Jim Greer already had it pretty good. The mild-mannered founder of Kongregate had snared money from the Valley's elite Web investors including Jeff Clavier, Reid Hoffman and Greylock -- despite more than a few of them claiming they weren't too bullish on gaming.

In May he landed another big fish: A $3 million "rainy day" infusion from Jeff Bezos. The kicker? Bezos came to him. Greer tells us the rest of the story and explains why Kongregate has struck a chord with high tech elite in the second half of our studio interview.

Related segments:
Why Gamers Are Addicted to Kongregate

Kongregate has been called the YouTube of gaming because it's so addictive. Time magazine  recently named them one of the 50 best sites. TechCrunch has lauded them as a major suck of time. Sure, we can't get enough but will it ever be a scaleable or profitable business?

Yes, says my guest Jim Greer, co-founder and CEO of Kongregate, a site that offers free-to-play games with little downloading required. Featuring thousands of games and millions of unique users, the site is poised to take further advantage of mobile gaming and social networking.

Take-Two Interactive is "doing as well as they've done, ever," says Darren Chervitz, co-manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, whose largest position is in the videogame maker's stock.

Chervitz does not deny there is downside risk to Take-Two should Electronic Arts pull its unsolicited takover bid, as I argued yesterday. But he believes EA will ultimately raise its offer to over $30 share from the current $25.74, assuming the FTC doesn't block the deal or force draconian restrictions.

But should the EA deal go away, Chervitz still sees a very bright future for Take-Two, and not just because of its "Grand Theft" franchise.

When Electronic Arts extended its takeover bid for Take-Two yesterday, many observers were hit with a case of déjà vu. That's understandable because this is now the fourth time EA has extended the bid, which remains at $25.74, and which Take-Two summarily rejected.

"The latest extension of EA's unsolicited, highly conditional tender offer does not alter the fact that their proposal still significantly undervalues Take-Two," Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a statement.

By repeatedly re-extending its bid -- but not raising it -- EA is sending a curious signal and hurting its credibility, says Henry Blodget.

That may be true, but Take-Two shareholders should consider the risk/reward of holding the stock on the hopes for a deal, which may never materialize.

Meanwhile, Cadence has "designs" on Mentor Graphics as the "hostile bid in tech" genie unleashed by Larry Ellison grows even more powerful.

After soaring Thursday on stronger-than-expected May retail data, the market is slumping Friday on news of rising unemployment and another spike in oil prices. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures are building worldwide and Ben Bernanke is coming under fire from other Fed officials.

But most investors would be wise to ignore all the macro news and focus instead on individual stocks that are hitting all-time highs, says Howard Lindzon, a hedge fund manager, venture capitalist, blogger and founder of WallStrip.

His investment philosophy: "Find trends, ride them and get off!"

Lindzon, who manages a long only hedge fund and is a partner in two other funds called Knight's Bridge Capital Partners, says about 80% of his assets go into stocks hitting all-time highs, with Coinstar and Interactive Brokers being examples.

Lindzon, who stresses that having an exit strategy is more important than what you buy, uses the remaining 20% to invest in "favorite brands" like American Express on dips.

The swag bag for last week's All Things Digital conference was pretty tight. It included wine, DVDs, and Guitar Hero III. I'm suggesting an addition for next year: mogul trading cards. They could have vital statistics, outlandish one-liners, the biggest go-for-the-jugular business moves, and, of course, any trophies in the form of mansions, yachts, and famous wives.

It would be fitting, because this fantastic conference, organized by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, isn't about financial results. Nor is it really even about technology. It is all about the moguls behind the giants of tech and entertainment, as these two industries meld into one in our evolving world. And with the likes of Viacom's Sumner Redstone, News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, and InterActive Corp.'s Barry Diller getting older, I'm a little concerned about our mogul farm system.

No one on stage was a slouch. Each keynoter has created a fundamental shift in media or technology, affecting how millions of people interact with the world and each other. But is it too much to ask for a little showmanship in the modern mogul?

From All Things Digital, May 28, 2008:

Since 1991, Bobby Kotick has been running Activision (ATVI), in which he bought a controlling interest when it was an insolvent video-game company in 1990. The witty Mr. Kotick has since built the company into one of the industry’s largest, with net revenues of approximately $2.7 billion. That is due to some of its well-known franchises, especially its hugely popular Guitar Hero, as well as Call of Duty, Spider-Man, Shrek and the Tony Hawk series.

More importantly, Activision turbocharged itself when it merged this past year with Vivendi Games, which includes Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, one the most popular multi-player games. He is also on the board of Yahoo, which we will ask him about even if he won’t comment. EA’s hostile acquisition bid for Take Two will doubtless figure prominently in today’s conversation as well. For a full recap, click here.

For video highlights of the D6 interview with Kotick, click here. For highlights of the D6 Guitar Hero IV demo, click here.

Electronic Arts is expected to post flat EPS and revenue of $834.8 million when it reports fiscal fourth-quarter results after the close Tuesday. But the big story is what EA has to say, if anything, about its pending offer for Take-Two.

EA's unsolicited $25.74 bid is set to expire on Friday, and Take-Two's management is surely proud that they held out for the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, which has exceeded the most bullish expectations.

But given the performance of Take-Two's stock since the original EA bid and EA's own lackluster expectations, it would seem these two companies need each other and should make a deal.

The stock market is taking it on the chin Friday as AIG's gaping loss has put the financial sector back in a harsh spotlight. But beneath the gloomy surface some tech stocks are shining, most notably Priceline.com and Activision.

Priceline.com reported first-quarter earnings of 76 cents per share vs. the consensus estimate of 60 cents. The company said it expects full-year 2008 EPS of $5.25 to $5.65 per share vs. the analysts' consensus of $5.12.

Priceline shares are soaring Friday as the online travel firm continues its long comeback from the depths of the post-2000 tech bust.

Separately, Activision reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 14 cents per share vs. the consensus forecast of just 5 cents as its "Guitar Hero" and "Call of Duty" franchises continued to perform well.

Cowen & Co. and Kaufman Brothers upgraded Activision in the wake of their results, and the shares were responding accordingly.

Take-Two shares, meanwhile, have barely budged this week despite huge first-week sales for Grand Theft Auto IV, suggesting Electronic Arts may not need to raise its bid after all.

Grand Theft Auto IV's huge first week sales are making headlines, but there's a much bigger story afoot in videogames, says Todd Harrison, founder and CEO of Minyanville.com.

With DVRs killing television advertising and social networking sites struggling to monetize those eyeballs, videogames are looking like the next great frontier for marketing, says the former trader at Cramer Berkowitz, Morgan Stanley, and Galleon Group.

Gamers spending hours looking at screens make for "captive eyeballs" advertisers can't resist, especially in massive multiplayer online games, Harrison says.

As a result, the entire videogame sector arguably deserves a premium, and Electronic Arts may yet have to up its bid for Take-Two.