Celebrities are cashing in at land casinos by allowing their images to appear on slot machines and casino chips.
Though its been a practice of the gaming industry to cash in on celebrities to market their games and products, in recent times, this has grown tremendously to include an even younger target market, using names such as Britney Spears, with GoldenPalace.com spending $5,001 for Britney Spears' alleged home
pregnancy test. "It's hard to put a price on Britney Spears' urine," Golden Palace spokesman Drew Black told The Associated Press.
Amongst the celebrities partaking in the feast are comedians Paul Rodriguez and George Lopez and tennis star Andre Agassi who will appear for slot machines in casinos this summer; Drew Carey, whose slot machine recently was launched; Pamela Anderson with her Las Vegas machine debut earlier this year.
No longer are silver-haired, blue-eyed grannies the mainstay image of the casino; it is now the celebrity. In recent months, the gaming industry has been focusing on decidely younger entertainers.
Celebrities also are appearing on casino chips. The Hard Rock & Hotel Casino has chips featuring artists who have played at the casino resort, including Coldplay, Motley Crue, Billy Idol and Lenny Kravitz.
Celebrities on chips usually get a bundle to use on games such as poker, roulette and craps. "The idea is that they receive some of their own chips, and they get to gamble for free," Villasenor says.
Slots are more supposedly even more lucrative. A celebrity can be paid an upfront sum, a percentage of each machine's take or a combination of both.
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