TS: Did Harris plan to dump Hefner at altar, for money?

[JMS]

http://scoop.today.com/_news/2011/06...ltar-for-money

Did Harris plan to dump Hefner at altar, for money?

The cancellation of Hugh Hefner's wedding to Crystal Harris was made official Tuesday, but the original plan was for Harris to wait until Hefner was at the alter before dumping him, according to Page Six.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images file

"She secretly planned to ditch the Playboy mogul at the altar in return for a $500,000 media deal," the column reports. If the scheme had taken place, Harris would have walked up the aisle before 300 guests at the Playboy mansion, then told him she couldn't go through with it.
"The wedding was to be filmed for a reality special, and her refusal to marry him would be a sensation. She was looking for a tie-in deal of around $500,000 for the exclusive 'I ditched Hef at the altar' interview," according to Page Six.

[Special K]

Does anyone give a rat's ass about this whole story?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

When Hefner dies and his empire is sold off piece by piece to avoid the bankruptcy of the company, there is going to be a great book written about the last decade or so of his life. I suspect someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes to keep him in the spotlight in the hopes of keeping the brand alive.

[Corcaigh]

Does anyone give a rat's ass about this whole story?

Yeah ... when I see stories like this and much of US 'reality TV' such as Jersey Shore, I can see where Al Qaeda are coming from with this whole "Death to America" schtick.

[PleaseBlitz]

Hef is probably the one guy that could get dumped at the altar and not feel an ounce of emotion/embarrassment.

Blonde Trollop: "Hugh, i cant go through with it."

Hef: "NEXT!"

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

A friend of a friend is dating a former playmate that he met at the PM, the stories are weird. The PM is a filthy wreck, the girls are whores and Hef is basically Oz.

My understanding is that the company is in debt up to its eyeballs and is only holding on thanks to loans against the property - which is a remarkable piece of land. There is no money for upkeep and it doesn't matter, because the second Hef dies, vultures are going to be sub-dividing the property into oblivion.

In five to ten years, Playboy is going to be little more than a branding company - something like "National Lampoon."

[Mickalino]

In five to ten years, Playboy is going to be little more than a branding company - something like "National Lampoon."

Or a Theme Park for adults ?

"For $50, you can bounce and frolick on the same bed the Hefner banged 30 Playmates"

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Or a Theme Park for adults ?

"For $50, you can bounce and frolick on the same bed the Hefner banged 30 Playmates"

Short of it being labled a historical site, The Mansion will be gone within a year of Hef's death.

I don't think it could ever really be a tourist site, because of its location. It's one thing to have a tour bus drive through one of the richest, most exclusive neighborhoods in the world. It's quite another to have a parking lot and and an admissions gate.

[Kilmer17]

I watched a CNBC special about Playboy a while back, and while it didnt paint it as a super stable company, it didnt say anything about the problems being mentioned. Where is that info coming from?

[Mickalino]

Short of it being labled a historical site, The Mansion will be gone within a year of Hef's death.

I don't think it could ever really be a tourist site, because of its location. It's one thing to have a tour bus drive through one of the richest, most exclusive neighborhoods in the world. It's quite another to have a parking lot and and an admissions gate.

I watched a CNBC special about Playboy a while back, and while it didnt paint it as a super stable company, it didnt say anything about the problems being mentioned. Where is that info coming from?

Probably a Penthouse article

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I watched a CNBC special about Playboy a while back, and while it didnt paint it as a super stable company, it didnt say anything about the problems being mentioned. Where is that info coming from?

It's revenues from the magazine have collapsed. Hefner just spent a little over $200 million to take the company private again. It's not entirely clear how he could come up with $200 million short of using the mansion for collateral.

So, what you have is a private company whose main interest has consistently lost money over the decade with an 85-year-old man as its owner, and he owes several hundred million dollars to cover the purchase.

In 2008, Playboy laid off half its staff in order to avoid bankruptcy. Christine Hefner resigned as CEO.

In 2009, Hefner sold the "manor" (the property adjacent to the mansion) for $18 million - ten million less than its asking price.

As of 2000, the estimated value of Playboy Enterprises was $1 billion. Today, it is around $100 million. (And again, Hef just paid $200 million for full control of it).

It's not difficult to see that chaos is going to reign once Hef passes.

My guess is that something like this is going to happen: Hef dies, the property is sold, and the company declares bankruptcy. It is bought by some kind of hedge fund that makes Playboy a web-only magazine and sells off its interest in DVDs, cable tv, etc. What's left is a website and a branding/production company. There will be "Playboy Presents" tv shows and other entertainment programming (though it would probably be cheaper just to license the name and let others do the production), clothing, perfume, and maybe the return of "Playboy" Clubs.

[Mickalino]

It's revenues from the magazine have collapsed. .

Is this due to the fact that free porn is available all over the internet ?

[Kilmer17]

Is this due to the fact that free porn is available all over the internet ?

Wait.....really?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Is this due to the fact that free porn is available all over the internet ?

Playboy has been squeezed from both ends for years. (Word play!) In the 80s, all the Hustler clones stole its market share from the raincoat crowd. In the 90s, all the Maxim clones stole its market share from the yuppies who actually liked articles on stereo speakers along with pictures of girls in their underwear. In the 00s, online porn pretty much wiped out the hardcore and softcore industries. I'm sure it did damage to Playboy but by that point, the die hards were really all that were still buying the magazine. I can't really search the numbers now, but I'd be curious which has had the more precipitous decline - subscriptions or newstand purchases. I would bet that subscriptions have collapsed. I can still seeing it be an impulse buy but actually ordering Playboy seems like a relic of the 70s.

I'm pretty sure that in the 90s, I bought 3 or 4 Playboys a year - usually based on the cover. I'm almost certain I have not bought one since 2002 or 2003.

[Corcaigh]

I'm pretty sure that in the 90s, I bought 3 or 4 Playboys a year - usually based on the cover. I'm almost certain I have not bought one since 2002 or 2003.

On the request of a friend in the UK who collects Simpsons stuff, I bought two copies of the Marge Simpson edition a couple of years ago. Really. I couldn't find it in Borders or B&N along with millions of other titles. I had to rely on my local 7-11.