Did you know DraftKings has an office in San Francisco? Neither did anyone else until today.
The gambling company based in Boston issued a press release announcing that it has opened a new office in northern California. It intends to open another in Las Vegas, too.
The update from DraftKings also highlights a few key personnel changes, including the acquisition of Frank Kunovic from his director-level position at Caesars.
According to the press release, the hirings are designed to “further the momentum” of the newly launched DraftKings Sportsbook.
DraftKings staffing up
DraftKings’ plans for sports betting began coming together publicly with the hiring of a new head of sportsbook in February. Sean Hurley has since moved into the business development side of things, now working out of the Manhattan office.
Jamie Shea is the new head of the digital DraftKings Sportsbook platform. Shea comes from IGT by way of a long stint in Vegas, which included escalating sportsbook roles at Flamingo, Venetian, Hard Rock and Station Casinos. She’s now based in Hoboken.
Kunovic will oversee the retail sportsbook operations, leaving the same position at Caesars. He served as the director for as many as 20 Nevada sportsbooks and racebooks in his previous role.
Co-founder Matt Kalish said the bar for hiring talent is “extremely high” right now.
…Our success in being first to market in New Jersey with mobile sports betting is the direct result of our skilled team. I am excited to welcome this new group of executives, while expanding the company to San Francisco and Las Vegas. Presence in these international hubs of technology and gaming, respectively, allows us access to a tremendous talent pool and strengthens our position as leaders in this dynamic industry.
NY and NJ for DraftKings, too
The expanded team has two existing sports betting partnership to manage for now. The first is in New Jersey, where the DraftKings Sportsbook went live last week under a deal with Resorts Atlantic City.
That NJ sports betting deal is limited to an online/mobile skin, but Kunovic hopes to be spending more time in New York going forward. DraftKings has a retail deal in place to offer NY sports betting at del Lago Resort & Casino, if and when regulators move forward with approval.
The competing FanDuel Sportsbook has standalone partnerships in three states, plus market-access deals in more than a dozen others.
DraftKings spreading out
DraftKings is growing taller and broader at the same time.
According to the press release, it plans to expand its Boston workforce by 75 percent in the coming year. The staff there is slated to move into a new 105,000-square-foot headquarters early next year. The group’s new office will be more than twice the size of the current one.
It’s not just Boston, though. If these plans come to fruition, DraftKings will have offices in five US cities:
- Boston (headquarters)
- New York City
- Hoboken
- San Francisco
- Las Vegas
Here’s more on the new California staff from the press release:
The newly established downtown San Francisco office will be home to some of the company’s growth marketing executives and their team. This office will focus primarily on building out a best-in-class growth marketing organization, expanding the DraftKings digital brand and driving customer acquisition.
In order to fund its ambitions, DraftKings is reportedly seeking to raise $200 million at a $1.5 billion valuation.
