http://www.gambling911.com/Bodog-CEO-072006.html
Bodog ruffles many feathers with abrupt conference cancellation
Jenny Woo and the LOOGWA (Ladies of Online Gambling With Attitude) cry fowl over Calvin Ayre's sudden change of heart
Jenny Woo, Anna Lexington, Destiney Lewis, Payton O'Brien reporting...
Had the Bodog.com Conference been held, perhaps many of the fears would have been put to rest. Fears related to an indictment handed down against BetonSports PLC and several of its key executives on Monday.
I'm still pissed off I wasn't even invited. But now I feel for those who were.
You won't see Jenny Woo hiding next week. I arrive in Vegas Wednesday to partake in the World Series of Poker and meet a real woman whose not afraid to show herself and announce plans to run an online poker website, Pamela Anderson.
You won't see none of us ladies of online gambling running scared. And you won't see our brave editor hiding behind us girls either. Ahem...
Maybe Calvin should be worried though.
We reported here last month on Gambling911.com, an arrest of Calvin Ayre could be imminent.
Can you picture Calvin in jail. Don't drop the soap!
Bodog.com claimed in a press release Wednesday afternoon they cancelled due to overwhelming concerns from attendees, yet most of those scheduled to attend that we spoke to had every intention of going.
"I had been looking so forward to this conference and seeing old friends in Vegas. Now they cancel! I will never attend another Bodog Conference again," barked one individual.
Bodog.com has announced the party will go on, presumably without Calvin Ayre, and that all those inconvenienced by the last minute decision would be compensated for their flight arrangements.
"I can't believe Calvin (Ayre) is willing to let a few Feds spoil his party," commented one media company representative who looked forward to attending and still plans to check out the Bodog Party.
Reason to be ScAyred
Compared to Calvin Ayre, Carruthers exposure was comparable to the Weekly Reader vs. The Wall Street Journal. Ayre was the first man to even grace the cover of Forbes "Billionaire" issue and People's Sexiest Bachelors in the same year (really in just a four month period).
Oddsmakers were jokingly offering to put lines up on whether Calvin Ayre would be arrested at his own conference.
Calvin's "Catch me if you can" aptly titled Forbes piece probably went over like a fart in church with the Feds.
Meanwhile, PR firms that have entrenched themselves into the online gambling industry are beginning to feel the heat after it was reported one firm's employees got subpoenaed and flown into St. Louis for questioning about Gary Kaplan, BetonSports.com's founder.
The IRS also conducted an extensive audit on one sportsbook owner this past year in West Virginia where he is from.
Is this the end of the Calvin Ayre PR machine?
Hardly.
Already the company has announced a yet to be determined date of its "postponed" conference, probably in Costa Rica, though Ayre is not exactly safe there either.
His elaborate home was raided by Costa Rican authorities the same day the Forbes issue hit the news stands in March. Law enforcement alleged Ayre was hosting an illegal poker tournament when in fact he was hosting a televised poker tournament that featured a cash prize. No betting had transpired.
Could this be the start of a new quieter subdued subversive keep-his-lips-sealed-tight Calvin Ayre?
Don't count on it.
----
Originally published July 19, 2006 11:55 pm EDT
Bodog ruffles many feathers with abrupt conference cancellation
Jenny Woo and the LOOGWA (Ladies of Online Gambling With Attitude) cry fowl over Calvin Ayre's sudden change of heart
Jenny Woo, Anna Lexington, Destiney Lewis, Payton O'Brien reporting...
Had the Bodog.com Conference been held, perhaps many of the fears would have been put to rest. Fears related to an indictment handed down against BetonSports PLC and several of its key executives on Monday.
I'm still pissed off I wasn't even invited. But now I feel for those who were.
You won't see Jenny Woo hiding next week. I arrive in Vegas Wednesday to partake in the World Series of Poker and meet a real woman whose not afraid to show herself and announce plans to run an online poker website, Pamela Anderson.
You won't see none of us ladies of online gambling running scared. And you won't see our brave editor hiding behind us girls either. Ahem...
Maybe Calvin should be worried though.
We reported here last month on Gambling911.com, an arrest of Calvin Ayre could be imminent.
Can you picture Calvin in jail. Don't drop the soap!
Bodog.com claimed in a press release Wednesday afternoon they cancelled due to overwhelming concerns from attendees, yet most of those scheduled to attend that we spoke to had every intention of going.
"I had been looking so forward to this conference and seeing old friends in Vegas. Now they cancel! I will never attend another Bodog Conference again," barked one individual.
Bodog.com has announced the party will go on, presumably without Calvin Ayre, and that all those inconvenienced by the last minute decision would be compensated for their flight arrangements.
"I can't believe Calvin (Ayre) is willing to let a few Feds spoil his party," commented one media company representative who looked forward to attending and still plans to check out the Bodog Party.
Reason to be ScAyred
Compared to Calvin Ayre, Carruthers exposure was comparable to the Weekly Reader vs. The Wall Street Journal. Ayre was the first man to even grace the cover of Forbes "Billionaire" issue and People's Sexiest Bachelors in the same year (really in just a four month period).
Oddsmakers were jokingly offering to put lines up on whether Calvin Ayre would be arrested at his own conference.
Calvin's "Catch me if you can" aptly titled Forbes piece probably went over like a fart in church with the Feds.
Meanwhile, PR firms that have entrenched themselves into the online gambling industry are beginning to feel the heat after it was reported one firm's employees got subpoenaed and flown into St. Louis for questioning about Gary Kaplan, BetonSports.com's founder.
The IRS also conducted an extensive audit on one sportsbook owner this past year in West Virginia where he is from.
Is this the end of the Calvin Ayre PR machine?
Hardly.
Already the company has announced a yet to be determined date of its "postponed" conference, probably in Costa Rica, though Ayre is not exactly safe there either.
His elaborate home was raided by Costa Rican authorities the same day the Forbes issue hit the news stands in March. Law enforcement alleged Ayre was hosting an illegal poker tournament when in fact he was hosting a televised poker tournament that featured a cash prize. No betting had transpired.
Could this be the start of a new quieter subdued subversive keep-his-lips-sealed-tight Calvin Ayre?
Don't count on it.
----
Originally published July 19, 2006 11:55 pm EDT
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