Online casinos are well known for outrageous and outlandish publicity stunts. Due to the fact that in most justidictions they are prevented from traditional advertising they have to turn to such tactics to get any promotion for their brand.
We all know the story of one such site that paid a woman to tattoo their logo on her you-know-what, and earlier this year another one purchased William Shatner’s kidney stone for $25,000 just so they could auction it off for charity.
And who could forget when a casino bought a partially eaten grilled cheese sandwich for $28,000 that had what looked like the likeness of the Virgin Mary burned into the bread. Classic.
But with this latest stunt we’re not sure whether to laugh or cry. According to NME, at a recent auction Onlinegamblingpal.com bought a clump of Michael Jackson’s hair which was collected at New York’s Carlyle Hotel after Jackson stayed there when attending a charity event.
Michael Jackson died in 2009 after succumbing to a lethal cocktail of drugs including propofol, lorazepam and midazolam. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for being reckless in his duty of care around the troubled singer.
The online casino paid $10,871 for the hair clump and proudly have announced that they plan on using the hair to make a roulette ball. Yep, soon you too could be wasting away your hard earned money rolling a ball made from the hair of a deceased pop star. Awesome!
A press release put out by the company says “As its proud new owners, we have decided to convert Michael Jackson’s hair into a roulette ball – an appropriately unique way to immortalize a small part of a truly peerless entertainer.”
It continues, “The ball itself will be made to the highest professional standards, ensuring it will be eligible for use at any licensed casino’s roulette table. Indeed, considering Jackson dedicated his life to entertaining millions, the prospect of this very special ball captivating crowds at roulette tables seems like a fitting use for it.”
“We would therefore like to encourage any casino interested in using this unique ball at its tables to contact us. Together, we can ensure Michael Jackson continues to rock and ‘roll’ forever.”
So what do you think? Is this just another wild publicity stunt or have the casino taken it one step too far? Also, don’t forget the check out our slideshow of the wildest publicity stunts in music.
