Brett J

Victor Spilotro (yes, that Spilotro) was pulled out of the S&P pit after accumulating ~2000 contracts, bigs at that time, by Les Rosenthal over fears the position would bankrupt the firm and cause big problems at the CME. He supposedly didn’t turn in his cards during the trading periods while an accumulating the position so the clearing firm couldn’t monitor the risk. Possibly the ultimate Ohare trade.

The O'hare Spread It was rare, but real enough that former pit traders like Jon Najarian confirmed seeing "airport trades" where guys who got wrecked just disappeared. The pits were the Wild West fistfights, millionaires minted daily, and total escape hatches In the '80s heyday, Some traders would put on a massive bet on something like soybeans or wheat, then immediately head to O'Hare Airport. They'd check the market from there: If it paid off → lavish vacation. If it blew up → one-way ticket to a new life under a new name somewhere else.

@DragonFlyTrust He and Charlie D ran the pit for years. Charlie would call in 1000 lots through Goldberg 003 during the night session to find out what the Japanese banks were doing then squeeze them the next day if they took the other side.

Tom Baldwin “The King.” The King of the Bond Pit Arguably the single largest individual trader in the T-bond pit at his peak. Started with about $20-25k in 1982 after working as a meat-packing product manager. No fancy degree or Wall Street pedigree. He scaled up aggressively, trading tens of thousands of contracts daily (face value in the billions). Single trades of 2,000 contracts ($200M+) were normal for him. Known for raw intuition, order flow reading, coolness under fire, and massive size that could move the market. Featured in Market Wizards. He built the Baldwin Group and invested in real estate (restoring historic Chicago buildings). Fellow traders literally called him “The King.”

@Top100Rick “Growing the game”? More like making the lesser tournaments unwatchable.

Watch this. Watch every second. Don’t allow yourself to turn away. Burn it into your eyeballs Clockwork Orange style. I’ve decided it’s not the slowness when it comes to Aimpoint. It’s the actual act itself. It’s an abomination against humanity.

@JoeSquawk You may want to advise Carl to stop chuckling when the ES hits lows and CL hits highs while interviewing guests. Most of his audience is older and most likely not actively trading futures etc to hedge exposure and are getting hit in multiple ways. It’s become unwatchable when Sara isn’t to counter punch when he gets another Trump hater on. I tried Bloomberg but they’re worse. Yahoo Finance next. Happy Easter.

@AJamesMcCarthy @PaladinRood Here come the conspiracy theorists 🙄

You'd think so, but nope! Going straight up will get you to space, but you'd fall right back down the moment you cut off your engines. The way to get into "orbit" (which is how you stay in space and experience zero G without burning fuel) is by moving sideways fast enough that your sideways motion creates a ballistic arc that keeps your altitude above Earth. They're still in freefall, but moving so fast they "miss" the planet. From orbit, they can then burn the engines at the right time to break out of orbit and fall towards the moon once they get close enough, with precise heading that allows them to "miss" it and fall back down to the planet in what's known as a free return trajectory. That's how this works in a nutshell, but orbital mechanics are tough to wrap your head around so I'd strongly suggest spending some more time reading about it!

O foguete da missão Artemis II não deveria ir reto para cima? Em vez disso, assume uma trajetória perpendicular à superfície da Terra? 🤔

@elonmusk Watching the process of my wife blowing out her hair to go out to dinner has me wondering. How long before Optimus will be able to do this with exactly the look she wants from AI imagery (3D projected hologram ala Obi Wan Kenobi??) so “we” can get ready in 15 minutes vs 90?

