Celebrity look-alike contests have become a summer staple. But this one was singular: The most convincing Jalen Brunson doppelgänger would win $5,000.
After the audience at Washington Square Park on Wednesday crowned a winner — a 5-year-old from Jamaica, Queens, who resembled a mini version of the star Knicks point guard — the young champ turned to a camera and addressed an unusual entity. “Thank you, Polymarket.
” the boy, Fransisco Marcial, said. Polymarket, one of the biggest prediction markets in the United States, bankrolled the contest. It was another reminder of the ubiquity of the industry, which was on display across New York City during the N. B. A. finals.
Prediction market platforms paid influencers who concocted pro-Knicks catchphrases and pulled viral social media stunts. The companies promoted themselves on TikTok and worked with at least one Upper East Side bar to cover everyone’s tab after the Knicks had rallied to beat the Spurs in Game 1.
At Madison Square Garden, a sixth-floor concourse was renamed after Kalshi, Polymarket’s main rival. Outside the arena, a robot danced in a Kalshi-branded Knicks jersey, and a billboard beamed: “Will New York bring it home. Trade now on Kalshi. ” Then there were the bets.
In addition to betting on who would win, you could wager on whether President Trump would attend Game 3 of the finals (he did) and whether Mayor Zohran Mamdani would cancel classes for Thursday’s ticker-tape parade (he did not). We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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