CONTEST HELPS DUMPED DOT COMMERS DROWN SORROWS

CONTEST HELPS DUMPED DOT COMMERS DROWN SORROWS

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Wireless Flash) -- If all those folks laid off by dot-com businesses aren't already drowning their sorrows, a new contest should help them get sozzled. A California-based website says it will give away bottles of rare wine to people who send them the most pitiful personal stories about being dumped by a failed dot-com. A spokeswoman for SecretCellars.com says they'll accept entries from anyone who's been screwed by an internet start- up -- whether it's a venture capitalist who lost his wad or an investor whose shares slumped after the IPO bombed. The winner with the saddest story will get a $1500 bottle of 1996 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon -- which is considered a status symbol "trophy wine" by dot-commers.