@MarioNawfal I do believe that he wishes he was VIN #001

🚨 Tesla just reminded everyone that the Model Y has the lowest rollover risk ever recorded for an SUV. 7.9% when tested by NHTSA The Cybertruck also has the lowest rollover risk of any pickup ever tested. 12.4% Measurable, real-world safety advantage

Ever play St Andrew’s on a random Tuesday in June? There’s at least 50-100 people standing around watching you tee off and maybe another hundred or so around 18 watching with the weight of golf history on your backswing as you try to not take a 6” beaver pelt and embarrass yourself for life (having been a +2 at one point). That was me exactly 30 years to the day my father played there 6 months before he died at 43. Somehow, after not being able to swallow for several minutes due to cotton mouth, despite having a few wee drams, I hit a decent 3 wood and ended up with a short iron into the green. Now, multiply that by 20 on the first tee at Augusta with several MILLION watching on TV and even more online. If you don’t hit a patron standing 20 feet away attempting to be quiet but none the less making a ton of noise collectively as a group and manage to get it into the fairway good luck. 100 is a GREAT score for a scratch holing every downhill side hill 2-3 footer. So -100 most isn’t near enough as you’ll be mentally exhausted by the 5th hole since concentrating that hard over a 2 footer isn’t a normal occurrence.

@therealmcnair @JasonHarmon2 Can you walk us through the scenario where a low digit hc makes a 12?

Here was the debate last night: non tournament tested club golfer with low single digit GHIN starts the masters at -100. Does he win? My answer is a strong no chance.

@zeroDEIUSA My kids make better looking structures on Minecraft.

Breaking: The Obama Presidential Center—now an $850M concrete Taj Mahal on public parkland—proves hope & change was really just “hope you don’t notice the change in our bank accounts.” Valerie Jarrett, eternal Obama whisperer, “earned” $740K as CEO in 2024. That’s right—$740,000 to run a nonprofit that’s basically a retirement spa for the old crew. Meanwhile, the foundation snagged 19.3 acres of prime Chicago’s Jackson Park for a cool $10/year on a 99-year lease. Because nothing says “public service” like handing over irreplaceable green space to your buddies for pocket change while taxpayers foot hidden infrastructure bills elsewhere. Classic Chicago math: 99 years × $10 = priceless giveaway. Top brass? Packed with ex-Obama WH alums pulling $300K–$600K+ each. Payroll ballooned from $18.5M (2018) to $43.7M (2024). Staffing hit 337. It’s not a foundation—it’s a loyalty rewards program disguised as a museum. Who needs archives when you can have six-figure sinecures? Illinois GOP calls it corruption. I call it the audacity of dope. Yes sir still ugly today.

@AugustaGolfGirl That debunks Brandels argument of “it’s the best tournament in golf” perfectly. This is just another week on tour getting ready for Augusta. The tour makes them hype it up to be something special but it’s just a warmup for winning the green jacket.

If The Players wants these top players to play, move it back to May because they're not risking it right before The Masters.

@MarioNawfal Time to ignore your posts

🚨🇮🇷 Iran’s new Supreme Leader just spoke, and it’s worse than I expected Key statements: - “All US bases should immediately be closed in the region, those bases will be attacked” - “We will obtain compensation from the enemy. If they refuse, we will take their assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy an equivalent amount of their property” - "We have foiled attempts to divide the country” - "The Strait of Hormuz must remain closed” - “Countries in the region must clarify their position regarding those who have aggressed against Iran” - "Discussions are ongoing regarding the opening of other fronts in areas where the enemy has little experience and is highly vulnerable. These other, new fronts may be activated if the state of war continues and if it is deemed appropriate” In brief: He is more hardline than his father, his demands from the U.S. are extensive, and he is ready (one could say he prefers) a prolonged war. Taking this statement at face value, things are about to escalate.

Unfortunately Brandel keeps saying it over and over and over…like it’s his going to change peoples mind because he’s saying it. The lack of energy this yr (imo) is a reminder just how special the 4 are. No one is saying “god I can’t wait for The Players week” other than him. The presser today was like watching a Senate hearing without the shouting. And…with Scottie adding a nice criminal element to the PGA, it’s definitely made more people other than the degens want to watch.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp on the potential of The Players becoming a major: "I'm not even sure how majors become majors. That's not for us to decide." Thank you. Hopefully that can end this silly two-decade-old dialogue.

