|
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 |
