub, and this week, he took action, switching the incorporation location for his brain tech startup, Neuralink, away from the state. The company told shareholders it’s now incorporated [in Nevada]( instead, Bloomberg reported. Musk’s ire could be a problem for Delaware if others follow his lead, as most of the biggest companies are incorporated there and pay fees that make up a sizable chunk of its budget. TECH [Sam Altman would like trillions of dollars, please]( [Altman]( Anadolu/Getty Images Sam Altman is really craving chips, but not the kind you’re stocking up on for the Super Bowl. As his company, OpenAI, hungers for semiconductors to power its AI models, Altman has been [trying to raise]( as much as $7 trillion to expand global production capacity, WSJ reported this week. Yes, we’re talking trillions—a herculean ambition given that just $527 billion worth of chips were sold globally last year. OpenAI has struggled to secure sufficient supply from chip designer Nvidia, which sells much of the microprocessors fueling the ongoing AI frenzy. Seeking a helping hand Altman wants to create OpenAI’s very own semiconductor supplier, but he can’t do it alone… - The entrepreneur has reportedly tried to convince Silicon Valley VCs, government-affiliated investors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the sharks at SoftBank to bankroll the venture. - He’s also talking to chip behemoth Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company about establishing production facilities worldwide. WaPo says he’s also been in contact with US lawmakers to discuss where to best build chip factories. Microprocessor availability has also been a major priority for Uncle Sam. Zoom out: Microsoft and Alphabet are designing their own chips, while legacy chipmakers like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices vie to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the AI space.—SK   TOGETHER WITH FACET [Facet]( Flex your money muscles . Alarming stat alert: [Americans waste $397 million]( on unused gym memberships every year. You know what kind of membership could actually **pay for itself? A Facet membership that offers expert financial advice for a flat annual fee, that’s what. And right now, Facet’s [waiving their enrollment fee for new annual members](. MARKETING [Everything you’ll see while slamming dips tomorrow]( [Keenan Thompson Super Bowl]( Saturday Night Live, Giphy In addition to an Usher concert, some Taylor Swift cutaways, and a football game, Super Bowl LVIII will bring ziplining grandmothers and half of Hollywood to our screens as companies try to convince us they’re cool and fun. With 100+ million viewers expected to tune into tomorrow’s Kansas City vs. San Francisco showdown, some of the most popular brands in the US have shelled out [as much as $50 million]( on ad production, placement, and A-list talent for big game commercials. Expect the [nostalgic]( vibe of a sitcom crossover this year: - T-Mobile reunites Scrubs co-stars, E.l.f. features some of the [Suits cast]( Uber Eats brings together Friends’ Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, Mountain Dew pairs Parks & Rec’s Aubrey Plaza and Nick Offerman, and Booking.com’s ad stars familiar faces from 30 Rock. - Martin Scorsese and his TikTok-famous daughter directed and starred in an extraterrestrial [Squarespace commercial](. - Plus, Jenna Ortega stars alongside two parkour-abled grandmas for Doritos; Sir Patrick Stewart [throws Arnold like a football]( for Paramount+; Post Malone and Peyton Manning get summoned by a genie for Bud Light; and many more. Big picture: Celeb appearances in Super Bowl ads have roughly tripled over the past 10 years, according to [Adweek]( To go deeper on the Super Bowl ads turning heads this year, see everything our friends at Marketing Brew have been covering [here](.   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [The cover of British Vogue]British Vogue via Instagram Quote: “I said what I wanted to say.” British Vogue’s editor in chief, Edward Enninful, just wrapped his [final issue]( at the magazine (he’s moving on to an advisory role at its publisher, Condé Nast), and true to form, he did it in style. Not content with putting just one huge star on his last cover, Enninful—the first man and first Black person at the top of the legendary fashion magazine’s masthead—[assembled 40](. The image reflected a [real moment]( not a trick of photoshop: Celebrities from Oprah to mother-daughter duo Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber to Jane Fonda all gathered in one spot to pose together for Enninful’s swan song. Stat: Planning on getting your hands greasy with some wings during the big game tomorrow? You’re in good company: The National Chicken Council [anticipates]( that almost 1.5 billion wings will be consumed across the US. That’s enough for every person in the country to have four, per Axios. And of course the real Super Bowl contest won’t be between Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and the other team, it’ll be between the bone-in and boneless tribes. Buffalo Wild Wings, which typically serves up 11 million wings during the game, said bone-in (the kind that is actually a chicken’s wing) claimed the ring last year. Read: The jobs that skew heavily toward one gender or race—in charts. ([Wall Street Journal]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Prince Harry]( has settled his lawsuit with Mirror Group Newspapers, the UK tabloid publisher that hacked his phone, and will receive a “substantial” sum, his lawyer told the court. - [PepsiCo]( saw a dip in sales last quarter as consumers have begun to balk at higher prices. - [The recall of dairy products]( made by Rizo Lopez Foods over listeria risks has expanded to include seven-layer bean dip, chicken enchiladas, cilantro salad dressing, and taco kits from Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Albertsons, so be sure to check your Super Bowl snacks. - [Guinness World Records]( let Richard Plaud claim bragging rights for building the tallest ever matchstick Eiffel Tower, reversing an earlier decision to reject the model he spent two years building because it used the wrong kind of matches. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Welcome the dragon: [Recipes]( to ring in the Lunar New Year. Crowd-sourced inflation index: A comedian asked how much Chex Mix costs at the airport, and [the internet responded](. Learn: Celebrate Black History Month with these [bite-sized videos]( from Henry Louis Gates Jr. The rent is too darn high: The cities with the [least affordable rent]( on an average salary. A biz owner’s dream: Want enhanced control over costs, streamlined workflows, and better retention? It’s all possible with [financial automation](. Get the full scoop + [unlock the power]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Crossword: Audio clues alert. Today’s puzzle includes clips from past Super Bowl halftime performances. How can you resist that trip down memory lane? [Play it here]( (speakers up). Open house Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that wants to set a record. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price. [9-acre compound in Naples, FL]Coldwell Banker Realty Today’s [compound]( is currently the most expensive listing in the US and, if it sells at its current asking price, would surpass the record held by Ken Griffin. The property includes three homes on a nine-acre lot in Naples, Florida. Amenities include: - 24 beds, 20 baths, 4 half-baths - Private yacht basin - 1,600+ feet of direct beach access How much for bragging rights among the .001%? SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER $295 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: swan song, meaning “a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement.” Thanks to Julia P. from New Mexico for the definitive suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✳︎ A Note From Facet *Source: [( **Disclaimer: Facet Wealth, Inc. (“Facet”) is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. This is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities. This is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Based on a study conducted by Facet in April 2023. A statistically valid sample of members following Facet’s current planning process demonstrated that more than half of these members, defined here as a majority, achieved value greater than their planning fee. This value was shown to reoccur on an annual basis. Assumptions included average expenses and fees, using retirement tax savings, portfolio expenses and tax loss harvesting as value drivers using Facet’s investment services, and discounting value to align with the acceptance of Facet recommendations. Facet assesses clients an annual flat fee for service based on the complexity of planning needs. There is no separate or additional fee for investment management. This is not a guarantee or prediction of actual results for any member and results may vary by member. Some value like tax loss harvesting may vary year to year. Offer ends February 29, 2024. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Matty Merritt]( Sam Klebanov, and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. 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