I’m sure a lot of people thought I was off my rocker when they first heard that Bodog Brand had purchased the Slots.com domain at auction for $5.5m in May of this year. After they learned the deal had gone down while I was enjoying a drink at London’s L’Atelier restaurant, they probably thought I was wasted, too. And while I might have been enjoying a bevvie or two (or three, etc.) at the moment I pulled the trigger, I have yet to experience a single shred of ‘morning after’ regret.
The reason I’m reminding everyone of this story is because the Sex.com domain was recently re-sold at auction for $13m. I might have preferred that the Sex.com sellers waited until January to make their move, as that would have put the Slots.com sale into the record books as the #1 domain sale of 2010. Nevertheless, Slots.com is still the fifth-highest price ever paid for a domain, after Sex.com, Fund.com, Porn.com and Diamonds.com, but ahead of Toys.com – eat my dust, children!
Still, even at $5.5m, I’m convinced the Slots.com price was a steal. It’s the strongest gaming-related domain out there and just a very cool domain to turn into a global brand. In that regard, it certainly doesn’t hurt that we’re getting a lot of help in publicizing our brand from the sex-crazed media.
The press we garnered from the initial Slots.com purchase was massive, but now every single press mention of the Sex.com sale has also mentioned Slots.com by way of comparison. There have been over 100 press mentions across the globe in the past week alone. When you look at the costs involved in fostering a brand identity on a truly global basis, the free publicity has already made up what we paid for the Slots.com domain. History will bear me out – this is one of the best deals I have ever made.
