Unauthorized Michael Jackson Online Casino Opens

Makes you wonder if the roulette wheel allows you to bet on “Black Or White.”

Back before Michael Jackson’s untimely passing last summer, rumors had been swirling that the King of Pop was considering an offer to begin playing a regular show on the Las Vegas Strip. Other rumors had him planning to open a “Thriller”-themed casino of his own, cashing in on both his classic video and the newfound popularity of zombies. Those possibilities were cut down when the King of Pop suffered heart failure and died at the age of 50 – but now an unknown group of entrepreneurs is trying to tie Jackson and the allure of Las Vegas together again in the form of an online casino.

The website, which sprang to life on the internet over the weekend, looks like just about every other online casino site, with two notable exceptions. The first, and most recognizable, is that it’s covered with images of Michael Jackson; from “Smooth Criminal” to “Moonwalker” to shots from his epic live sets, nearly every era of the King of Pop is represented. The second difference between the unauthorized Michael Jackson casino and other online casinos is that there is no information at all regarding where the casino is licensed – which almost surely means that it’s not licensed at all, and that players should avoid depositing money there.

The Michael Jackson estate, unsurprisingly, says that the online casino’s use of the King of Pop’s image and name is completely unauthorized. Estate attorney Howard Weitzman says he will “take whatever legal actions are necessary to shut this operation down.”