Providing a natural outlet to let out steam from a tough workday schedule, restaurant and amusement center Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (US:PLAY) took a pounding during the COVID-19 pandemic. With authorities from coast to coast clamping down on non-essential activities, entities such as Dave & Buster’s could only watch helplessly as their operations crumbled. However, what the SARS-CoV-2 virus took, its dwindling presence could give back.

On Tuesday, the entertainment provider released results for its first quarter ended April 30, 2023. On the top line, Dave & Buster’s posted record revenue of $597.3 million, representing a 32.4% lift from the year-ago quarter. Including the pro forma contribution of Main Event branded stores, the year-over-year growth came out to $21.8 million or 3.8%.

In addition, the company also saw record net income of $70.1 million, translating to $1.45 per diluted share. The latest tally compared favorably to net income of $67 million or $1.35 per diluted share in Q1 2022. As well, Dave & Buster’s delivered record adjusted EBITDA of $182.1 million, rising 29.8% YOY.

“We are pleased to report strong results for our first quarter of fiscal 2023. Our extremely talented team of operators and support center employees continue to execute on the breadth of strategic opportunities we've identified to unlock significant revenue growth and cost efficiency opportunities in our business which will continue to bring meaningful upside to all stakeholders and in all macro-economic environments,” said Dave & Buster’s CEO Chris Morris.

Following the Q1 disclosure -- which beat analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom lines -- PLAY stock skyrocketed, gaining more than 18% for in June 7 session. Pre-market activity on Thursday shows gains should continue today.

Compelling Options Opportunity

Not surprisingly, options traders also appeared intrigued with the compelling opportunity.

Once the closing bell rang out on the midweek session, PLAY stock represented one of the highlights for Fintel’s screener for unusual stock options volume. Specifically, call volume hit 22,008 contracts against an open interest reading of 20,952. On average, call volume reaches only 1,057 contracts.

Moving to the other side of the equation, put volume came out to 12,992 contracts against open interest of 15,377. Here, put volume averages 1,085 contracts.

Even more encouraging, Fintel’s proprietary Officer Sentiment reading clocks in at 97.03, indicating strong optimism among the individuals closest to Dave & Buster’s business. Notably, an influx of insider acquisitions materialized from late 2022 to early 2023.

Moving forward, both Dave & Buster’s corporate executives and prospective retail investors may command a fundamental reason for bullishness: office workers recalled back by their employers will undoubtedly need a blow of some steam. Companies from Amazon (US:AMZN) to Uber (US:UBER) have announced a return to in-person schedules to varying degrees. (We would have gone to "Z" but Zoom Video Communications (US:ZM) management seems committed to a mostly remote hybrid approach.)

With corporate employees again finding themselves with a need to let out frustrations from the 9-to-5 grind, PLAY stock may be a cynically attractive opportunity.