The Fate Of Daily Fantasy Is All About These Bros

- Mina Kimes

SITTING ACROSS FROM Dave and Rob Gomes in their mother’s Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End is a surreal experience. The brothers aren’t famous, but they are weirdly familiar, like strangers you see every day at a coffee shop. Sometimes they get recognized. “At bars, it’ll happen,” says Dave, a cheery 25-year-old with a thick Boston accent and gelled hair parted sharply to one side. He cuts into a wedge of tiramisu. “I’ll have people come up to me and be like: ‘You’re the guy.’”

In November 2014, the Gomes brothers, who share an apartment in South Boston, won $1 million playing daily fantasy football on DraftKings.com. The company used the footage from their victory party, which took place at this restaurant, in a series of advertisements. So far this year, they have appeared on television more than 32,000 times, often during the commercial breaks of football games. As the brothers became ubiquitous, they attained meme status—a few people dressed up as them on Halloween, according to Rob, 26—and incurred the wrath of social media.

Dave pulls out his phone and reads a few tweets. “If I ever meet Dave Gomes, I’m gonna hit him over the head with that oversized check,” he says.

“Dave Gomes on DraftKings commercials has easily one of the top 5 most punchable faces ever.”

“I see more of Dave Gomes than I do my kids.”

“That Gomes guy on the DraftKings commercial looks like every frat douche ever.”