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Most of my listings in Google are from domains WITHOUT the keyterm or synonym in the domain url.
A domain with strong links, with a keyterm in the url, will pass stronger link weight to the target url (provided its relevant keyterm).
Domains with keyterm URL's are extremely effective at passing authority to penalized, or spammy sites. I have pulled 3 domains out of the google 950 penalty by using keyterm based domains (some dropped) to pass "theme" or relevance and confirm the site is indeed about "keyterms"
As with ANY ASPECT of SEO, its about the whole picture, NO ONE MISTAKE, or one properly done thing will ensure success, its the whole big picture. So while you do not need the keyterms in the URL, it can still effect the listings based on how the rest of the peices fall together.
Ranking the domain ....freeporn.com for the terms Free Porn will be easier then ranking ....erhyshttdddd.com for it, but again, its not the deciding factor, its just one that can be exploited/manipulated for better results.
Its far from neccessary, but still a checkmark in the algorythym charts. It matters less and less every year, but it is still a positive mark for the site.
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