This is Nick. This is Jack. And if you want your kid to be the next MrBeast, we’ve got the thing for you — Creator Camps. First up on the agenda: Intro to Video Editing and Vlogging 101. This comes at a time when 30% of US kids say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up, according to a Harris Poll. 3x more kids want to go viral 🤳 than to the moon 🧑‍🚀. Band camp is so last summer…

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1) ESPN Enters Sports Betting (Called It) 

On Tuesday ESPN officially launched a sports betting app — ESPN Bet. In 17 states, you can say “called it baby” like Scott Van Pelt. 

The juice: ESPN doesn’t run the app. The biggest house in sports is licensing its name to Penn National Gaming (a casino) for $1.5B in a 10-year deal. ESPN is the brand, Penn is the bookie. 

Betting is booming: Since the Supreme Court legalized sports gambling in 2018, it’s grown to be a $9B/year industry. Yet the industry has been dominated by 2 All-American players…but that could all change because now the stars are aligned. Hear us out, Scorpios… 

Get out a map: We noticed there is now an Orion’s Belt of sports betting. 

• DraftKings — based in Boston 

• FanDuel — based in New York

• And now ESPN — based in Bristol, Connecticut... Which happens to be the geographic midpoint of Boston and New York 😲.

The Takeaway →

Tech & media don’t have to be rivals, they can be teammates. ESPN and Penn found each other when they needed each other most: ESPN is hurting from cord-cutting and Penn perennially gets third place in sports betting.

• So here’s the play call: ESPN brings 200M sports fans, and Penn brings a rock-solid betting app (sounds dangerous). Because when tech and media meet each other, they can be teammates. Pick’em.

2) The Diamond Dealer is a Diamond Hoarder

There’s a ton of unsold diamonds right now, so De Beers, the world’s largest diamond company, is hoarding them in a fortress in London until prices go back up. 

The reason: The Diamond Drop — prices of these rare gems are down 40% this year. And engagement ring prices are down the most. At one point, it felt like it was cheaper to buy a diamond than a dozen eggs. Now’s the right market time to pop the question. 

But De Beers says no more. To combat puny price points, it’s cutting the supply of diamonds, by stockpiling them. Excuse me, stockpile? Think: hide-Reese’s-under-your-pillow-esk. But instead of a pillow, the stash is hidden in a fortress. In its heyday, De Beers stored up to $5B worth of diamonds at 1 address: 17 Charterhouse Street London, England. 

• 💍 Why? It’s De Beers’ old headquarters. At one point, 90% of the world's diamonds passed through here. In 2017, 17 Charterhouse had 10 vaults each with 1-foot thick walls. There’s a rooftop helipad and security is tighter than at Anna Wintor’s Gala.

• 💍 But it’s lost its luster: De Beers isn’t as powerful as it once was and has moved its sparkly stones to different vaults in undisclosed locations.

• 💍 The hoarding strategy: By manufacturing a diamond shortage today, prices of diamonds will likely rise. As they do, eventually De Beers can sell down its stockpiles.

The Takeaway →

Diamonds are not forever… but diamonds are also forever (we’ll explain) 

• Diamond prices are down for a bunch of reasons right now: Inflation in the US, China’s economy slowing down, the post-pandemic dip in proposals, and the rise of lab-grown diamonds.

• Yet diamond prices can rise because of 1 company: De Beers has the power to push up prices by hoarding them.

• So consumer trends show diamonds aren’t forever… but when you look at De Beers’ big diamond business model, they sure are.

On the pod…

🫢 Google accidentally admitted in court this week a really embarrassing secret number: 36%. To hear more about Google and Apple's secret affair, tune into today’s pod.

Here’s what else you need to know today —

😮‍💨 The new Speaker of the House passed a bipartisan spending bill. The Senate is expected to pass it too, which would mean we’ll all avoid a government shutdown. 

🤖 Airbnb just acquired an AI startup called GamePlanner for its 1st acquisition as a public company. The hope is that an AI concierge can help plan your next trip to the Dominican. 

💜 McDonald’s and Crocs just collabed with a $75 purple Grimace clog that Justin Beiber would adore. We’re both a size 10 if you’re wondering… 

🌡️ The US Government reports climate change’s extreme weather causes $150B/year in damages, with disadvantaged communities hurt the worst. And damages are only expected to get worse unless we use less fossil fuels. 

⛳ Last night, Netflix aired its 1st ever live sports event: PGA golfers and F1 racecar drivers golfing as one happy family. 

🤳 Nepal is the latest country to ban TikTok. The country of 30M people says the app “disturbs social harmony.” 

Your Question →

What daily podcasts do you listen to? 

Our Answer →

Smartless, Plain English, Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, and 99% Invisible (it’s weekly, but the episodes are loooong, so split ‘em up)

Do you have The Best Question Yet? Submit yours here.

And one more thing. Creator Camp. Yay or nay?

—Nick & Jack