Although the stock has decreased by 19.52% since the beginning of the year, Penn Entertainment (NASDAQ: PENN) was one of the holdings that David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital increased in the third quarter. 

A recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that Einhorn’s hedge fund possessed around 5.6 million shares of the regional casino operator by the close of the third quarter. That stake would have a value exceeding $117 million based on Penn’s closing price of $20.94 on Thursday, provided Greenlight hasn’t changed its position in the stock since the beginning of this quarter. 

That is lower than the average price of $22.69 Greenlight spent when building its Penn position in the first quarter. At that moment, Einhorn contended that markets were attributing a negative value to Penn's ESPN Bet division, pointing out that if the online sports betting sector were to seize only a small portion of the value of competitor DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG), it might be valued at up to $20 per share for Penn stock. 

At present, Penn stands as Greenlight’s sole direct gaming investment, although the money manager holds a stake in Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IAC), which is the biggest noninstitutional shareholder in MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM). 

Tiger Global Acquires Significant Stake in Flutter 

Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), the parent company of FanDuel, was another gaming stock that seasoned market professionals engaged with during the period from July to September. 

During that period, Chase Coleman III’s Tiger Global Management, managing around $46 billion in assets, established a new stake in the Dublin-based gaming firm by purchasing 3.38 million shares. Coleman is among the "Tiger Cubs" — followers of the late Julian Robertson. 

Robertson, together with George Soros, is considered one of the founding figures of macro hedge funds. Regarding Soros, his investment firm Soros Capital Management disclosed a stake in Flutter of 94,496 shares at the conclusion of the third quarter, a significant increase from the 5,020 shares it held at the end of June. 

Soros has a long history of engaging with gaming stocks, but the majority of his investments in this sector have been held for only a few months, rather than years. 

Flutter Increasingly Attracting Professionals 

Soros Capital Management and Tiger Global Management are merely two instances, yet they provide additional evidence for the legitimacy of Flutter listing its shares in New York and subsequently transferring its primary listing from London to that city. 

The actions taken earlier this year were intended to enhance the stock's liquidity and expand its investor base, targeting both professional and retail market participants. 

After several 13F filing seasons since Flutter's New York listing, it's evident that this decision has successfully attracted more institutional investors.