NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS

Prediction Market PR Stunt Suffers Incredibly Predictable Mishap

A mysterious power outage spoiled the opeing of Polymarket’s The Situation Room bar pop-up.

Polymarket, the prediction market that lets gamblers bet on everything from wildfires to missile strikes, somehow could not foresee the power outage that ruined the opening of its new pop-up bar in Washington, D.C. The bar, dubbed The Situation Room, opened on Friday evening. The bar was supposed to feature 80 screens, a six-foot globe, and interactive touch tables showing current predictions from around the world. Unfortunately, every screen was down, so attendees couldn’t see any of what the bar had to offer. The pop-up was reportedly packed with journalists, traders, insiders, and simply “curious” people. When reached by NBC News for more information on the outage, Polymarket shared no details and instead directed reporters to its X post, showing that TVs were now online. The post read: “There may or may not have been a situation in the Situation Room last night. Reports remain unconfirmed. However, the situation monitors are now on… & ready to be monitored.“ It was accompanied by a video of The Situation Room’s now-functioning screens. The pop-up will be open March 21 and 22. The Daily Beast reached out to Polymarket for comment.