Has Sanjaya Captured the Attention of Calvin Ayre?

Gambling 911 reports Sanjaya Malakar seeing offers coming in including one from billionaire extraordinare Calvin Arye. In their article it reads:

Mr. Ayre enjoys close ties to everyone's favorite American Idol betting odds monitoring website, Gambling911.com, will reportedly offer Mr. Malakar a recording contract once he is voted off the show (assuming he ever gets voted off the show).

Sources have told Gambling911.com that "higher ups" at BodogMusic would like to team Malakar up with their marquee star, singing sensation Bif Naked.

Our source, who wishes to remain anonymous, said:

"Bif Naked's next album is going to be widely marketed in American and a duet with Sanjaya Malakar would help to boost her presence in the States."

BodogMusic Founder, Calvin Ayre, has not confirmed the reports. Ayre was last year's Forbes cover boy billionaire and bringing Sanjaya on board would certainly fit this marketing genius' Modus Operandi.

He's an admirably self-made man who hails from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada born on May 25, 1961, the son of grain and pig farmers. Notably, while a controversial figure, Mr. Ayre is one brilliant man, outlined in this article, "Catch Me if You Can" written by Mathew Miller. This article recants Mr Ayre's stunt created in 2003 in which he basically wrote a story surrounding a fictitious character based on an Indiana Jones type persona. Mr. Ayre ran this storyline for weeks, infusing information and photographs to lend it a reality feel and managed to convince Christopher Costigan, owner of Gambling911, to post stories about his character. It's a fascinating read and the man is almost dastardly in his creativity utilized in self-promotion and money-making. This, too a point to be well taken in how the internet can be used as such an effective tool for marketing, self-promotion as well as effectively bending reality. Of course, since Mr. Costigan already has indulged Mr. Ayre in the past with his quest for self-promotion and news making attention, the real validity of this new article regarding young Malakar and Calvin Ayre could be questioned.

Back to the subject of Sanjaya Malakar. Whereas Calvin Ayre has allegedly made the bulk of his money in the illegal gambling trade - remember the Kennedy fortune was built on illegal alcohol trade, before anyone gets overly pious - the brilliant Mr. Ayre has developed his music company, Bodog Music which has signed and manages the beautiful, controversial Canadian punk rocker, Bif Naked, as well as Billy Idol, the Saw III soundtrack as well as a host of other musical acts.

Conversely, to his credit while being involved in some perhaps nefarious dealings, to be fair, Mr. Ayre, as the phrase goes, 'gives back'. He established and founded in 2005, the Calvin Ayre Foundation, headquartered in Antigua. It is a private and independent foundation with a charter to do charitable work worldwide. With Ayre as Chairman, the Foundation has pledged millions of dollars in support of individuals, communities and charitable organizations throughout the world. Included among those charities are the Fisher House Foundation, the LA Lakers Youth Foundation, the Humane Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Animal Avengers Organization, and the Sean McCauley Hope Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.

The Calvin Ayre Foundation’s initiatives include the Sponsor a School Project, which provides students living in underdeveloped nations opportunities for a quality education, and the Sponsor a Family Project, which provides financial support for the immediate families of sponsored students. According to his website, Mr. Ayre envisiones his Foundation to become a philanthropic organization focusing on promoting greater equity in five broad areas: Environment, Education, Social Development, Child Welfare and Animal Welfare.

Why I asked myself, as I read about the interesting Mr. Ayre, has the media beleaguered young Sanjaya Malakar come to the attention of this entrepreneurial wildcatter, what could be the tie in if any? Is he an avid American Idol fan? Is he seeking to just benefit with how, right now, having his name linked with Sanjaya, with the boy in all the news these days, garner even more attention for himself? Perhaps. What I did discover is that Mr. Ayre, utilizing his almost preternatural ability to gauge trends, apparently is currently in the works producing a poker show (ala ESPN)with Fox Sports Net to be broadcast in April.

Mr. Ayre also has a myspace page to be found HERE.