The Nutcracker

About The Nutcracker

Americans wagered nearly $167 billion on sports in 2025 through regulated sportsbooks, an 11% increase year-over-year, according to data from the American Gaming Association (AGA).

The blurring line between financial investing and gambling has been accelerated by the rise of prediction markets—exchanges offering event contracts that are federally regulated as financial derivatives. U.S. News found that over 40% of active sports bettors now also participate in sports prediction markets.

Financial advisors continue to urge consumers to view sports wagering strictly as entertainment and to only risk funds they can afford to lose.

About The Nutcracker

The upgrade adds fireworks that celebrate Dorothy’s originally intended exit home, safely heating the air between the seats and the screen as the hot-air balloon lifts off without her. (Sorry, did we really spoil that for you?)

Fire was already in the building. Columns of flame rose during the Wizard’s lion-terrifying chamber scene, and will continue doing so.

Foam fruit has fallen from the rafters since opening night. People take them home and sometimes sell them for $20 a pop on eBay. The upgrade now is that they smell like apples.

What is The Nutcracker?

Macquarie’s Beynon agrees with that sentiment, pointing to the relative stability of gaming companies through tough economic stretches such as the Covid-19 pandemic. Bankruptcies in the sector have been low relative to the broader market, he notes, and both land-based and digital companies have reason for optimism moving forward.

“It’s certainly not lost on us that this sector has underperformed for several years in a row just because it doesn’t have either the growth of say, tech companies, or the perceived free cash flow-insulated businesses, which we believe it does…We’ve thought there’s been value in the sector for a few years, particularly this year,” he told iGB.

Jess has covered the global gaming industry since 2022. A native of Reno, Nevada, he’d like to note that it’s Ne-va-da, not Ne-VAH-da.