My information is a little dated but I *think* it still applies...
Domain Names.... The initial registration is good for (2) years. That just reserves your name out on the interweb so no one else can take it. Now, depending on who you registered the name through you may be the billing contact or you may not. Assuming Bob went through Internic (domain name registration authority - for the lack of a better term), he would be the billing contact. When the (2) years was coming to a close, he'd be mailed a renewal form. If he didn't pay, the domain name goes into limbo for a bit. Once Internic determines that the original owner isn't paying up, the name becomes fair game again for someone else to register.
So...if good old Bingo Bob happened to have that name registered and let it lapse, which I believe is the case as his initial website was
www.buildabandit.com, then it's only become available in the recent months.
FWIW: buildabandit.com is registered through Go-Daddy.com and pontiacpros.com is through Fat Cow Hosting. Based off this and Bob's propensity for doing things cheap, I'd wager that we're looking at (2) different people with the domain names.
**Can you tell I did ISP (Internet Service Provider) support for 2+ years??