The battle over LasVegas.com/Vegas.com (domain news)

[Taboo]

may have already been posted:


Media groups wrestle over domain name
By Richard N. Velotta
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...517545357.html

A Clark County District Court judge has been asked to sort out who has the right to one of the world's most coveted Internet domain names, lasvegas.com.

Companies operated by Las Vegas' two dominant media groups have been sued by two of the city's largest casino companies in order to determine who will own the Internet address, which attracts millions of viewers who plan to visit the city.

Stephens Media Intellectual Property LLC, a subsidiary of the company that owns the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and VEGAS.com LLC, a subsidiary of the company that owns the Las Vegas Sun, were named as defendants in a suit filed in Clark County District Court last week by companies affiliated with Mandalay Resort Group and Caesars Entertainment Inc.

Mandalay Resort Group is in the process of being acquired by MGM Mirage while Caesars Entertainment is being acquired by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., two gaming industry-changing mergers that would create the two largest casino companies in the world.

MRG Vegas Portal Inc., a subsidiary of Mandalay, and PPE-IM Inc., a subsidiary of Caesars, filed the action, which asks a judge to declare who should be entitled to the lasvegas.com domain name. Judge Ron Parraguirre has been assigned the case.

MRG and PPE own a controlling interest in a limited liability company known as LAS Travel, which formerly was known as LasVegas.com LLC.

According to the suit, Stephens Media, in February 2002, negotiated an exclusive, transferable license to LAS Travel to use the lasvegas.com name, which the companies used to help sell hotel rooms for Mandalay and Caesars properties.

According to the agreement, LAS Travel or its owners had the right to transfer their interest in the domain name to the Greenspun Media Group, which owns the rival VEGAS.com.

Under terms of the agreement, if PPE and MRG wanted to transfer their interests to the Greenspun Media Group, they were required to give Stephens a "notice of intent." The agreement also stated that Stephens would then have a 30-day option to acquire the controlling interests in LAS Travel "at the price and on the same terms set forth in the notice of intent."

If Stephens failed to exercise its option, the agreement said, PPE and MRG could transfer their controlling interests to the Greenspun Media Group.

According to the suit, PPE, MRG and VEGAS.com reached an agreement July 22 in which VEGAS.com would purchase the ownership interests of PPE and MRG in LAS Travel, including rights to the lasvegas.com Web site.

A day later, PPE and MRG provided Stephens with a notice of intent, giving Stephens 30 days to match the offer.

The suit says on Aug. 19, Stephens executive Sherman Frederick sent a letter to PPE and MRG exercising the company's option rights. But on Aug. 24, VEGAS.com President Howard Lefkowitz sent a letter to PPE and MRG stating that the Stephens bid did not match the terms of the VEGAS.com offer. Lefkowitz also said he was drafting a purchase agreement to close on the deal within 30 days.

A day later, an attorney for Stephens sent a letter saying the company had properly exercised its option and was also drafting a purchase agreement to close on the deal within 30 days.

Both companies followed with their respective purchase agreements.

"Both Stephens and VEGAS.com assert that plaintiffs are contractually bound to sell their ownership interests in LAS Travel to each of them, respectively, and further allege that consummation of the purchase with the other party would constitute a breach of contract," the suit says.

Neither the term sheet nor the agreement provide a mechanism for the resolution of that type of dispute, the suit says.

PPE and MRG sent letters to both companies on Sept. 3, requesting that the two companies resolve the issue among themselves or submit the matter to binding arbitration. But to date, the dispute has been unresolved and PPE and MRG say a delay in the resolution is causing them to lose money.

The suit is seeking a declaratory judgment of whether the Stephens bid validly exercised terms of the option clause and "to which party plaintiffs may, pursuant to the agreement, sell their ownership interests in LAS Travel."

The suit also asks that if the court determines that the controlling interest be sold to Stephens that a declaratory judgment be made that the terms set forth in the VEGAS.com term sheet be matched.

Representatives of Stephens and VEGAS.com could not be reached for comment today.

hopefully this won't end with WIPO granting both domains to the city of Las Vegas. if you don't think that's possible, wait and see what's around the corner. time will tell.

[SomeCreep]

[ppk]

Thanks for the update on the domain industry

BTW, if you feel like answering... what do you think of .info domains? Are they fine to turn quick profit?

