Today I placed an order to purchase Jan 2011 $2.00 call options (the contract price is $0.05, my order is for 175 contracts but as of now only 92 have gone through) for Jackson Hewitt Tax Services (JTX). Assuming I get all 175 contracts, my total purchase price should be about $994 including commissions.
JTX is a company in a TON of trouble and is drowning in debt - there is a very real chance they could be bankrupt before the end of the year. The situation is complicated, and I'll try to elaborate in a future post, but ultimately I think there's about a 50/50 chance they'll survive. IF they do make it they're probably worth $3 to $5 per share - which means the options I purchase today could be worth quite a lot.
IMO I'm essentially betting on a coin flip - but I'm only paying $1 for a chance of winning $10.