The achievement in question is the preparation of the neutral atoms, which realize qubits, on this grid. Controlling the placement of such a large number of individual atoms with just light is a somewhat recent breakthrough that is now maturing.

Addressing the atoms and letting them interact is an entirely different beast, but the prerequisite of placement is just as important.

People how know what an expectation value is are typically not so fond of gambling. Reminds me of the story when a physics conference took place in Las Vegas and resulted in a really low take for the casino.