[Taboo]

Originally posted by ppk
Thanks for the update on the domain industry

BTW, if you feel like answering... what do you think of .info domains? Are they fine to turn quick profit?

check out dnjournal.com's sales archives, some .info/.biz are selling. but with the recent free .info promotion, lots of them are being reg'd. up to you what you want to invest in.

good luck.

[Taboo]

another article:
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/...ntentID=145477

A pair of Nevada gaming giants have sued the owners of Las Vegas' two largest newspapers to try to resolve questions about the future of the lasvegas.com Web site.

Stephens Media Intellectual Property Limited Liability Co., a sister company of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and Vegas.com LLC, which is owned by the Greenspun family, publishers of the Las Vegas Sun, were named co-defendants in a Sept. 16 lawsuit jointly filed by divisions of Las Vegas-based hotel-casino operators Caesars Entertainment and Mandalay Resort Group.

The two gaming companies have co-managed the nearly 7-year-old lasvegas.com for the past 2 1/2 years through a 2002 agreement with site owner Stephens Media. But problems arose this summer when the gaming companies tried to transfer management of the domain name to the Greenspuns, who own the rival Vegas.com. Stephens Media exercised its contractual option to match any offer from a Greenspun company.

Last week's lawsuit asks Clark County District Court Judge Ron Parraguirre to clarify which company may acquire rights to the Web site, which will remain under Stephens Media ownership.

In February 2002, Stephens Media agreed to license the lasvegas.com Web site to lasvegas.com LLC, a newly formed joint venture owned and operated by subsidiaries of Caesars Entertainment (then called Park Place Entertainment Corp.) and Mandalay.

Stephens Media continued to own lasvegas.com, though it had no ownership or management interest in lasvegas.com LLC, which later changed its name to LAS Travel.

Prior to that accord, Stephens Media used lasvegas.com to offer links to Review-Journal news stories; community Web sites; travel, retail and restaurant information; and room bookings. But Caesars' PPE-IM Inc. and Mandalay's MRG Vegas Portal Inc. redesigned the Internet portal, shifting its focus toward the sale of hotel rooms at local resorts that included Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Luxor and Mandalay Bay.

The deal guaranteed Stephens Media a percentage of the room revenue generated by the site.

On July 22, Caesars and Mandalay struck a deal to sell their interests to Vegas.com, and one day later, the parties notified Stephens Media of their plans.

Court documents said Stephens Media President Sherman R. Frederick on Aug. 19 notified Caesars and Mandalay of his company's plans to repurchase the gaming companies' interest in lasvegas.com, but Vegas.com President Howard Lefkowitz responded five days later with claims that Stephens Media's offer did not in fact match his company's.

Lefkowitz then moved to close his company's sale offer, claiming Stephens Media's 30-day matching period had expired without a valid counteroffer. On Aug. 25, Stephens Media general counsel Mark Hinueber responded, claiming his company had met its contractual obligations and would also move to close its deal with Caesars and Mandalay.

Both Stephens Media and Vegas.com subsequently sent draft purchase agreements to LAS Travel, which has so far failed to act upon either offer until the court rules which bidder is entitled to buy its rights.

Said Hinueber: "We believe we properly exercised our right to purchase the interests of Mandalay and Caesars in LAS Travel and expect the courts to agree with that position."

Lefkowitz on Tuesday said Vegas.com and its attorneys are reviewing the lawsuit but declined additional comment.

Attorney Gregory Gilbert, who filed the lawsuit for Caesars and Mandalay, did not return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday.

Caesars and Mandalay are subjects of takeover offers by Harrah's Entertainment and MGM Mirage, respectively. Those deals, valued at $9.4 billion and $7.9 billion, remain subject to state and federal regulatory approval.

A gaming industry source said Tuesday he does not believe Caesars and Mandalay's efforts to exit lasvegas.com were related to their pending mergers, however.

Vegas.com claims to attract 850,000 unique visitors per month, while lasvegas.com claims to draw approximately 1 million visitors per month.

The Review-Journal and Sun are published under a joint operating agreement but maintain independent newsrooms and ownership.

[s9ann0]

thats is some complicated shit they are arguing about there I know the lawyers are making $'s out of that one!

[Taboo]

Originally posted by spanno
thats is some complicated shit they are arguing about there I know the lawyers are making $'s out of that one!

Makes me glad I don't own those domains... who wants to go through that hassle? wonder if anyone's taking bets on the outcome?