@JJeffrey100 @HalfAcreBeer Agreed . Reyes basically has a monopoly and if you’re not on their top selling list you’re done for.

@Ex_HFT @HalfAcreBeer I have a little info on the goose island sale, which is why I asked. It's never going to make national media, but these large companies are basically forcing the small- and mid-size breweries out of business if they don't sign for distribution.

It’s with excitement that we announce Maplewood Brewery & Distillery and Half Acre Beer Co will join to create a premier Chicago beverage company. We combine as individually strong, complementary businesses that share similar visions for the future of our industry and city.

It’s mostly Reyes. Had a 30k barrel craft brewery in San Pedro CA and they bought out the mid sized distribution outfit we took a “lifetime upfront” million dollar payment from right after the pandemic (mid 22 there 🙄). Basically said it wasn’t with their while to distribute small breweries and left us off the routes.

@HalfAcreBeer is this just to avoid inbev taking your distro rights away? if so, just tell the real story. people need to understand how they're ruining the craft industry in chicago.

There are supposedly the “strictest gun laws in the country” in Chicago. This happened in broad daylight in one of the nicest suburbs in the area less than a mile from Lord Pritzkers little gated shack on the lake. Please tell me how “revisiting the gun laws”will stop this? Oh and I forgot to mention the normal tens of people shot in the South and West sides and other areas of the city over the weekend. Those are just the “normal” shootings that almost never make the headlines as it’s a daily occurrence in those areas. This one hit a public nerve since it’s a multi million dollar gated home in a very wealthy neighborhood. After spending an evening at an Iranian friend’s home on Saturday and listening to his sister speak to him from Tehran no ability to help since they have zero access to guns or ammunition, I completely understand his wanting to keep multiple weapons and hundreds of rounds in his safe just in case something like this were to happen here. x.com/marcusleshock/…

@CollinRugg I think it's time for America to revisit its gun policy.

NEW: Texas teen shoots woman in the neck who was visiting her friend with cancer before stealing the car belonging to the woman with cancer. 18-year-old Darius DeWayne Hall has been arrested for allegedly shooting Marietta Allison in northwest Houston. The friend with cancer, Cassie Daniel, has shared a post detailing what happened. "There wasn’t any parking, so Marietta had driven around the block to find a parking spot, and we heard the gunshot," Daniel said. "We were later told that her heart stopped immediately when [Hall] shot her in the neck." "The man took her purse, stole my car key, and took the car." Hall was under juvenile suspension for multiple previous charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to court records. Another avoidable death.

@WorldFactHQ @PopBase Please STFU and take a nap

@PopBase Napping is just a fancy word for being lazy. If you have time to sleep in the middle of the day, you probably do not have enough work to do. Success does not come to people who are always looking for a pillow. Get up and find something productive to do.

Today is National Napping Day.

@Osint613 Keep them coming

Are you seeing my posts? If you want to keep getting the updates, drop a comment so the algorithm knows to show them to you.

@JoeSquawk Just an FYI that myself and quite a few in trading circles (HFT & HF) are tuning out after SB due to the constant reposting by Carl of anything “Hate the Administration”. We don’t care if you’ve got an opinion. All good. But just shit reposting others hatred is literally the weakest form of protest.

Maybe you could have used the limited air travel during the lockdown in blue states to have upgraded the copper wires to at least “dial up modem speed” so that the ATC situation wouldn’t be the mess it is. Chicago airports were ghost towns until late 21 into mid 22 as were NY, NJ, CA where they were most needed. EWR especially.

Our economy is bleeding jobs. Prices are up, especially for gas. Yet the White House prioritizes tax cuts for billionaires, while launching a reckless new Middle East war. It doesn't have to stay this way - not if the American people make our voices heard.

@GovPritzker Maybe your toilet will hit her.

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, Kristi Noem.