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One of the most recognized domain names on the Net today, Slots.com, has been purchased by Calvin Ayre. The founder of Bodog.com acquired the name for $5.5 million.
"Slots.com will work for us on a number of levels, not least, in generating global traffic to our Bodog branded properties but also to form a number of other targeted websites including one that will be created by and for the female gambler," Ayre said in a statement on Tuesday.
"After Casino.com, we feel that Slots.com is the best gaming domain in the world," Ayre added.
The Slots.com domain name is currently not linked to any website.
It is the most money paid for a domain name so far this year and one of the ten largest sums paid for any domain name.
Chances are Ayre will be able to capitalize on the brand.
But well recognized generic domain names do not always translate into success.
Poker.com has never amassed the type of following one would expect from one of the most searched for terms on the Net.
And as Gambling911.com reported last week, Sex.com (perhaps the most sought after term on the Web) recently declared bankruptcy. The Sex.com domain name was in the process of being auctioned off.
The domain name was the focus of one of the most publicized legal actions about ownership of domain names. A 2007 book covering the case, called Sex.com, was written by Kieren McCarthy, a journalist who followed the case.
In October 1995, Network Solutions transferred the domain to Stephen M. Cohen, who had been trying to gain control of the domain for some time by misrepresentation, using phone calls, e-mails and forged letters. He eventually persuaded an employee of Network Solutions to change the ownership details by submitting a fake fax.
Although there has been no definite information released as to who was selling the Slots.com domain name, speculation is that the domain was owned by one Christina Hall, since she was the webmaster and developer of the site slots.com.
Ayre states that he made the deal over a few pints of beer.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
