Bodog.com Founder Makes Forbes Billionaire List

Filed in archive Betting on March 10, 2006

He used to sell fruit on the prairies in Canada and now he's the cover star of the latest Forbes Billionaire isse.

He also runs a multi-billion dollar company from Costa Rica that is basically illegal in the US, taking bets on everything from college basketball to the tabloid with the first photo of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's baby.

44-yr old Calvin Ayre started bodog.com 10 years ago with just $10,000. Now he's making poker lifestyle shows and hanging out with A listers, whilst his company turns over $6 billion in bets annually.

Ayre claims to make most of his money from casino and poker, but also ascribes himself as the best marketeer in the industry

He ascribes his success to marketing - he is, he says, the best marketer in the industry.

"I have the strongest brand in the world in this industry," he says. "There's no secret to it. It's just mainstream marketing, being creative and linking the right values to our brand.

"Everything else is overblown."

Not bad for a kid who grew up on a pig farm in Saskatchewan, Canada

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