Jackson ‘moonwalk’ glove at Macau hotel
A Michael Jackson rhinestone-encrusted glove is going on display at a hotel in the Asian gambling destination of Macau. It’s been reported that the hotel paid 350,000 dollars for the iconic accessory at an auction.
The sparkling glove became famous in 1983 as the King of Pop wore it when he performed his now celebrated the world over “moonwalk” dance.
Saturday’s New York auction featured in excess of 70 Jackson items.
Ponte 16 deputy chief executive Hoffman Ma won the glove after bidding for the hotel. Including commission, the Macau gambling resort paid a total of 420,000 dollars for the item.
Owned at 50% by gambling tycoon Stanley Ho through his firm, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, the five-star hotel has scheduled to open a gallery in the new year to display the glove as well as nine other objects formerly belonging to Jackson and purchased at the auction.
A former Portuguese colony, Macau was returned to China in 1999 and is the country’s only mainland city where casino gambling is allowed.
The decision to bid on the glove had stemmed from several months of discussions amongst senior executives at Ponte 16.
The luxury hotel is hoping the gallery will evolve into a sort of ‘shrine’ for Michael Jackson fans all over Asia.
A Ponte 16 spokeswoman said the hotel aims at creating a gathering spot for the greatest 20th century performer.
The nine other objects won by the resort included drawings of Charlie Chaplin sketched by Jackson when he was a child, a pair of sequin-encrusted socks and a shirt worn during his Thriller video.
The New York auction house had given a pre-sale estimate of 40,000 to 60,000 dollars for the glove. But five months after the death of the mega star, a buying frenzy has emerged.
The event held at the infamous Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan’s Times Square saw unprecedented prices.
Jackson owned several of these gloves, which at the time, cost only 30 dollars. At another auction in Australia in September, a similar glove sold for only 49,000 dollars.
But the one purchased by Ponte 16 benefits from a special claim to fame. It’s reported to be the first one used by Jackson during a cult “moonwalk” live concert dance.