GameStop CEO Owes $26,000 Worth Of Gift Cards To The Texas Rangers, And Here’s Why

GameStop’s CEO, Ryan Cohen, is on the hook to give every member of the Texas Rangers a $1,000 gift card to the retailer following the team’s World Series victory on Wednesday.

But why? On Halloween, Cohen said he would give every player on the squad a gift card if the Rangers won the World Series, and now they have. GameStop is based in Texas, so it’s no surprise that Cohen was rooting for the home team and not the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the end, the Rangers won the series 4-1 to claim the organization’s first-ever World Series title. Obviously, players like Max Scherzer and Corey Seager do not need the gift cards. They make millions of dollars. But a promise is a promise, and Cohen is a billionaire. $1,000 for the Rangers’ 26-man World Series roster would work out to $26,000 worth of gift cards to GameStop.

Cohen had an offer for the Diamondbacks, too. He said he would give every player on the roster a “free cactus” and a $5 gift card to GameStop if they won the World Series.

Cohen has not tweeted since the Rangers won the World Series, but we’re hoping this story has a happy ending like the players donating their gift cards to people who might benefit more.

The company Cohen is running is facing some issues of late, it seems. According to Kotaku, GameStop management recently informed staff that the company is cutting employee benefits and made changes to the warranty system that people are not fond of.

GameStop’s financial fortunes are improving of late, as the company posted revenue of $1.164 billion for the latest quarter, an increase from $1.136 billion during the same period last year. GameStop also narrowed its net loss to $2.8 million, down from $108.7 million. GameStop achieved this through a variety of cost-reduction efforts like store closures and layoffs.

In addition to his World Series bets, Cohen recently made headlines for saying all consoles should have disc drives. GameStop, of course, is financially invested in physical media.

A movie about the GameStop meme stock situation, Dumb Money, released in September starring Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, America Ferrera, Nick Offerman, Seth Rogen, Anthony Ramos, Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan, and Clancy Brown.