Bodog's Billionaire Founder Calvin Ayre is far from the action in Arizona were you would expect him to be hosting a big celebrity filled Super Bowl Party. Instead of walking the red carpets with a legion of Bodog Girls in the desert this weekend, Bodog's brand ambassador has set his sights on conquering Asia. I already knew Calvin was a big fan of Sun Tzu's Art of War and now I know why he recommended I read it a few years back after I finally got a chance to read the book on a recent flight I had overseas.
"Be so subtle that you are invisible. Be so mysterious that you are intangible. Then you shall control your rivals fate." – Sun Tzu
"The reason I like Asian business philosophies is because they fit my brain and I recognize their power," stated Calvin Ayre to Point-Spreads.com in a phone interview this morning before giving us his Super Bowl Pick. "Show me the person who does not think winning wars without fighting battles is a good idea and I will show you someone destined to fail over the long run."
Ayre and the entire Bodog group did not miss a beat when their domain name was hijacked by patent troll Scott Lewis in 2007. Within 12 hours the entire operation was back online and functioning at one hundred percent of capacity. I hope Scott Lewis and his financial backers have deep pockets, the patent trolls and Ayre’s legal team will be in court for years. The case over the control of the Bodog.com domain name is being fought in the state of Washington and the case could help to establish a legal precedence in the intellectual property law as it related to domain names being considered an asset. The outcome will effect tens of thousands if not millions of people worldwide.
“There are partial modifications in almost every operation, and sometimes even a complete change. A hothead who does not know how to change his plan, or is unwilling to change it but acts blindly, will inevitably run his head against a brick wall.” – Sun Tzu
The Bodog Nation is currently in the planning stages of its move East with the official roll out scheduled for 2009. Last year, the Antiguan based private entertainment company opened a Chinese hotline to offer world-class customer service last year and announced it was stepping up its efforts in the market by launching a brand new Chinese web page to assist its increasing number of Chinese customers.
In ancient Chinese culture, the Rat was welcomed as a protector and bringer of material prosperity. It is the first of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Rat is associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities.
“Just as water adapts itself to the conformation on the ground, so in war one must be flexible; he must often adapt his tactics to the enemy situation.” – Sun Tzu
I don't know if Calvin Ayre is a member of the occult, but I have seen the man predict the future on a few occasions and I would consider him clairvoyant at times. Back when all of the big internet gambling operators were going public, Ayre decided to remain private.
"I am more nimble than these guys going public are and I can make decisions quicker without approval from a board of directors," stated Calvin Ayre to me in 2004 on a ride through the hills of the Costa Rican town of Santa Ana in his bullet proof Black Hummer. "Being private I have a competitive advantage over my competition."
Was he ever correct! Shortly there after the United States Congress passed the UIGEA of 2006 wiping out $8 billion in market capitalization for the publicly traded UK listed internet gambling firms like Party Gaming, 888, SportingBet PLC. Bodog was among the last internet gambling operators to use NETeller, instead Ayre built out his own proprietary ecommerce backend, which helped Bodog transition away from the online payment processor much easier than his competition when NETeller was forced out of the market by the Department of Justice.
It was right around that same time that the other internet giants were going public that Ayre purchased the source code and development team of their poker software, which they have since modified into one of the best poker rooms on the internet. Unlike many of their competitors that rely on paying millions in annual licensing fees to gaming software developers, Bodog has always insisted on controlling their own software so that they would not be held hostage by software developers, Ayre’s move into poker made the former pig farmer from Canada a billionaire and the move into Asia will probably make him a billionaire a few times over.
After displaying clairvoyance in my presence on more than one occasion, I figured I would ask Calvin Ayre who his Super Bowl Pick was on between the New England Patriots vs New York Giants.
TJ – I noticed Bodog has the New England Patriots at -11.5 points, who do you like in the game today?
CA – "I have to go with the Patriots, the majority of this team has already got a few rings so they know those are doable…but to be on a team that goes undefeated all season and wins the ring immortalizes them….its been about the record books all year for this team, that is why they ran up some scores earlier in the season and they are hungry for this last one."
TJ – Where are you going to watch the game from?
CA – "I am in Asia launching our planning phase for a operations launch in 2009. I am going to watch the game at a friends of mines condo. It is going to be a long night though as the game goes off at 7:20 Monday morning here. The Super Bowl party will likely start at midnight Sunday."
TJ – How is the expansion into Asia going? Did you know its the Year of the Rat?
CA – "Yes I am aware it is the year of the Rat, which means a lot more than it sounds like in Chinese culture. In Chinese Astrology the Year of the Rat produces people who are quick witted and successful financially and business wise. However, we are planning our Asian Launch in 2009, which is the year of the Ox which produces people who are methodical, strong and good leaders. We fully expect to live up to a combination of both these predictions with the launch of a business that is planned in the year of the Rat and launched in the year of the Ox."
TJ – What Asia markets will you be looking at going into right away? Which markets will you hold back from entering at launch?
CA – "We don't have our plans in place yet, the planning is just started Feb 1, but there is no trying to hide the 800 pound gorilla in the room. The big market over here is China and the very successful regional Chinese who live outside of China. The new Bodog Asian Regional General Manager has over a decade in this market and has experience in both online sports and casino, which happens to be the two channels that dominate here. We are very happy to have someone of this experience level leading our efforts in this exciting space.”
Find out what Bodog’s Billionaire Calvin Ayre is up to and what he has to say on his blog at CalvinAyre.com.
