The Story Behind the Beach Bum Who Struck Gold on GameStop

On February 16, The Ringer published a story titled “The Beach Bum Who Beat Wall Street and Made Millions on GameStop,” in which author Dave Hill explained how a beach bum from Louisville, Kentucky, made millions by helping spark the mother of all short squeezes. Now, hear how it all went down. Mike McCaskill tells Hill how he found the trade of a lifetime—and how his years of betting on long shots led to that.

The GameStop stock saga is often framed as being about Reddit. McCaskill’s experience shows that’s not entirely the case. It’s also a tale about how Wall Street went wrong, and how those who picked up on it were able to find a rare and remarkable opportunity to cash in.

For more on the GameStop story, read Katie Baker’s explainer, Ben Lindbergh’s feature on Hollywood’s race to cover the saga, and more.