Lycos Buys Gamesville.com in $207 Million Stock Deal

Updated from 1:34 p.m. EST

The Internet portal Lycos (LCOS Quote) said Tuesday that it would acquire Gamesville.com, a Web site that gathers personal information for direct marketing, for stock valued at $207 million.

With offerings like "Three-Eyed Bingo" ("Bingo from Outer Space") and "Quick-Draw Poker" ("Poker on Steroids"), Gamesville lures users with cash prizes. According to the company's Web site, an average of $95,000 is disbursed monthly in a format the online gaming industry calls "massively multi-player," an arbitrarily alliterative term that means a lot of people can play at the same time. ...