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RICK - RCI Hospitality


orion

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Complicated answer on multiple fronts.  Specifically for RICK's the overwhelming majority of "entertainers" would be defined as "independent contractors" ergo not defined as employees and would not be eligible for benefits under standard workers compensation policy.  With regard to a "client" suing RICKS for contracting disease in the establishment, I would bet heavy money their General Liability policy has a "communicable disease exclusion" therefor no coverage. 

 

On a macro level, Workers Compensation benefits are regulated by state individually.  Each state will issue their own orders on how to handle employees contracting COVID-19 disease in work place.  Argument for not paying claim, outbreak is widespread and is contractible in ordinary course of life.  That could be political suicide for insurance companies and maybe easier just to pay claims and be done with it.  Some states have already issued orders for insurance carriers to pay work comp claims for hospital/healthcare employees contracting disease in course of work. 

 

 

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I'm just saying that more people die of herpes encephalitis than coronavirus-contracted-from-US-strip-clubs, bro.

 

I'm just saying it's perception that matters and COV19 will drive away more customers than herpes encephalitis.

 

 

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I'm kidding dude, I'm a long time hater on this company and I just bumped the thread to have some fun. I cannot believe that some of the people here were buying this thing at 10x peak earnings with all of the serious ethical/moral/legal problems both inherent in the business model and specific to the personalities at the top.

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I'm kidding dude, I'm a long time hater on this company and I just bumped the thread to have some fun. I cannot believe that some of the people here were buying this thing at 10x peak earnings with all of the serious ethical/moral/legal problems both inherent in the business model and specific to the personalities at the top.

 

What I think happened:

 

Retail investors + an aggressive IR outreach campaign* + a belief that CEO had found capital allocation "religion" + a lack of awareness of management's shenanigans. Presumably no one buying this knew about the Houston single family houses or the aircraft fetish

 

 

* Maybe the only company I have ever contacted that immediately emailed me back and, unprompted, wanted to set up a phone call.

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Or...this is like....just another example of....

 

a company that is somewhat(actually entirely) controversial and has some real issues falling when the market gets kerplunked in a big way, and all the long time haters who watched it run up, multi bagger style, get to have their 15 minutes of "I was right all along!".  Yawn

 

 

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I'm kidding dude, I'm a long time hater on this company and I just bumped the thread to have some fun. I cannot believe that some of the people here were buying this thing at 10x peak earnings with all of the serious ethical/moral/legal problems both inherent in the business model and specific to the personalities at the top.

 

What I think happened:

 

Retail investors + an aggressive IR outreach campaign* + a belief that CEO had found capital allocation "religion" + a lack of awareness of management's shenanigans. Presumably no one buying this knew about the Houston single family houses or the aircraft fetish

 

 

* Maybe the only company I have ever contacted that immediately emailed me back and, unprompted, wanted to set up a phone call.

 

Got to watch the bouncer and the pimp closely if you own a titty bar.

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COB&F's favorite concentrated activist fund ADW Capital the proud owner of 175,400 RICK shares as of 3/31

 

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1745214/000138713120004810/xslForm13F_X01/infotable.xml

 

I suppose management's history of capital allocation shenanigans and the share ownership structure means this could be an activist target

BUT

Langan and his buddies have been running the company as their personal fiefdom for over 20 years. Given that, and the....exotic nature of the business, I can't imagine trying to replace management. For better or worse Langan and friends are the only ones who know where all the bodies are buried.   

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COB&F's favorite concentrated activist fund ADW Capital the proud owner of 175,400 RICK shares as of 3/31

 

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1745214/000138713120004810/xslForm13F_X01/infotable.xml

 

I suppose management's history of capital allocation shenanigans and the share ownership structure means this could be an activist target

BUT

Langan and his buddies have been running the company as their personal fiefdom for over 20 years. Given that, and the....exotic nature of the business, I can't imagine trying to replace management. For better or worse Langan and friends are the only ones who know where all the bodies are buried. 

 

Interesting that the ADW 13F filing down to two positions worth about $3.1M.  I'm not sure I fully understand 13F reporting requirements (although I believe certain investments - like foreign securities - may be excluded), but this is substantially smaller than what they had reported in the past.

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Or...this is like....just another example of....

 

a company that is somewhat(actually entirely) controversial and has some real issues falling when the market gets kerplunked in a big way, and all the long time haters who watched it run up, multi bagger style, get to have their 15 minutes of "I was right all along!".  Yawn

 

Eric continues to execute. ATHs and counting. and STILL not that hard to make the case that its cheap. Something also to be said about a strip club operator that can get through a pandemic lol.

 

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Eric continues to execute. ATHs and counting. and STILL not that hard to make the case that its cheap. Something also to be said about a strip club operator that can get through a pandemic lol.

 

Most important thing is not to be a strip club operator. 

 

In the summer when it was getting ugly, they were cash flow positive thanks to $5.4 million in PPP loans. Eric basically admits it was looking bleak. I know, I know, government largesse is part of the game, so more credit to them, but you have to acknowledge a few different policy choices and the haters could've been right.  Their core business is still suffering, after all, and major locations still getting shut down.

 

Of course, essential services like strip clubs are not eligible for PPP loans but those restaurants (and whatever 80s dance lounge / swingers lounge / Ricky Bobby ripoff gong shows they're still running) are. Between that and the multi-year improving trend on financing due to access to bank commercial loans thanks to the restaurants, you really have to give some serious mastermind cred to mgmt for raw-dog deworsifying from a statutory wide-moated industry into restaurants that serve beer.  I wouldn't have bought it ahead of time. 

 

Not only that, but one of the key attributes to those restaurants is to have giant raucous outdoor seating areas complementing the cavernous dystopian indoor seating.... which of course during covid survives nicely the indoor occupancy restrictions hamstringing the competition. Reading between the lines I wonder how much this is spiking their operating metrics to which I would imply a correction come the lifting of restrictions except it'll probably drive a chunk of their smaller competition out of business and they win again.

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Thats definitely accurate; I think Bombshells has been a tremendous surprise albeit up against a very low bar. The effect you describe is probably true to an extent, but there is also a yin and yang thing going on here. With the reopening you might see some waning on the restaurant side, but the bread and butter is the clubs and the margin that come with it and that will undoubtedly accelerate.

 

There is also some merit to this being yet another example of luck/solid management, being heavily concentrated location wise in a business friendly state like Texas.

 

Ive got some shares(not a huge position though) but Ive found the real gravy train here is just quietly shorting short/mid duration OTM puts. If the shorts want to miss the forest for the trees, give em rope. Eventually they'll be wandering alone amongst all those tress, with a rope, and, well.....they'll have some options.

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The tops sure came off quick.

 

A Titti bar chain and Fintwit favorite trading for 5x sales. What could go wrong?

 

I haven’t been in an American topless bar since my 20’s or early 30’s.

 

I hear it’s a great way to lose money while pursuing an obsession.

 

Congrats to all those swaggy pimps who got in before the doors opened here.

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