Each trading day tens of thousands of option investors gamble on the direction a stock price will take. Instead of buying the stock itself, these people gain leverage of a stock by paying a fee which gives them the right to buy a stock at a set price. As that stock's price moves up or down, the options that these investors control also move up or down in value — only at a much more dramatic rate. Option investors stand to make incredible returns if the stock performs before their options expire. Sometimes they do make a killing, and, as with gamblers, that allure of the "big score" keeps them buying options.