Heading to the New York City subway in September, Mahesh Saha placed a supercharged bet on a volatile stock. Saha, a 25-year-old law student, tapped a phone app and bought $128 worth of bullish options, the right to purchase shares of uranium producer Cameco Corp. for $80 within the week. If they surged above that level, he could make many times his initial investment. If they didn’t, the options would expire, worthless—a total loss.
That day investors grew more optimistic about Cameco. So, less than 90 minutes later, Saha cashed out his options, for an 84% profit, he says. On other days he’s made mobile phone bets on the Georgia Tech-University of Colorado football game, the New York City mayoral primary and whether President Donald Trump will create a Bitcoin reserve. “The goal is just to make my money grow,” says Saha, in his second year at Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan. “If it happens to grow large enough that I can pay my tuition with it, that’d be great.”