Reader Kevin W. sent along an email in the last day or so, as follows: "I noticed you had a small article on Calvin Ayre's poker show - why haven't you guys covered the lawsuit surrounding the show?"
As I relayed to Kevin --- and thanks for the e-mail! --- it's a matter of content and timing. There wasn't much beyond the bare bones of the lawsuit as reported through a couple of the usual poker-news outlets, and what they had to say pretty much covered those basics. (I'll recount that stuff in a sec, too.) While relaying important news is part of what this blog is for, it's also vital that this blog stays away from "magpie mode" whenever possible, just repeating whatever pops up elsewhere.
So, as I replied in my response, it was better to look behind the scenes at this, find a good angle for commentary, then try to serve up some food for thought. Rest assured that it has nothing to do with KAP being an affiliate of Bodog; this blog's commentary is independent from other concerns, and Jason and Brad (the KAP head honchos) also bear no responsibility for my comments. What I say here is my opinion and mine alone, so if you disagree, blame me. It was also a good chance for me to work that disclaimer into this blog, so Kevin, thanks for that, too.
But it turned out there was an unseen benefit to the wait: we've all had the chance to see the debut episode of "Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker," the show over which the lawsuit was filed. So let's go back to square one right here.
Back on April 4, Los Angeles-based BlueMoon Entertainment filed suit against Bodog, seeking an injunction against the pending debut of the program, plus damages. As reported over at Professional-Poker.com, BlueMoon sought damages for "breach of contract, breach of implied contract, breach of comfidence and misappropriation of ideas." In other words, BlueMoon claims they told Bodog how to set up [this] poker show, and Bodog has declined to reward them for their ideas. While the suit remains ongoing, the injunction was denied, so the show itself was and is free to air.
Is BlueMoon a fly-by-night operation, doing the old predatory-lawsuit routine? It doesn't seem to be so: the company has done a large number of documentaries and reality-TV shows. You can get an idea of their history by visiting their site. It also seems as though there was some form of a working agreement between BlueMoon and Bodog, but specifics on that have not yet been released.
But here's the bigger question: Did BlueMoon offer anything of distinctive value to Bodog, beyond what any semiknowledgable poker-show wannabe off the street could come up with as an idea?
Aye, there's the rub... and after viewing the show's opening episode, I don't think I could name anything really "new" about the concept(s). The show has a couple of Bodog-ish adornments, but there's nothing here that a reasonably creative person couldn't come with after about a half-hour with a pen and a blank sheet of paper. I've worked in the "ideas" biz --- I know how it's done.
Bodog and/or Calvin Ayre are harsh, aggressive marketers. They're out to capture market share, and their line of attack is simple: it's all about attitude, image and name. Ayre's very much a modernized melange of Hugh Hefner and Donald Trump, and it's a crafted image that he seems to relish. Under Ayre's guidance, the mantra behind Bodog might be "spend to be cool." The concept will make waves and gain attention; we're seeing that now. The pockets are deep enough to keep pushing the envelope far beyond the quarterly fiscal reports that define more staid enterprises, but how Bodog deals with the inevitable counterattacks that other gaming concerns will make remains to seen.
But Calvin Ayres don't just appear from nowhere. They are usually a combination of insight, risk-taking, timing... and a whole lotta luck. And you don't get as rich as Calvin Ayre is without stepping on a few toes along the way. If that means hiring a phalanx of bulldog lawyers and sending them off on neverending sprees of legal "pissing contests," then that gets done, too. Corporate lawsuits are more about attitude and energy than you think.
Good luck, BlueMoon. I wish you well. Claiming you've got ownership over a handful of re-purposed and re-mixed concepts is going to be a helluva uphill climb. And with that, we should move on to the show itself.
Did you think that if this was really, really good TV poker, that it would be on Fox Sports? That should've been your first clue. The show falls comfortably between Celebrity Poker Showdown and just about everything else, in terms of poker content, and you'll see some questionable poker play in that first episode. (Okay, the hole between "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "just about everything else" is wide enough to pilot Ayre's private yacht through, but that's beside the point.) One thing that isn't a surprise is that one of the legitimate "star" poker players in this first episode is Humberto Brenes; Brenes is to Costa Rican poker about what Doyle Brunson is to the game here in the U.S.
But Brenes doesn't win the first week's show, and that's all the spoiler stuff you'll get.
What you do get is the promised "Bodog lifestyle" mix: a couple of poker stars (including Brenes), a couple of big-name celebrities, and an online qualifier or two. All tossed into a rather ordinary-formatted no-limit freezeout, with the winner of each week's table winning $50,000 and a seat in the series-ending finale, where an additional $500,000 is at stake. Among the first week's celebrities is Cheryl Hines, late of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Hines offers plenty of showbiz-style enthusiasm for the cameras here, in a manner that had me gritting my teeth and wanting her to be busted out after just a few hands of play. But hey, maybe you'll enjoy her whiny/cutesy/dumb-blonde routine that went out in the '80s everywhere else.
What else? The most distinctive "Bodog"-ish touches are also among the lamest --- like the four "Bodog Babes" positioned just a few feet from one end of the table, seated in a lounge area throughout play, for no reason other than to be eye candy in the backdrop of the show when yet another A-7-off gets misplayed. "Keep that smile on, girls! Three-quarter profile or better... look for the cue to the live cam!"
And they just sit there, pretending to be sharing small talk, pretending to be interested in the play at the table that they can't even really see. These young women are already high on their career arc, indeed; after this it's off to the car-parts calendar tour.
But really, if you're looking for a good belly laugh, it's tough to top the closing credits. Watch closely and you'll see and hear "Bodog Recording Artist" Bishop as he performs a cheesy rap praising Calvin Ayre and the Bodog scene, all over a montage of... yep, you guessed it... Calvin Ayre and the Bodog scene. Priceless. Crap, but priceless.
I can hardly wait for episode two.
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